Transparency

• 5,000 councils ‘go digital’ thanks to multi-million pound cash injection

  Thousands of communities will be able to access more information about local politics thanks to a £5m cash injection designed to ‘digitally enable’ councils.

  

• Watchdog calls for more transparency over non-domestic rates distribution

  The Scottish Government must be more transparent in the way it reports on its non-domestic (business) rates, the official financial watchdog has warned.

  

• Lib Dems call for mandatory reporting on ethnicity pay gap

  The Liberal Democrats have announced plans to introduce mandatory reporting on the ethnicity pay gap for organisations with 250 employees or more if elected.

  

• Tackling modern slavery with supply chain transparency

  A new public database is committed to ending modern slavery by making supply chains more transparent. William Eichler finds out more.

  

• Taxpayers denied full access to information on public spending

  The taxpayer is being prevented from fully scrutinising the way public funds are spent, anti-corruption group warns.

  

• Councils warn about new transparency burdens

  Government plans to make councils publish more data will put further financial pressures on councils for ‘no apparent purpose’, London Councils has warned.

  

• Councils need to be more transparent when procuring waste services, report urges

  Local government needs to be more transparent when it comes to assessing waste service performance, a new report says.

  

• Watchdog calls for improved scrutiny of public spending

  The increased used of outsourcing and devolution to local areas is undermining Parliament's ability to hold the Government to account, the public spending watchdog is warning today.

  

• LEPs not transparent enough warns auditors

  The National Audit Office (NAO) has issued a warning over the transparency of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs).

  

• Report calls for greater accountability in the capital's BIDs

  Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) should not be used to fill in the gaps left by local councils in London, according to a new report published today.