Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Becomes the First Authority
in the Mid Kent Group to Deploy spotlightonspend for Greater
Transparency on Public Spending
spotlightonspend enables Council to publish and compare
spend data over £500 against standardised metrics in line with
Government's transparency plans
Tunbridge Wells, Kent – 29 November 2010 –
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has become the first authority in
the Mid Kent Group 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.
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."
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council's financial data will be
available to search and view via its website www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk.
It will contain information on how much the Council pays external
suppliers of services such as street cleaning and housing for
example. 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, "Tunbridge Wells is the first of
the local Councils in the mid Kent Group to utilise the
spotlightonspend platform. The Council believes transparency is a key condition and
driver for the delivery of Council services, and as a publicly
funded organisation, has a duty to the residents that it serves to
be transparent in its business operations and outcomes. With
transparency comes greater openness, which in turn will enable the
public to help public bodies drive better value for
money."
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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