Reform-run Leicestershire could pay £30m to consultancy firm

Last week I wrote that Leicestershire County Council, which is run by a Reform UK minority administration, is to pay £1.3m to consultants.

That's peanuts!

The Leicester Mercury reports:

Documents published last week revealed that the "estimated contract value" has actually been set at "up to £30 million" as a whole, with the £1.4 million audit just phase one of that contract. A spokeswoman for the authority has stressed that no further work beyond phase one has yet been agreed.

The county council currently needs to plug an expected £90 million gap in its day-to-day spending by 2029 in order to balance its books – something it is legally bound to do. It also has an £80 million shortfall in money set aside for projects and an £118 million deficit in its special needs budget.

In other words, Reform came to power in Leicestershire with no policies that didn't involve flags and has found itself overwhelmed by the task it faces. So it's paying someone to tell it what to do and how to do it.

Time for the opposition parties at County Hall to work together and rein Reform in.