'Put council before party, say opposition groups

Against the backdrop of the controversy about Reform deploying its DOGE team to Lancashire County Council, the first cabinet meeting with the party in charge saw the approval of an "efficiency review" of the authority's "financial management, procurement and associated governance arrangements".

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The report setting out the details of that work made no mention of DOGE - and, as in his later interview with the Post, county council leader Stephen Atkinson appeared to put some clear Reform-coloured turquoise water between the two operations.

He told the meeting that there had been "a lot of noise" about the DOGE process, adding: "It is our intention, like any political party, to engage with its national party - but that will be done through proper process and procedure."

His comment followed criticism from opposition leaders of the idea of an external party-affiliated unit being brought in to go through the county council's books - which was branded, variously, undemocratic and unnecessary.

The cabinet report states that the efficiency review will be "undertaken by a multi-skilled team of officers and wider council resources working across the organisation" - pointing towards an internal, strictly County Hall-controlled set-up.

A cabinet working group will be established to consider the outcome of the review and members will respond to the findings through the council's "established governance and reporting mechanisms", the authority has said.