South Gloucestershire Council has begun publishing details of all items of spending above £500 as part of radical moves in local government transparency.
The council is committed to being as transparent as possible in how it is spending tax payers’ money and, in line with government direction, has made this important first step towards getting day-to-day council business out in the open.
Council leader John Calway, said: “The public has the right to see this information and I am pleased that South Gloucestershire is one of the first councils in the country to open our accounts to scrutiny.
“We are a low spending, high performing council which has been recognised for our excellent use of resources, however, we are always looking for ways to provide even better value for money. Now, more than ever, it is essential that councils spend wisely. “
The council has today (9th August) put spending above £500, for the period April to June 2010, online and will continue to update its website every financial quarter.
The data has been published in a reusable format and aims to be as transparent as possible showing, the name of the council’s supplier, the amount they were paid and a brief description of the service or goods provided. However, where the payment is to an individual, like a foster carer, the name of the creditor has been replaced with the word “individual” to protect the privacy of the individual and the child.
Related link: Councils ‘urged’ to publish all spending over £500 (BBC News)
Source: South Gloucestershire Council
BIOLAP now has details of more than 50 Councils’ payments to suppliers over £500 on its free Council Expenses Dashboard at – http://www.biolap.co.uk/index.php/councilexpenses.html
Users can slice and dice, compare and sort the data as well as drill through to the detailed underlying transactions.