Meetings

The Committee discussed oral evidence received from the Minister for Local Government and Communities on this petition.

The Committee agreed that, given the Minister’s statement that he does not intend to intervene in the business protocols of local authorities; that there is already a Freedom of Information system in place; and the large number of records that local authorities would need to publish, the petition should be closed.

The Minister answered questions from the Committee on the subject of the petition and agreed to share details of the impact and benefits experienced by local authorities that have begun to publish spending details.

The Committee agreed to:

Discuss this petition with the Minister for Local Government and Communities when he gives evidence to the Committee on 10 January;

Commission a piece of research work into the cost of publishing details of local authority spend over £500 and on whether the cost of publishing this information might be offset by a decrease in the number of Freedom of Information requests and the costs associated with fulfilling those requests.

The Committee considered this petition for the first time.

Actions

The Committee agreed to defer consideration of this issue until the call for evidence closes on 3 November.