Martin Rosenbaum tells us that if you want to get really detailed financial documents from your local council, there is a much more powerful tool than the Freedom of Information Act - but blink and you may miss the chance to use it.
It's the Audit Commission Act in England, which gives you the right to see the accounts and all the accompanying financial documents for the council's audit. In Scotland it's the Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 1985; in Wales the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004; and in Northern Ireland the Local Government (Accounts and Audits) Regulations (NI) 2006.
But it only applies for a short period each year. You've got to know when that is, and strangely enough councils don't seem to give it enormous publicity.
Now the Orchard News agency has performed the valuable service on its website of collating the relevant dates for many different councils.
Here is the relevant part of the Act:
The Audit Commission Act 1998
Section 15 of the Act enables electors and taxpayers of a particular borough or police authority area to inspect and make their own copies of council and police authority accounts.
These rights of inspection extend beyond the authority supplying data spreadsheets, listing income and expenditure, on request.
The public has a right to see the detailed contracts, invoices, receipts, books and bills that relate to the accounts of the recent financial year.
It is a criminal offence for a council employee to obstruct anybody exercising their legal right to see these records for themselves.
The local councils and police authorities are obliged to advertise the times and locations that the accounts are open to public scrutiny.
Authorities are also required to provide facilities for people to copy documents and records, but may apply a reasonable charge.
The main restriction applies to details of payments to employees and former employees, such as wages and pensions.
But this restriction does not entitle councils or police authorities to censor or 'redact' extracts of contracts, bills or invoices which contain financial details that are incidental to the employment of any member of staff.
The Act also provides electors and taxpayers with a right to question the auditor about the accounts at the end of the inspection period, and to lodge formal objections to any item of expenditure.
Electors and taxpayers must live in the locality of the local authority concerned, but may appoint an agent to carry out an inspection on their behalf.
and
The Accounts and Audit Regulations
2003
Section 14 of this Statutory
Instrument sets the period of public inspection of the accounts
to 20 working days.
Section 15 restricts councils from altering any accounts and documents,
once the public inspection period is underway.
Section 16 requires councils to publish details of where and when
the accounts may be inspected.
The Statutory Instrument makes it a criminal offence for anyone
to breach these regulations.
So next time you want to find out about how much your local authority has spent with Common Purpose, or who paid who for the planning application that everyone opposed, and the contracts that go with it, then this is the Act to use.
If you are concerned or are blocked from seeing these accounts, check out the legal precedents already set by ONB and HTV West.
This is the kind of transparency that we want to see more of.
