Shepway District Council Becomes the First
Authority in the East Kent Cluster to Go Live with spotlightonspend
to Deliver Meaningful Spending Transparency to Local Citizens and
Businesses
spotlightonspend enables Council to publish spend and
related information consistent with the Government's Transparency
Policy with minimal use of Council resources
Shepway, Kent – 13 Dcember 2010 – Shepway
District Council has become the first authority in the East Kent
cluster to deploy spotlightonspend,
an online transparency platform, designed to radically improve the
accessibility, relevance and value of Government spend information
to the general public. In line with the new 'Programme for
Government' requirements on public spending and transparency, which
come into effect in January 2011, the Council can now provide easy
access to its residents about how it spends its annual resources
via the council's website, specifically focusing on all
transactions above £500 in value.
Leader of Shepway District Council, Cllr Robert Bliss, said, "We
fully support Government initiatives that require Councils to be
more open and transparent - especially when it comes to spending.
We were ahead of the game and started publishing transactions of
more than £500 in September. Now, the spotlightonspend programme is
making it even easier to access this information and also look at
what we spend our money on every year. Publishing it in this format
demonstrates our commitment to openness and value for money."
Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local
Government, said, "I'm really excited about the opportunities of
transparency and it's something this Government is utterly
committed to. spotlightonspend demonstrates that, when innovative
businesses work with far-sighted public bodies, we can inform the
public, reduce costs and improve democracy both locally and
nationally."
Shepway District Council's financial data will be available on
its website http://www.shepway.gov.uk/.
It shows all spend during the 2009/10 financial year – from a
broad overview of all spending through to a breakdown of categories
like environmental services, stationery, arts and leisure,
horticulture and sport. Other early adopter customers include
Guildford Borough Council, Cherwell District Council, RBWM and
Surrey Heath, to name but a few, with additional councils due to go
live in the coming weeks.
Luke Spikes, CEO of Spikes Cavell & Co, which operates the
spotlightonspend service, added, "Shepway District Council is
committed to providing its residents with full visibility on spend
and by utilising the platform, it has taken the next step toward
delivering meaningful transparency for its citizens, local
businesses, the media and the Open Data Community."
spotlightonspend cuts costs, eliminates complexity and reduces
risk
spotlightonspend is a managed service that is comprised of
everything necessary to cost-effectively facilitate publication of
the spend and related information public bodies elect to make
available to the general public.
spotlightonspend is designed to:
- enhance the information a public body publishes to improve its
accessibility, relevance and value for the intended audience – the
general public and open data community,
- eliminate the complexity of becoming and staying compliant with
policy,
- reduce the risk of inadvertent breach of the Data Protection
Legislation,
- cut costs by removing the need to add to the workload of a
public body's current staff or increase headcount.
http://www.spotlightonspend.org.uk/
spotlightonspend is powered by Spikes Cavell. Spikes Cavell
equips decision makers in the public sector with the data, online
tools and analytical insight they need in order to transform the
way they procure goods and services. Since 2003, our spend analysis
and spend management solutions have underpinned the efforts of more
than 800 organisation's to deliver cash savings, measure progress
and manage compliance. http://www.spikescavell.net/
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For further information, please contact:
Hayley Wienszczak
Spikes Cavell & Co
Tel: +44 (0)1635 556970
Email: hayley.wienszczak@spikescavell.net
Vanessa Land
Devonshire Marketing
Tel: +44 (0) 7768 693 779
Email: vanessa@devonshiremarketing.com
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