Telegraph reveals council chief exec spending

This morning's Telegraph has blown the whistle on some of the lavish spending of Council bosses presiding over the deepest cuts since the Second World War.

Records of spending at 340 local authorities obtained by the newspaper show some bosses are running up tens of thousands of pounds in expenses and credit card bills on top of their six-figure salaries.

There is no mention of any Manchester spend and the paper seems reluctant to release all its information but the headlines say it all

Some regularly flew first class and stayed in exotic destinations such as Shanghai, Tuscany and San Francisco. They spent thousands of pounds on tickets to stadium concerts and prestigious sporting events, and even used public money to buy suits, iPads and vintage wine.

Government publishes final code of recmmended Council transparency

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has published the final Code of Recommended Practice for council transparency which it claims will help reveal the fine details of authorities' daily business, including senior salaries and contracts.

Already every council in England except Nottingham City Council publishes data on all their spending over £500 on a regular basis.

Ministers believe that data transparency should extend beyond local spending and that full disclosure should be every council's default position. Councils will now be expected to have regard to the Code in all their data publications. Subject to consultation, ministers are minded to make the Code a legally binding requirement to ensure authorities can be held fully accountable to the local people they serve.

The code of practice calls on local authorities such as councils and fire and rescue services to shine a light on every part of their business, from employees' salaries over £58,200 and details of all their contracts and tenders to details of grants to voluntary organisations, performance information and the locations of public land and building assets. It also establishes three key principles behind council transparency; timeliness, openness and mindfulness of local demand.

Releasing this information to the public,says the government could provide a wealth of local knowledge and spark more improvements in the way services are delivered. Faster publication and easier access for the public and companies could open new possibilities for real-time analysis and response and opportunities for small businesses to enter new markets.