Council to be more open over spending

CHRISTINA JOHNSON

Details of council spending above £500 will in future be published online as part of plans to improve ‘financial accountability’.

From January 2011, Central Bedfordshire Council will make available details of expensive outlays on its website for the previous three months.

This information will then be updated every quarter.

The company names of suppliers and amounts will also be displayed in full to enable residents to see where and how their money is being spent.

Last month the council came in for criticism after our sister newspaper, Luton on Sunday, revealed it had spent £22,000 on 45 road signs – at around £500 apiece – which it had put up in July to promote itself.

Council leader Tricia Turner said: “Local people should be able to hold politicians and public bodies to account over how their hard earned cash is being spent and what decisions are being made on their behalf.

“We should always strive to be as efficient as possible and knowing that our finances will be scrutinised in this way will help decision makers think twice before spending taxpayers’ money. The new accountability around expenditure will help to drive and deliver even greater value for money for our residents and enable them to find out about how their money is being spent.”

The Local Transparency Programme was announced by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles in June.

He said: “Getting council business out in the open will revolutionise local government. The public should be able to see where their money goes and what it delivers.”