West Devon Borough Council - Not Transparent - Update

It has been the intention of this Government to make matters more transparent, none more than Council Expenditure over £500.

Was it the intention of the Department for Communities and Local

Government to make this information of no real use or have West Devon

Borough Council dreamt it up?

Because without knowing what the payment is actually for, even in general terms. It is a waste of time and public money knowing.

Between April 2010 and November 2010 this expenditure was over £5 Million Pounds. Spent on what? Play Guess the Item? 

• • See the Data Here 

Yes, I could ask under Freedom of Information what each of the

1,852 payments refer to, but why should this not be disclosed as

transparency?

Surely Eric Pickles did not mean it to be like this. I await an answer to my email.

It really is not a difficult or a long job to insert the same item description in recurring charges using an Excel Spreadsheet. Leaving that description out does make it difficult to come to an informed view why money is being spent on certain items, particularly when Toilets have to be closed and other public facing matters are cut. Just what sacrifices are West Devon Borough Council making internally?

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I have now received a comprehensive reply from the Department for

Communities and Local Government. Even without looking at this matter

with more depth. There is doubt that West Devon Borough Council are

being transparent, not only to the extent of following Government

Guidance but expecting the Electorate of West Devon to accept

incomplete detail.