The Communities and Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles, has called on councils to provide financial transparency by publishing spending information over £500 online by January 2011. Some councils are already providing details of their expenditure here.

The decision by the Secretary of State to make spending data more freely available makes the Communities Department a trailblazer for transparency within Whitehall. We hope to see the Department for International Development following shortly, acting on their June 3rd announcement of the “UKaid Transparency Guarantee”:  As Pickles himself says, “Greater openness in spending is the best way to root out waste, spot duplication and increase value for money.”

See how aid transparency can deliver better value for money and avoid duplication here, and see the first councils’ expenditure details here.