DCLG expands council transparency code

3 Oct 14
Councils will need to set out more details about their spending of parking charges and plans to tackle fraud under a revised transparency code being introduced by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

By Richard Johnstone | 3 October 2014

Councils will need to set out more details about their spending of parking charges and plans to tackle fraud under a revised transparency code being introduced by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Under the updated local government transparency code set out by local government minister Kris Hopkins today, authorities will also need to set out more information on decisions taken on waste collection.

Hopkins said the reforms would strengthen the public’s ability to scrutinise councils by ensuring they get the data they need to play a bigger role in the local democratic decision-making process. It will also become a legal requirement for councils to help taxpayers scrutinise their work, Hopkins said.

‘Greater power for local government must go hand in hand with greater local transparency and local accountability. Therefore it is only right we give council taxpayers the data they deserve to play a bigger role in local democracy.

‘This new wave of town hall transparency will empower armchair auditors right across the land to expose municipal waste and ensure councils are making the sensible savings necessary to freeze council tax and protect frontline services.’

Among the areas where more data will be produced include council spending of the revenue raised by council parking charges and fines. This follows concerns raised by Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles that the current regime was unfair.

Hopkins added that ‘opening up parking profits to the eyes of local democracy will protect residents from the risk of being treated as cash cows by trigger-happy Town Hall traffic wardens and expose councils using parking policies in an unlawful way’.

Setting out details of how local authorities plan to tackle fraud will also become a requirement after Pickles called for town halls to do more to tackle the issue at this year's CIPFA conference.

The new regulations are expected to be signed next week, and will come into force in early November.

Responding to the publication of LGA improvement and innovation board chair Peter Fleming said councils already published information on budgets and revenues, performance, salaries, assets and annual parking reports.
‘This allows residents to democratically hold them to account and helps drive innovation and efficiencies,’ he added.

‘The greatest barrier for councils is a lack of resources to prepare and publish data at a time when they are having to protect vital services while managing a 43% reduction in funding.

‘Councils now need a firm commitment that they will receive adequate funding to cover these new expectations.’

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