Following the Money: the future of local government openness
When:
—
Venue:
Online
Joint UK Open Government Network/Centre for British Political Life Event
What role can transparency play as local government faces an unprecedented crisis? On paper, local government is one of the most transparent parts of the public sector, and citizen and others can use FOI, audit rights or Open Data to monitor what is happening. Yet too few people use them, and various rights are hard to use or enforce amid delays and severe funding cuts. A panel of journalists, academics and campaigners ask how can openness help? This event focuses on England, where major audit controls were abolished by the Coalition government, and there is widespread concern that financial transparency is seen as working particularly poorly in 2024.
Panellists include:
Josiah Mortimer, Chief Reporter @BylineTimes
Ben Worthy, Lecturer in Politics, Birkbeck College
Megan Waugh, Researcher, Research for Action
Mel Stevens, Executive Director, Centre For Governance and Scrutiny
Contact name:
Ben Worthy