Taylor Review cost taxpayers £74,000

The Matthew Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices has cost taxpayers almost £74,000, a Freedom of Information (FoI) request reveals.

The biggest chunk of the cost -- about £50,000 -- was spent on compensating the RSA, Mr Taylor’s employer, for being seconded for the review while in their full-time employment.

The review began its work in October 2016 and concluded in July 2017, indicating that the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) pocketed £5,500 for each month their chief executive was absent.

But the review also spent £10,181 on regional events designed to publicise the roadshow and evidence-gather as part of the exercise, including on venue hire and refreshments.

Another £10,000 was spent by the government on “designing, printing and publishing the final report,” said Gorilla Accounting, which submitted the FoI request.

The accounting firm said the FoI response they received also states that £2,135 went on “travel and expenses,” including for Mr Taylor personally, and his review panel members.

“The Taylor Review was widely renowned for not hitting the mark,” said the firm’s director Daniel Fallows, seeming aware that its price tag may now bring into question whether the review was value for money.

He added that because it has brought key issues around self-employment to light, the review could be regarded as “a step in the right direction”.

However, the review’s total cost (according to the FoI release) of £73,724.45 may not be the final outlay, as the business department was unable to provide the cost of the review’s “extra staff,” such as officials, analysts and lawyers who contributed to policy development.