Rachel Reeves’s Office for Value for Money (OVfM) is expected to cost taxpayers £1.6 million before it is closed later this year. The body, established by the Chancellor in her first Budget to ensure taxpayers’ money was spent wisely, is due to be wound up in October, exactly a year after its creation.
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The OVfM was tasked with scrutinising government expenditure, identifying inefficiencies and reviewing major investment proposals. The Treasury maintains the office has been instrumental in achieving £14 billion in efficiencies since its inception and insists it will leave “a legacy of concrete improvements to value for money”. The department’s budget for April to October this year was set at just over £1 million, in addition to £600,000 allocated for the previous six months.
Much of the budget was spent on remuneration and expenses for David Goldstone, the OVfM’s independent chair, and his team of around 15 staff. Mr Goldstone received £950 per day for an average of one day’s work each week, alongside travel costs for him and his team between London and the Treasury’s Darlington Economic Campus. The office faced criticism almost immediately, with MPs branding it “understaffed” and “poorly defined”, while concerns were also raised about potential conflicts of interest, given Mr Goldstone’s ongoing roles linked to HS2 and the Submarine Delivery Agency.
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Treasury officials confirmed that the OVfM was always intended as a time-limited body, with no plans to extend its mandate beyond October. A government spokesperson defended its record, stating that it had supported efficiencies worth £14 billion annually, produced findings in the 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy, and agreed reforms to strengthen spending frameworks. The Treasury said these outcomes would continue to shape government spending decisions after the office is disbanded.
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