Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council

Council Spending and Efficiency · drafted 2026-07-02 · accepted · 4 finding(s)

← council-level findings on this theme

24 Sep 2025At Full Council on 24 September 2025, Newcastle-under-Lyme's (Conservative-led) Leader declined to adopt the Reform 'DOGE' efficiency-audit framing, responding to a councillor's question that the Council's own internal Efficiency Board process (running since 2018) had already delivered almost £17m in savings and would identify a further ~£2m towards the February 2026 budget, with no DOGE unit or external paid audit established, invited in, or commissioned. [1][2]

24 Sep 2025In response to a September 2025 Full Council question about 'DOGE savings', the Leader stated the Council's Efficiency Board process (running since 2018) had saved almost £17m cumulatively, and that this year's process would bring forward a measure of savings of almost £2m ahead of the February 2026 budget. [3][4]

2 Dec 2025The draft savings figure evolved through the budget-setting process: Cabinet's first draft Medium Term Financial Strategy (02/12/25) identified a £1.752m budget gap to be closed by savings and funding strategies, which had narrowed to £1.599m for 2026/27 (via the Efficiency Board Process) by the time Cabinet recommended the budget to Full Council on 13/01/26. [5][6]

11 Feb 2026Full Council formally adopted the 2026/27 General Fund Revenue Budget and the Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2026/27 to 2030/31 on 11 February 2026, moved by the Leader (Cllr Simon Tagg), with a stated £1.599m budget/efficiency gap filled via the Council's Efficiency Board process; the recommendations were carried 24 votes in favour to 12 against, 0 abstentions. [7][8][9]

References (9)
  1. Minutes, 24 September 2025 “This Council would come forward with a measure of savings to save almost £2m.”
  2. Minutes, 24 September 2025 “The Leader advised that from this Council’s point of view, the efficiencies that were attached to the DOGE agenda were nothing new as efficiency board meetings had taken place in the Council since 2018 and, through that funding strategy almost £17m had been saved.”
  3. Minutes, 24 September 2025 “through that funding strategy almost £17m had been saved”
  4. Minutes, 24 September 2025 “This Council would come forward with a measure of savings to save almost £2m.”
  5. Minutes, 2 December 2025 “The proposed savings and funding strategies, to address a £1.752m budget gap were outlined at paragraph 2.4 of the report.”
  6. Minutes, 13 January 2026 “Savings and funding strategies had been identified to address a £1.599m budget gap for 2026/27 via the Efficiency Board Process and the first draft of those had been scrutinised by the Finance, Assets and Performance Scrutiny Committee.”
  7. Minutes, 11 February 2026 “The Leader introduced the report and moved the recommendations as set out by Cabinet for the 2026/27 General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Programme. The Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2026/27 to 2030/31, Capital Strategy for 2026/36, Treasury Management Strategy for 2026/27, Investment Strategy 2026/27 and Commercial Strategy for 2026/27 were also recommended for approval.”
  8. Minutes, 11 February 2026 “The Efficiency Board had ensured that the budget gap of £1.599m had been filled.”
  9. Minutes, 11 February 2026 “In Favour (Y) – 24 Against (N) – 12 Abstain – 0 Resolved: That recommendations (a) to (o) as set out in Appendix 1 to this report, be approved.”