Members of the Policing Board have questioned whether the policy offers value for money and asked the audit office to investigate.

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In February, the National Audit Office said HMRC had improved its value for money in 2011-12 as it began a programme to reduce annual running costs by 25% by 2014-15.

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Miller insisted that it was for the BBC Trust to justify the pay-out and suggested that the National Audit Office might like to examine whether it was value for money.

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The audit office has now agreed the terms of reference for a value for money review which will begin next week.

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The Audit Office told the board "a greater emphasis" could have been placed on value for money considerations and that the documentation it reviewed "did not justify why a senior and junior counsel were required".

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The report follows a National Audit Office analysis published in September which warned that the rapid expansion of academies risked being poor value for money.

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