No time frame for Reform Doge review in Kent

Reform's Doge team visited Kent on Monday (l to r advisor Arron Banks, KCC leader Linden Kemkaran, Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf, head of Reform Doge Nathaniel Fried, Brian Collins, deputy leader of KCC)

Reform UK have warned their Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) unit "will take as long as it takes" to provide recommendations.

On Monday the Doge team arrived at Kent County Council (KCC) in Maidstone for their first meeting.

Party chairman Zia Yusuf met leader Linden Kemkaran along with senior staff, accompanied by millionaire party backer Arron Banks and Nathaniel Fried, a tech entrepreneur said to be leading the Doge unit.

The party plans to use artificial intelligence, advanced data analysis tools and forensic auditing techniques to "identify wasteful spending and recommend actionable solutions".

The scheme is modelled on the Doge unit created by billionaire Elon Musk as part of Donald Trump's second term as US president.

A KCC spokesperson has said the council "has always been committed to transparency and accountability" but will work "collaboratively and professionally" with the Doge team.

Reform said the meeting on Monday was "very productive" but the party had admitted it does not know how long it will take for the unit to produce recommendations.

Reform took control of Kent County Council in May's local elections

Reform UK took control of eight authorities from the Conservatives, along with Doncaster from Labour and Durham, which was run as a coalition, in the local elections of 1 May.

It has said it also intends to send its Doge team into Staffordshire County Council and West Northamptonshire Council.

The move has been criticised in Kent by both the Liberal Democrat opposition and the county council's Green Party councillors, who both attacked the new administration's decision to cancel several scheduled committee meetings.