Surrey Heath
Borough Council Deploys spotlightonspend as Part of Transparency
Spending Initiative
spotlightonspend enables Council to publish readily
digestible and accessible spend data on purchases over £500 in line
with 'Programme for Government' requirements
Camberley, Surrey – 18 October 2010 – Surrey
Heath Council has become the latest local authority to adopt
spotlightonspend,
an online transparency platform, designed to radically improve the
accessibility, relevance and value of Government spend information
to the general public. Surrey Heath Borough Council offers a wide
range of services to over 80,000 residents. ranging from the
collection of waste and recycling available to every household to
specific planning and building control services used by a few. The
council deployed the spotlightonspend platform earlier this month,
which is the latest step in the council's ongoing transparency
initiative.
In line with the new 'Programme for Government' requirements on
public spending, accountability and transparency, which come into
effect in January 2011, Surrey Heath can now provide easy access to
its residents about how it spends its annual resources,
specifically focusing on all transactions above £500 in value.
"We see this initiative as win-win for both the Council and its
residents," said Kelvin Menon, Head of Corporate Finance, Surrey
Heath Borough Council. "By utilising the spotlightonspend platform,
it enables us to be more transparent. It also gives residents
greater confidence in the allocation of budget resources and
further insight into the decisions we make to further improve local
services."
The Council's transparency is made possible through the
deployment of Spikes Cavell's spotlightonspend
- an innovative online platform, designed to radically improve the
accessibility, relevance and value of Government spend and related
information to the general public and open data community. Spikes
Cavell has undertaken to adapt the spotlightonspend platform to
facilitate access to the Council's wider transparency agenda, which
will enable access by the general public and open data community to
these new classes of data.
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."
"We are thrilled to be working with Surrey Heath to deliver
transparency and further support their move to open Government,"
said Luke Spikes, CEO of Spikes Cavell & Co, which operates the
new spotlightonspend service. "By utilising spotlightonspend,
Surrey Heath can ensure that the information published is
accessible, relevant and of value to its residents."
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 business
intelligence, 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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