Joshua Nevett
Political reporter
Reform UK
Zia Yusuf (C) visited West Northamptonshire Council to meet leader Mark Arnull (R) and his deputy in June
A Reform UK-controlled council in England is the first to approve a proposal to share sensitive financial information with the party’s cost-cutting unit.
West Northamptonshire Council is exploring options to share data requested by Reform UK’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
Doge has asked the council to provide records of spending on IT systems, social care services and hotels housing asylum seekers.
The team of unelected volunteers – led by former Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf – is aiming to enter into similar data-sharing agreements with all the councils controlled by the party.
The BBC has been told Doge has submitted requests to access sensitive information to other councils, including those in Kent and Worcestershire.
So far, Doge has focused on drawing attention to publicly available information about council spending, such as money spent on net-zero initiatives and asylum seekers.
The party insists it needs access to council records that are not public to make sure taxpayers are getting value for money.
“It’s not a very well kept secret at council level that a lot of money is wasted on procurement,” a party source said.
But opposition councillors have questioned the need for a team of outside auditors and have expressed concerns about how sensitive data would be handled by Doge.
Jonathan Harris, the Liberal Democrat group leader on West Northamptonshire Council, said he was sceptical of Doge’s claims and argued it should be up to elected councillors to identify opportunities for saving money.
“They’ve said they’re going to get fantastic data engineers in and use AI,” Harris said. “That appears to be all smoke and mirrors.”
Harris said he had “lots of uncomfortable concerns about it because it’s a PR exercise”.
“It’s a promotional tool for Reform,” he added.
The council has not shared any data with Doge so far.
But the council said arrangements signed off by the cabinet on Wednesday establish “the framework under which information may possibly be shared in the future, including strict legal protections and confidentiality safeguards”.
Mark Arnull, the Reform UK leader of the council, said the proposed data-sharing arrangement would comply with the law.
He said: “I am confident the team will be able to support the council in identifying further efficiencies and potential future savings whilst continuing to protect and deliver services for residents across West Northamptonshire.”
The council said that since its creation in 2021, it had already saved around £115m by working more efficiently.
But the finances of this council and others across the country are under massive strain, with many facing budget shortfalls because of rising costs and increasing demand for services.
Doge was launched in June this year after Reform UK took control of 10 local authorities in May’s local elections.
Reform UK said a team of software engineers, data analysts and forensic auditors would “visit and analyse” local authorities to find “waste and inefficiencies” in budgets.
The unit is made up of about 15 volunteers and is run by Yusuf, who quit as party chairman in June, before returning to Reform to head up Doge days later.
The party has not revealed the names of any of the volunteers working with Yusuf on Doge.
It is modelled on the cost-cutting department set up by US President Donald Trump and previously led by billionaire Elon Musk.
Doge in the US has been hampered by legal challenges to its efforts to access the personal financial data of Americans.
Reform UK said Kent County Council – which it controls – would be the first local authority to be audited by its Doge team.
Officers – effectively civil servants – at the council are deciding how to respond to Doge’s request for information.
A Kent County Council (KCC) spokesperson said: “Officers at KCC are working closely and positively with the new administration to ensure that they achieve their policy aims, whilst doing so within the appropriate legal and governance frameworks.
“This collaboration with our newly elected members will ensure that any decisions taken are lawful, reasonable and proportionate, and we will be heading towards key decisions in due course through the governance process.”
When asked if there had been resistance to Doge’s requests for information, a Reform UK source “I don’t think there’s been pushback as such”.
“It’s more being wary and making sure that everything is legal,” the source said.