OUR GLOBAL MOVEMENT
TI-UK’s new publication Counting the Pennies: Increasing transparency in the UK’s public finances
The UK’s transparency over public spending is “ticking the right boxes” but failing to provide full and open scrutiny over how taxpayers’ money is being spent, according to new research from Transparency International UK. In over a third of public contracts, it is unclear to whom they have been awarded.
Whilst public finance transparency is much better in the UK than many other places globally, poor quality, inaccessible and redacted data is preventing the public, journalists and investigators from scrutinising public spending.
In one case Lancashire County Council redacted numerous payments for a multi-billion pound PFI scheme, leaving no information about the name of the contractor.
Key statistics in “Counting the pennies: increasing the transparency in the UK’s public finances” include:
Funded with support from the European Commission.
This research, the most extensive of its type ever carried out in the UK, suggests that corruption is a greater problem in the UK than is currently recognised. The research represents a ‘corruption health-check’ for the UK, in which the diagnosis is ‘growing threat, inadequate response’.
This overview report outlines particular concerns about corruption in many of our key national institutions, including: prisons, political parties, parliament and sport. It highlights 6 key themes and makes 14 general recommendations, in addition to sector-specific recommendations and recommendations for future research.
