The government has revealed plans to make local authorities increasingly open and transparent, requiring them to publish details including data surrounding expenditure, staff payment, procurement and property estates.

The plans follow on from the voluntary transparency codes introduced in 2011, with the new plans being mandatory for all councils with income or expenditure in excess of £6.5 million.

The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) is open to feedback or clarification until the 17th of January 2014.

Local government secretary Eric Pickles said: "Councils need to make sensible savings to help freeze Council Tax and protect frontline services. This new wave of town hall transparency will empower armchair auditors to expose municipal waste”.

“Greater power for local government must go hand in hand with greater local transparency and local accountability."

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