Transparency is vital to local democracy. But achieving transparency isn’t simply a case of throwing open the data floodgates, we must also safeguard both individual privacy and public funds. And, if we can present data using some common standards, it will help reap the benefits of engagement, improvement and efficiency as well.  

The Local Government Group and key partners have developed a set of guides offering practical support to councils as they publish spending and senior salaries data. We offer this as an open consultation so that:

• practical advice is available quickly, while still consulting widely
• those that have already published their data can share their experience widely
• conversations about transparency are in the open.

We invite your views, initially by 19 October 2010, so that we can update the guidelines in the light of your input in good time for those who need to meet the January 2011 deadline.  

LG Group Transparency Consultation website

Publishing local spending data: practitioners' guide

This consultation document takes forward local authorities' commitment to publish items of spending over £500 including tenders, contracts and the actual payments by January 2011. This practical guide explains in simple terms:

• what spending data to publish
• how to publish spending data online in an open format
• what to consider when publishing the data such as data protection, licensing and so on 
• how to make better use of the data through linked data.  

Practitioners' Guide – on the LG Group Transparency Consultation website

Salaries disclosure guidance

This consultation document takes forward requirements for local authorities to publish data on senior management salaries from by January 2011. The disclosure intention is to show online:

• salaries paid to members of the organisation’s senior management
• the extent of the organisation’s establishment. 

Salaries disclosure guidance – on the LG Group Transparency Consultation site

Responses to these documents are invited until Tuesday 19 October 2010.

For further information, please
Email: transparency@local.gov.uk

http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=22378878