What we spend and how we spend it

What we spend and how we spend it

Financial information about projected and accrual income and expenditure, procurement, contracts and financial audit.

The minimum we would expect is that financial information for the current and previous two financial years be available.

If money is allocated to specific cost centres ina department and this information helps to explain how public money is spent, departments should consider publishing it.

• Financial statements, budgets and variance reports. Financial information in enough detail to allow the public to se where money is being spent, where a department is or has been planning to spend it, and the difference between the two. Financial information should be published annually and, where practical, we would also expect half yearly or quarterly financial reports to be provided. Revenue budgets and budgets for capital expenditure should be included.
• Capital programme. Information should be made available on major plans for capital expenditure including any private finance initiative and public-private partnership contracts.
• Spending reviews.
• Financial audit reports.
• Staff and board members' allowances and expenses. Details of the allowances and expenses that can be claimed or incurred. It should include the total of the allowances and expenses paid to individual senior staff and management board members by reference to categories. These catagories should be produced in line with the departments policies, practices and procedures and will be under headings like travel, subsistance and accommodation.
• Ministerial expenditure. The total of the allowances pais to or incurred by department Ministersby reference to categories. These categories should be produced in line with government guidlines and will be under headings like travel, subsistance and accommodation.
• Pay and grading structures. This may be provided as part of the organisational structure and should indecate, for the most posts, levels of pay rather than individuals.
• Procurement procedures. Details of procedures for the acquiring goods and services. Contracts available for public tender.
• Lists of contracts awarded and their value. We would normally expect the department to publish details only of contracts that are large enoughto have gone through formal tendering
• Financial statements for projects and events. If there are identifiable projects, we would expect the publication scheme to cover at least the financial reports that indecate actual expenditure against origional project budgets. The larger the project, the greater the detail that should be available. Similarly, where organised events are publicised, their cost should be made available through the scheme.
• Internal financial regulations.