DCLG publishes all spending over £500
The Department for Communities and Local Government has become the first government department to publish all spending over £500 for 2009/10.
The DCLG’s data shows that it spent £314m on 1,900 separate items. This included £16m on marketing, advertising, promotion and events, £635,000 on taxis and cars and nearly £310,000 on catering and food.
The department’s main arm’s length bodies, who spent £337m, have also published their expenditure.
So far 28 local authorities – including five London boroughs and four county councils – have put their expenditure over £500 online. The Communities Secretary has called on all councils to follow suit by January 2011.
Claiming that the move would unleash “an army of armchair auditors”, Eric Pickles said: “Greater openness is the best way to root out waste, spot duplication and increase value for money. That is why I have been asking councils ‘to show me the money’ so local taxpayers can see where their hard earned cash is going.
“Now it’s our turn. I don’t believe in one rule for councils and one for this department. Central government spends billions of tax pounds every year and transparency at this level of spending is just as important.”
Pickles added that the data highlighted how things needed to be done differently. “That means spending more carefully, getting better deals and asking ourselves at every turn whether every purchase is needed and whether it provides value for the taxpayers’ pound. Looking at last year’s spending it is clear that there is room for improvement,” he said.
According to the data, the top 10 suppliers of legal services to the DCLG in 2009/10 were:
- Treasury Solicitors: £1.69m
- Cabinet Office: £1.12m
- Denton Wilde Sapte: £821,099
- Slaughter and May: £399,685
- Field Fisher Waterhouse: £210,368
- Skills for Justice: £194,379
- Met Office: £54,518
- Pinsent Masons: £46,963
- Shared Intelligence: £33,408
- CMS Cameron McKenna: £29,598
The other bodies in the DCLG group to publish their data – accounting for 98% of its spend – are: the Audit Commission; the Community Development Foundation; Firebuy; the Fire Service College; Government Offices; the Homes and Communities Agency; the Independent Housing Ombudsman; the Leasehold Advisory Service; the London Thames Gateway Development Agency; the Ordnance Survey; the Planning Inspectorate; the QE11 conference centre; the Standards Board for England; the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation; the Valuation Tribunal Service; and West Northants Development Corporation.
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