Spending other people’s money can be quite stressful – speak to anyone who has ever organised a hen do or booked a group holiday. So perhaps it’s no wonder that Rachel Reeves has decided to appoint someone to make sure the haul of taxes she’s raking in after the biggest Budget in recent history is spent well.

It makes complete sense. Every friendship group has a head of value for money – typically the one who knows how to find a bargain.

The thing is, not everyone is cut out for the job. The friend who orders expensive wine then never pays their share when the bill arrives, for example? Probably not the strongest bet.

So the Chancellor’s pick for the first ever independent chair of the Office for Value for Money, David Goldstone, has raised a few eyebrows across Whitehall.

Goldstone will be responsible for “root[ing] out waste and inefficiency, undertaking value for money studies in specific high-risk areas of cross-departmental spending, and scrutinising investment proposals to ensure they offer value for money”, according to the press release announcing his appointment........

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