NEW PLANS ON TRANSPARENCY

David Cameron has launched the Transparency section of our Draft Manifesto.
There are radical new plans to publish government contracts in full – including all performance indicators, break clauses and penalty measures.
As part of the plan for Cutting the Democratic Deficit, Conservatives have already set out plans to publish national and local government spending online, create a new ‘right to government data’, require police forces to publish crime data on a monthly basis and publish the names and salaries of the most senior civil servants.
The announcement takes these plans even further by taking the radical step of publishing all government contracts worth over £25,000 for goods and services in full. This would enable the public to root out wasteful spending and poorly negotiated contracts, and open up the procurement system to more small businesses.
Speaking ahead of the speech, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne said that the commitment to publish government contracts is the "most radical transparency announcement ever made by a British political party – and will enable the public to hold ministers and civil servants to account like never before".
"This policy will help us to cut government spending, root out waste and empower the public – and bring in a new age of transparency and accountability", Osborne added.
Many examples of government waste are given to me by local people. This is something which frustrates us all. I believe these proposals are a move in the right direction.