At full council back in July of last year I proposed that the council should publish every item of expenditure over £500 so that such information could be scrutinised by local residents. Numerous, mainly Conservative, councils had already taken this step in response to the government's wish to see greater transparency and accountability in local government.
In response to my motion I was told that the council planned to publish this data by October 2010. October came and went without this being done. I was then told, upon raising the issue again, that the council would do this by the end of January 2011. Well that deadline has passed and still the council has not published. The January date is important because it was the date that the Secretary of State responsible for local government, Eric Pickles, said was the final point by which councils should get this done.
This exercise will not cost the council any money other than the time it takes to collate this information. That, of course, should cost nothing as this data should already be readily available if the council's senior officer's are to do their jobs properly. How can the council pretend to be careful with our money if they cannot easily show where it is being spent?
It is estimated that 90% of councils have published this financial information, so why hasn't Epsom & Ewell. This delay can only lead us to suspect that the council has something to hide. There are elections for our local council once every four years. The next election is in three months time. Are the Residents' Associations holding back on this information because they know it will not serve them well if it's released before the elections? It is simply not acceptable for the public to have to vote on the record of this Residents' Association council when this information is being held back from them. If it's good enough for nine out of ten councils then it's good enough for us. Come on Epsom & Ewell - show us where our money is spent!
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