Treasury’s Worth for Cash physique targets asylum lodging

Treasury advisers tasked with discovering authorities waste have recognized spending on lodging for individuals equivalent to asylum seekers as their high precedence.
The Workplace for Worth for Cash (OVfM), which has 15 members of employees and studies on to the chancellor, was launched in October.
However a Treasury response to a BBC Freedom of Info request revealed that as of final month the workforce had not began scrutinising any funding proposals.
Authorities paperwork launched on Tuesday confirmed the primary two areas it would examine are authorities spending on short-term lodging and multi-billion pound so-called “mega tasks” equivalent to HS2.
The OVfM is aiming to chop departmental spending by £4bn yearly beginning this yr.
Labour beforehand stated the “hit workforce” would be certain 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 Dwelling Workplace spent £2.3bn on resorts 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 struggle.
The Institute for Public Coverage Analysis assume tank reported in 2024 that per asylum seeker, prices had elevated by 141% to £41,000 final yr – up from £17,000 in 2019-20.
Some in authorities query whether or not departments signing separate lodging contracts get one of the 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 Dwelling Workplace, Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice.
The OVfM ‘s chair David Goldstone will be unable to take part within the investigation into the “mega tasks”, 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 undertaking, is being paid greater than £50,000 for a mean 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 standard civil service recruitment procedures did not need to be adopted.
He has stated his job was to offer “direct recommendation” to the Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones about how to economize in June’s Spending Assessment.
Downing Avenue was pressured to defend his appointment after he was linked with a string of high-profile tasks that went over price range.
Conservative Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride informed the BBC 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 yr, 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 workforce 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 a minimum of 1% effectivity financial savings, equal to round £4bn.
That can be included within the 5% of financial savings that Rachel Reeves has requested ministers to establish.
Paperwork printed alongside the Funds stated the workplace can be “enterprise value-for-money research in particular high-risk areas of cross-departmental spending and scrutinising funding proposals”.
Earlier this yr, BBC Information used a Freedom of Info request to ask what particular high-risk areas and funding proposals the workforce 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 Assessment”.
One key space the workplace is predicted to take a look at is the place a number of authorities departments might be doubling up on work.
However it has been instructed that the OVfM may itself be responsible of duplication.
In a report printed in January, the Treasury Choose Committee famous that the federal government already “makes use of a spread of current frameworks to safeguard worth for cash”.