Who'da Thought?
Who would have thought the new coalition government - would take a more radical line on Freedom of Information that the last Labour government?
But if the latest reports can be believed - that's exactly what Prime Minister David Cameron and his Liberal Democrat allies are planning.
The new regime has announced plans to make more government information - including local government - more accessible to the public.
Mr Cameron says he wants to rip off the "cloak of secrecy" around government and public services - and extend transparency as far as possible.
Good for him - let's hope he sticks to his word - because that will put lots of councils in the spotlight - where they belong having tried everything to keep their employees in the dark - for all these years.
Francis Maude, a Cabinet Office minister is quoted as saying:
"I think this is ridiculous. It's your money, your government, you should know what's going on. So we're going to rip off that cloak of secrecy and extend transparency as far and as wide as possible.
"By bringing information out into the open you'll be able to hold government and public services to account."
Precisely, because the truth is that councils that want to keep things secret - to prevent public scutiny of their actions - always have something to hide.
But if the latest reports can be believed - that's exactly what Prime Minister David Cameron and his Liberal Democrat allies are planning.
The new regime has announced plans to make more government information - including local government - more accessible to the public.
Mr Cameron says he wants to rip off the "cloak of secrecy" around government and public services - and extend transparency as far as possible.
Good for him - let's hope he sticks to his word - because that will put lots of councils in the spotlight - where they belong having tried everything to keep their employees in the dark - for all these years.
Francis Maude, a Cabinet Office minister is quoted as saying:
"I think this is ridiculous. It's your money, your government, you should know what's going on. So we're going to rip off that cloak of secrecy and extend transparency as far and as wide as possible.
"By bringing information out into the open you'll be able to hold government and public services to account."
Precisely, because the truth is that councils that want to keep things secret - to prevent public scutiny of their actions - always have something to hide.
