Transparency for Authorities £25,000+ and under £200,000

Although there is no document published by the Government specifying the level of financial transparency required from parish and town councils with revenue or expenditure between £25,000+ and up to £200,000 there is an expectation that they will comply with their statutory duty to publish most information in accordance with their Freedom of Information Publication Scheme.  

Parish and Town councils of this size generally follow good practice and comply with the Transparency Codes by publishing the information regularly (at least annually) but usually monthly or quarterly.  If they do not publish the data and information willingly on a public-facing website they face the prospect of various Freedom of Information requests coming in whenever a member of the public (otherwise known as an 'armchair auditor') decides to ask for the data which will, in fact, take up more time and effort for the Clerk and staff to deal with than if regular publication took place normally.

Failure to comply with the Freedom of Information Act Publication Scheme and requests for information may lead to Information Commissioner Office (ICO) enquiries and having to deal with complaints which can lead to reputational damage and other costs.