How to audit your council budget in 60 minutes

Ever looked at your council tax bill and wondered where the money actually goes? A council budget audit doesn’t need an accounting qualification or a spare weekend. If you can read a bank statement, you can follow a council’s spending trail too.

This matters because councils handle huge sums, and even small leaks add up. For Reform UK supporters who want lower waste, clearer priorities, and services that work, an hour of focused checking can turn frustration into facts.

What follows is a simple, repeatable 60-minute method you can use in January 2026, or any time budget papers land.

What you can realistically achieve in an hour

In 60 minutes, you’re not “auditing” like a professional firm. You’re doing a resident’s audit: checking whether the numbers and choices pass the common-sense test, and spotting the areas that deserve tougher questions.

You can usually find:

• The council’s draft budget or Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP)
• A breakdown of service spending (adult social care, children’s services, highways, waste, housing)
• A list of large suppliers and spending lines (often in “spend over £500” files)
• Senior pay totals and staffing structure
• Consultation pages showing what’s being proposed and when you can respond

A good starting point for understanding how councils build budgets each year is the Local Government Association’s overview of the process: https://www.local.gov.uk/publications/must-know-guide-annual-budget-process

Know your rights: what councils must publish

Councils in England are expected to publish a standard set of information under the transparency rules. That’s what makes a quick audit possible.

The Local Government Transparency Code 2015 sets out what should be online, including spending data, senior salaries, contracts, grants, land and assets, and key decision papers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-transparency-code-2015/local-government-transparency-code-2015

If something that should be public is hard to find, that’s a finding in itself. Transparency isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s the basis of trust.

Your 60-minute council budget audit plan (minute by minute)

Set a timer and stay strict. The goal is to come out with a short list of solid questions, not a pile of open tabs.

Time	Task	What you’re looking for	What to note down
0 to 5	Open the council budget hub	Latest budget, MTFP, cabinet papers	Links, dates, decision deadlines
5 to 15	Skim the summary pages	Gaps, savings plans, council tax assumptions	Biggest pressures and claimed “drivers”
15 to 25	Check service totals	Where the money is concentrated	Top 3 service lines by spend
25 to 35	Scan spend over £500	Who gets paid regularly and for what	Repeat suppliers, round numbers, vague descriptions
35 to 45	Review senior pay and staffing	Size and cost of senior layers	Any roles that look duplicated or unclear
45 to 55	Check capital, reserves, borrowing	Big projects, debt costs, use of reserves	Projects with rising costs or weak business case language
55 to 60	Write 5 questions	Clear, answerable questions	Who, what, how much, by when

Tip: create one page of notes titled “Budget questions”, then keep it for next year. You’re building local memory, which is often what councils don’t expect residents to have.

The five checks that uncover most waste (fast)

1) Senior pay and top-heavy management

You’re not looking for envy politics. You’re checking if management costs match outcomes.

A practical test is to compare:

• Senior pay totals and role count
• Front-line pressures being used to justify service cuts

Many residents object when councils carry very high salaries while core services feel worse. It’s a fair line of scrutiny to ask whether leadership roles are delivering measurable results, especially when budgets are tight.

2) Private contractors, agencies, and “consultancy”

Contracting isn’t automatically bad, but it often hides high day rates, weak performance measures, or work that could be done in-house.

In spend files, look for:

• The same supplier appearing month after month
• Descriptions like “professional services”, “support”, “advice”, or “programme”
• Payments clustered just below thresholds (it can happen, and it deserves a question)

If your local Reform UK group talks about stopping rip-off charges and getting more value from every pound, this is one of the best places to check.

3) The “small” lines that quietly become big

One-off payments are less interesting than repeating ones. A £20,000 payment once is noticeable, a £4,000 payment every month becomes £48,000 and often sails through without attention.

Ask:

• What is this for?
• Why is it repeating?
• What would success look like, and who signs it off?

4) Assets, property, and land

Councils hold land, buildings, car parks, and commercial units. Poor decisions here can cause long-term costs, even if the annual budget looks balanced on paper.

Check for:

• Maintenance backlogs being “managed” rather than fixed
• Disposal plans with vague wording
• Big refurbishment projects without clear costs and benefits

5) Borrowing, reserves, and big capital schemes

Budget papers often lean on reserves or borrowing. Sometimes that’s sensible, sometimes it’s kicking the can down the road.

You’re looking for:

• Rising debt interest costs
• Reserves being used to fund day-to-day spending
• Projects described as “invest to save” with light detail

If you want extra context on how local audit and accountability works in England, the House of Commons Library briefing is a solid reference point: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7240/

Use Durham’s own budget cycle to time your questions

Councils usually discuss forecasts and priorities before the final budget is set, and residents often get a consultation window. In County Durham, council news updates and cabinet papers are a good place to track what’s coming next, including proposals for 2026 and beyond: https://www.durham.gov.uk/article/33769/News-Councillors-to-discuss-budget-proposals-and-priorities-for-2026-and-beyond

When you see “initial consultation” language, that’s your cue. Early questions are harder to brush off than complaints after the vote.

Turning your findings into action (without wasting time)

A resident’s audit only matters if it turns into pressure. Keep it calm, factual, and local.

Try this approach:

Write questions that can’t be answered with slogans Good: “How much was spent on agency staff in adult social care last year, and what’s the plan to reduce it?” Weak: “Why do you waste money?”

Use public meetings and consultation deadlines Budget decisions are taken in public sessions, and papers should include who is responsible. Show up with two questions, not twenty.

Ask for performance, not promises If a contract exists, ask what the service level is, and what happens when it fails.

Tie spending back to everyday priorities Reform UK supporters often focus on simple outcomes: safer streets, working buses, properly maintained roads, fair access to housing for local people, and support for small businesses. Those aims connect to budget lines you can check, community safety staffing, transport subsidies, highways maintenance, business rates relief schemes, housing allocation policy work.

What “a good budget” looks like through a Reform UK lens

You don’t need to agree with every political argument to apply a straightforward test: does the budget put residents first?

Look for signs such as:

• Clear spending priorities with plain language, not vague statements
• A real plan to cut waste, including trimming back-office growth
• Contractor costs justified with outcomes and penalties for failure
• Front-line services protected where they matter most (roads, neighbourhood safety, basic reliability)
• Honest trade-offs, not hidden cuts dressed up as “transformation”

Many people are tired of councils that feel run for insiders. A solid council budget audit helps prove where money is going, and where it isn’t.

Conclusion: one hour, five questions, real accountability

A council budget audit isn’t about catching someone out, it’s about making sure your money is treated with respect. In one hour you can spot patterns, pull out the biggest numbers, and write questions that demand proper answers.

Pick a date this week, set a timer, and do it. If enough residents keep asking the same clear questions, waste gets harder to defend, and accountability becomes the default, not the exception.