A database of the country’s finances, known as “Coins” — the Combined Online Information System — has been opened up, giving access to 24 million entries in the Treasury’s accountancy books for the financial year 2008-09.
Coalition ministers and campaigners for open government hailed the publication as a major step in the process of opening up the state for voters and introducing more transparency by exposing to public scrutiny every spending decision made.
But while the database provides a unique insight into the every day running of government, there was criticism after the complex Coins system proved difficult and unwieldy for users to navigate. The figures show that the Department of Health spent nearly £500million on consultants, the most of any Whitehall department.
The Daily Telegraph
05 Jun 2010
