Council Transparency
Information on different subjects is available on this page. To go directly to each section please click on the following links:
- Council Spending
- Pay Policy Statement and Senior Staff Salaries
- Council Tax in Kent Districts
- Open Data Communities
- Workforce Equality Data
- External Inspection and Peer Review
Information on Council Spending
The Communities Secretary has urged councils to publish details online of spending over £500 to increase openness and accountability. Information on payments we have made to suppliers over £500 from December 2010 is available to download below, as from August we have published the spending data over £250.
For each month the following information is shown:
- date of invoice
- transaction number (a unique reference number - to find out more about a payment please quote this number)
- amount paid on the invoice
- name of the supplier paid
- the service where it was spent
Please note that the information is based on the payment date.
Publication of these lists forms part of our commitment to be open and transparent with its residents. All data provided is freely re-usable under the following terms: Data Terms and Conditions.
Spend Per Month Documents
You can download the CSV file for each month below.
| 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|
If you have any other questions about a payment then please contact the Customer Service Centre and quote the amount and transaction number.
Pay Policy Statement and Senior Staff Salaries
The Government has set out its clear commitment to improved transparency about how it spends public money. This includes details of the size and shape of public bodies and about the remuneration provided to senior public servants. This is consistent with the Information Commissioners guidance that senior public servants should expect a degree of scrutiny of their remuneration arrangements. The Pay Policy Statement sets out details of the terms and conditions for employees at the council including the details about salaries of senior staff. The organisation chart illustrates how the council is structured.
Below you will find documents relating to senior staff salaries and our organisational chart.
More information may be found at Local Government Transparency Programme.
Council Tax in Kent Districts
The table below shows the Council Tax for the average Band D property for each of the Kent District Councils:
| Authority | 2012-13 Band D Council Tax* |
|---|---|
| Ashford | £140.67 |
| Tunbridge Wells | £149.83 |
| Swale | £159.93 |
| Dartford | £162.90 |
| Dover | £164.43 |
| Gravesham | £171.45 |
| Tonbridge and Malling | £176.90 |
| Canterbury | £178.65 |
| Sevenoaks | £181.89 |
| Thanet | £209.97 |
| Maidstone | £222.39 |
| Shepway | £245.86 |
*Excluding parish precepts
Open Data Communities
Find out more about open data communities on the Department for Communities and Local Government (the DCLG) website.
The pages in this link illustrate a selection of the data held by the DCLG relative to the Swale Borough Council area, broken down into 5 general sub-headings of Housing, Finance, Deprivation, Wellbeing and Geography.
Workforce Equality Data
Find the data we have on Swale Borough Council workforce equality.
Local Area Perception Survey Data
Find the data we have on the resident perception survey for 2012.
External Inspection and Peer Review
From time to time the Council is subject to external challenge by others within the Local Government Sector. This provides validation concerning the systems and processes we have in place, but more importantly serves as a mechanism to help us drive forward further improvement.
Our latest challenge report is now available - Swale Peer Review:
