The TaxPayers' Alliance today launches YourTPA, a unique free-to-download App, which allows taxpayers to access local council data on their mobile devices. Users can type in their postcodes which brings up local data, allowing users to scrutinise and hold their individual authorities to account. This app will help promote transparency across local government.
YourTPA is a collection of nine of TPA's own research papers with information on individual local councils. The papers are:
- Councillors Allowances: How much do your local politicians claim in annual allowances?
- Council Compensation Claims: How much of your money is paid out in compensation claims against your council?
- Council Tax History: How much has your council tax gone up in real terms over the last 20 years?
- The Public Sector Rich List: How many people employed by your council receive over £100,000 a year?
- Government Art: How many artworks does your council own and how many are on display?
- Council Assets: How much assets does your council own and hat are they?
- Trade Union Office Space: How much office space does your council provide to trade union representatives at knock-down rates?
- Taxpayer Funded Trade Unions: How much of your money goes towards funding trade union activities?
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Council Liabilities: What is the true size of your council's liabilities which future generations will need to pay back?
Click here to download YourTPA on an Apple device
Click here to download YourTPA on an Android device
John O'Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:
"Technology is playing an important role in making it easier for taxpayers to hold local politicians to account and promote transparency in local government. Anyone with a smartphone or tablet can now examine the performance of their own council, measure it against neighbouring authorities and decide for themselves if councils are delivering value for taxpayers' hard-earned money.
"The TPA believes that transparency and public scrutiny are crucial for cutting out government waste and this free app provides every user with the opportunity to take part in that process."