The coalition’s Programme for Government stated that, as part of the government-wide transparency and open data initiatives: ‘We will require public bodies to publish online the job titles of every member of staff and the salaries and expenses of senior officials paid more than the lowest salary permissible in Pay Band 1 of the Senior Civil Service pay scale’ – namely £58,200.
In a letter to all government departments on 31 May, David Cameron stated that these should be ‘published from September 2010‘. Well, we’re now into October, and said data hasn’t emerged.
I’m not entirely surprised to hear from well-placed sources that whilst the mechanics of releasing such data are fairly straightforward, the practicalities haven’t been. It would be very, very easy indeed to pinpoint exactly how much even relatively modestly-ranked individuals earn – so it’s no surprise that it has caused some, ahem, ripples. (It’s still happening though, as I understand it.)
Responses
Looks like it’s being worked on, though:
http://lgtransparency.readandcomment.com/1-introduction/
Just browsing the Cabinet Office September update on its structural reform plan, I see they say:
“The time taken to gather a large volume of new information, including consent from individuals involved, has taken longer than anticipated. We are now hoping to publish in mid October.”
Good spot, Richard. It took me quite a while to find, but the Cabinet Office September update is here.