Treasury advisers tasked with discovering authorities waste have recognized spending on lodging for folks similar to asylum seekers as their prime precedence.
The Workplace for Worth for Cash (OVfM), which has 15 members of workers and reviews on to the chancellor, was launched in October.
However a Treasury response to a PRESSHARK Freedom of Data request revealed that as of final month the crew had not began scrutinising any funding proposals.
Authorities paperwork launched on Tuesday confirmed the primary two areas it’s going to examine are authorities spending on short-term lodging and multi-billion pound so-called “mega initiatives” similar to HS2.
The OVfM is aiming to chop departmental spending by £4bn yearly beginning this 12 months.
Labour beforehand stated the “hit crew” would make sure that “each penny of taxpayers’ cash is spent correctly”.
Considerations have been raised by each Conservative and Labour ministers in recent times about how a lot public cash goes on short-term lodging prices.
The Treasury says the Residence Workplace spent £2.3bn on motels for asylum seekers in 2022-23.
Additional authorities cash was spent on lodging for veterans, care leavers, survivors of home abuse, victims of contemporary slavery and people fleeing warfare.
The Institute for Public Coverage Analysis assume tank reported in 2024 that per asylum seeker, prices had elevated by 141% to £41,000 final 12 months – up from £17,000 in 2019-20.
Some in authorities query whether or not departments signing separate lodging contracts get the very best worth.
The Native Authorities Affiliation (LGA), which represents councils in England, has stated that “uncoordinated” procurement of lodging has “pushed up native lodging prices”.
It says this has left “massive numbers of properties void in areas the place the demand from these cohorts is decrease than provide”.
The OVfM’s investigation into lodging prices will contain the Residence Workplace, Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice.
The OVfM ‘s chair David Goldstone won’t be able to take part within the investigation into the “mega initiatives”, due to his earlier senior roles with HS2 and the Submarine Supply Company.
Mr Goldstone, who was additionally concerned within the financing of the London Olympics and Parliament’s long-delayed Restoration and Renewal mission, is being paid greater than £50,000 for a median of 1 to 2 days every week’s work.
He was employed on a one-year contract as a direct ministerial appointment, which means the same old civil service recruitment procedures did not should be adopted.
He has stated his job was to provide “direct recommendation” to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones about how to economize in June’s Spending Evaluate.
Downing Avenue was compelled to defend his appointment after he was linked with a string of high-profile initiatives that went over finances.
Conservative Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride instructed the PRESSHARK the workplace “has but once more been proven to be a whole waste of cash”.
He accused the federal government of “treating the taxpayer like a piggy financial institution”.
Earlier this 12 months, Parliament’s Treasury Choose Committee criticised the workplace as an “understaffed, poorly outlined organisation”.
Dame Meg Hillier, the Labour MP who chairs the committee, added that the crew had been “arrange with a obscure remit and no clear plan to measure its effectiveness”.
The Treasury has stated the OVfM will ask each authorities division to seek out not less than 1% effectivity financial savings, equal to round £4bn.
That will probably be included within the 5% of financial savings that Rachel Reeves has requested ministers to establish.
Paperwork revealed alongside the Finances stated the workplace could be “endeavor value-for-money research in particular high-risk areas of cross-departmental spending and scrutinising funding proposals”.
Earlier this 12 months, PRESSHARK Information used a Freedom of Data request to ask what particular high-risk areas and funding proposals the crew had checked out.
The Treasury’s response stated it didn’t maintain any details about particular funding proposals as a result of the workplace would “resolve which funding proposals to scrutinise after receiving preliminary proposals from departments as a part of the Spending Evaluate”.
One key space the workplace is anticipated to take a look at is the place a number of authorities departments could possibly be doubling up on work.
But it surely has been prompt that the OVfM might itself be responsible of duplication.
In a report revealed in January, the Treasury Choose Committee famous that the federal government already “makes use of a variety of current frameworks to safeguard worth for cash”.
