London: British lawmakers expressed skepticism on Monday regarding the newly established Office for Value for Money (OVfM), unveiled by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves as part of her plan to address public finances. Lawmakers questioned whether the office would generate substantial savings.
The OVfM consists of just 12 full-time staff members, all seconded from other departments within Britain’s central government. Members of the House of Commons’ Treasury Committee, which oversees Reeves’ work, noted that the office appeared to overlap with the responsibilities of other public bodies, including the National Audit Office, which boasts nearly 1,000 staff members.
Meg Hillier, Chair of the Treasury Committee and a fellow Labour Party member of Reeves, expressed concerns: “The Office for Value for Money is an understaffed, poorly defined organisation which has been set up with a vague remit and no clear plan to measure its effectiveness. All of which leads me to feel this initiative may be something of a red herring,” Hillier remarked.
Reeves unveiled the OVfM in her first budget on October 30, setting a target for government departments to identify 2% in efficiency savings within the year, ahead of a multi-year spending review slated for June.
Under increasing pressure to reduce public spending—especially since she has ruled out tax increases—Reeves now faces the challenge of managing rising government borrowing costs, which may undermine her self-imposed goals to balance day-to-day spending.
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The Treasury Committee criticized the government for its lack of clarity regarding the OVfM’s budget, its focus areas, and its methods for evaluating the value of spending and investment projects.
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According to a report by the international news agency Reuters, the Finance Ministry had yet to respond to requests for comment (at the time of publication).
