Meg Hillier has voiced doubts about the viability of Rachel Reeves’ new department (Image: GETTY)
’ newly launched Government department is “something of a red herring”, and has a “vague remit” with “no clear plan to measure its effectiveness”, Labour Treasury Committee Dame Meg Hillier has said in a
Ms Hillier, who heads up the cross-party group, further criticised The Office for Value for Money for being “understaffed” and “poorly defined” in a verdict which will pile more pressure on the beleaguered .
Dame Meg made the remarks while launching a new committee report on the unit, which found it to be “lightly resourced” and operating within a “very short period of time to drive tangible improvements.”
According to the UK Government’s website, the office is a “time-limited unit” within the Treasury.
Its stated purpose is to “provide advice to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chief Secretary to the Treasury to ensure that value for money is at the heart of the Government’s spending decisions.”
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David Goldstone was appointed chairman of the committee in October (Image: GETTY)
The idea for the office was first introduced by Labour in 2021. David Goldstone, a non-executive director at HS2 Ltd, was later appointed as its chairman at the 2024 Budget, with a day rate of £950.
The Treasury Committee’s report raised concerns about the unit’s limited resources, noting it had just 12 full-time staff as of December 2024. It also highlighted the risk of duplication with other government bodies that already oversee value-for-money processes.
The committee recommended that the office “explain how it will interact” with existing public bodies that aim to ensure good value for money, to “avoid unnecessary duplication” and make use of “existing expertise.”
The report concluded: “The Office for Value for Money’s task is challenging because it is lightly resourced, and it has only a very short period of time to drive tangible improvements in efficiency in departments’ spending during the Spending Review period.
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Rachel Reeves with PM Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street (Image: Getty)
Its worth will depend on its ability to identify and deliver meaningful, original new ways of securing value for money in public spending.”
Labour MP Dame Meg Hillier emphasised that the body is “an understaffed, poorly defined organisation” with a vague remit and no clear method of assessing its success.
She continued: “All of which leads me to feel this initiative may be something of a red herring.”
Ms Hillier further urged the Treasury to “share far more information about what this small team will actually achieve for the taxpayer which cannot be done elsewhere” and to “be transparent about how it will operate.”
A Treasury spokesperson defended the unit, stating: “For too long, taxpayer money has been squandered and we are putting an end to it.
This Office’s role is additional to existing parts of government and will draw on a range of expertise across disciplines to help root out waste, including a focus on where department spending may be overlapping.
“They also sit alongside our wider spending review which is, for the first time in 17 years, reviewing every line of government spending.”
Ms Reeves is keen to make savings to demonstrate fiscal responsibility and ensure efficient use of taxpayer money amidst ongoing economic challenges after a choppy first six months in office.