May 17: KCC and open government: a step in the right direction
Comments |
I’M not sure
everyone would necessarily agree that KCC is a "far more open
authority than people give it credit for."
The claim was made Cllr
John Simmonds, the council’s cabinet member for finance,
as he announced welcome proposals for KCC to publish detailed
monthly accounts of its revenue expenditure.
Cllr Simmonds says he wants KCC
to be at the forefront of moves towards much greater transparency
and openness and I’d be the last person to argue against
that.
Read KCC's report on plans to produce monthly statements
here>>>
The devil will be in the detail
as it always is. I do agree with Cllr Simmonds when he says the
authority will need to be careful not to come up with a scheme that
simply involves producing reams and reams of fairly meaningless and
unintelligible financial data that can’t be understood by anyone
other than qualified accountants.
KCC calls itself to account - read our story
here>>>>
KCC does produce detailed
monthly budget reports but the information they contain (I speak
from personal experience) is frequently baffling rather than
illuminating. Indeed, I sometimes suspect that figures are
presented in a way - not necessarily deliberately - that has the
affect of impeding rather than improve the public’s
understanding of how their money is being spent.
And openness and transparency
doesn’t begin and end with simply reproducing details of countless
financial transactions.
Setting the information in some
kind of context is as important but raises questions about how much
time and effort has to go into it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It seems there remains a degree
of resistance at County Hall to the notion that the public ought to
be told details of chief officers’ salaries, bonues and other
remuneration.
Announcing plans to consult on
producing monthly statements of expenditure, Cllr Simmonds said he
was unpersuaded by the arguments for disclosure.
"I have some reservations about
salaries. There is a lot of envy about this today and information
about salaries should be confidential," he told last week’s full
council meeting.
KCC may not have much choice in
the matter. One of David Cameron’s much-repeated commitments before
and during the election campaign was to bring in legislation
forcing the disclosure online of such details for all town hall
staff earning £58,000 or more.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Is there a softening of the
sometimes fractious relationship between the ruling Conservatives
at County Hall and the opposition Liberal Democrats, in line with
the on-going love-in between Clegg and Cameron at national
level?
I wouldn't go that far. KCC
leader Paul Carter did say in a speech to last Thursday's full
council meeting that he wanted the authority to move forward in the
way that the national parties were, by putting aside party
differences in the country's interest.
He went on to urge the Liberal
Democrats to engage in constructive rather than destructive
opposition. Of course, how you characterise any opposition depends
on which side of the political divide you sit.
On balance, I'd say that County
Hall Conservatives are happier with the coalition than their Lib
Dem counterparts. Not least because when the axe falls on public
services, the Lib Dems locally will be hampered in being able to
point the finger of blame elsewhere.
Monday, May 17 2010
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