Council transparency

Guidance on council transparency data, including spending, assets and decision making.

Last updated: 7 August 2026

Next review: 24 June 2027

The Local Government Transparency Code 2015 (the Code) sets out key principles for local authorities to create greater transparency through the publication of public data. It outlines the minimum requirements for local authorities to publish open data for re-use and in a timely way.

The Code ensures the public can access information about:

  • Spending: including transactions over £500, corporate procurement card use, and contracts over £5,000
  • Assets: how the council manages and uses its assets
  • Decision making: how decisions are made, who makes them, and senior staff salaries
  • Local priorities: such as parking and spending on trade union facility time

The data provided under the Code is published under The Open Government Licence. This is a free open licence for public sector bodies to license the use and re-use of their information and data easily. If you are intending to use or re-use any of our data please note the conditions of the licence.

Spending, procurement and contract information

This section provides information about council spending, spend on corporate credit cards and grant payments to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.  It also includes tender and contract information which is required to be published quarterly.

This section provides:

  • Information related to council spending over £500, including all spend on corporate procurement cards
  • Procurement information including invitations to tender to provide goods and/or services (including work contracts) over £5,000 and any contracts, commissioned activity, purchase orders, framework agreements and any other legally enforceable agreement with a value that exceeds £5,000

Council spend above £500

The Code makes it mandatory to publish details of all spend that exceeds £500, at least quarterly.  This includes for example individual invoices, expense payments, payments for goods and services, credit notes over £500 and transactions with other public bodies.

The council is required by law to publish detailed information about its spending in some areas including information about payments we make over £500.

We publish monthly data showing who we paid, how much we paid, and what for.

We do not publish personal data protected by the Data Protection Act 1998 that can identify an individual. This includes information that: 

  • Identifies someone on its own (for example, payments to named individuals)
  • Could identify someone when combined with other information (for example, a home address)

Transparency Data 2026

Transparency Data 2025

Transparency Data 2024

Transparency Data 2023

Doing business with the council

Government procurement cards

Details of all transactions made on corporate credit cards are published.

Local authorities are required to publish all transactions on corporate credit cards, including those transactions with a value of less than £500.  The reports give details such as the department that incurred the expenditure, the beneficiary and the amount.

Transparency Data 2026

Transparency Data 2025

Transparency Data 2024

Grants to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations

Information on grants made to voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations.

Transparency Data

Council contracts and tenders

This section provides details of (excluding VAT):

  • Invitations to tender to provide goods and/or services (including work contracts) above £5,000
  • Any contracts, commissioned activity, purchase order, or framework agreement above £5,000

The Local Government Transparency Code 2015 requires local authorities to publish details of Invitations to Tender (ITTs) and Invitations to Quote (ITQs) with contract values exceeding £5,000 (excluding VAT). 

All Council tenders and quotes, along with contract information with a value that exceeds £5,000 is published on the London Tenders Portal. 

Access the London Tenders Portal

In addition, all Council opportunities and awards that exceed £30,000 (including VAT) are published on the Find a Tender Service a national portal for publishing tenders and contracts. 

Access the Find a tender service

Doing business with the council

Organisation and staffing information

The Code requires that certain information about our organisation and workforce is published.  The Code also includes the requirement to publish information concerning incidences of fraud and irregularities. 

This section provides information about:

  • The organisation, including its structure, senior salaries, and the pay multiple
  • Trade union facility time
  • Fraud
  • The constitution

Information about the organisation, including a breakdown of the organisational structure, senior salaries, the pay multiple, trade union facility time, fraud, and the constitution.

The Council's Pay Policy Statement

The Council’s Pay Policy Statement sets out the Council’s position in relation to the pay of its employees and that of its senior managers in compliance with both the Localism Act 2011 and the Code and is expected to be published annually. 

It includes a summary of the top three levels of the organisation, Senior Salaries, Pay Multiple (pay comparison), and Trade Union Facility Time. 

View our pay policy statement

Details of bonuses and ‘benefits in kind’ are included as part of the statement of accounts (in note 10b, Officers’ Remuneration).  The statement of accounts can be found on the Council finances page. 

Fraud prevention data and spending

Fraud

Reports and data on the council's anti-fraud efforts, including investigations, staff, costs, and use of powers.

The Code requires that information on efforts to combat fraud are published annually.

This includes:

  • Number of occasions they use powers under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud (Power to Require Information) (England) Regulations 2014, or similar powers
  • Total number (absolute and full time equivalent) of employees undertaking investigations and prosecutions of fraud
  • Total number (absolute and full time equivalent) of professionally accredited counter fraud specialists
  • Total amount spent by the authority on the investigation and prosecution of fraud
  • Total number of fraud cases investigated

Fraud Transparency Data Reports

The council's constitution

How the council makes sure that decision making is efficient, transparent and accountable.

Our constitution sets out how the council operates and the procedures it follows to make sure that decision making is:

  • efficient
  • transparent
  • accountable to residents

The full constitution is available on the constitution page.

Verification notice

The council is required by law to publish a verification notice in February each year, giving information relating to current electorate figures.

Verification notice for 2026 (PDF)

Land and parking information

Land and buildings form part of the council's fixed assets and details of these must be published under the Code, as well as part of our statement of accounts.

This section includes:

  • Information about the council's land and building assets, including social housing assets
  • A breakdown of income and expenditure on the council’s parking account
  • Number of marked out controlled on-street and off-street parking spaces

Social housing asset value

Information about the value of the council's social housing stock that is held on the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

This information provides the public with the value of social housing stock that is held in our Housing Revenue Account.

There is a difference between the sale value of housing with tenants (EUV-SH) and their market sale value.

Please be assured that the publication of this information is not to suggest that tenancies should end to realise the market value of properties.

Transparency Data

Council land and property

Local authorities are required to list details of the property it owns. These reports give details of the property, where it is, and what it is used for. The report also includes our internal property reference number.

The details on the property list change regularly. For more information about the sites on the list please email our Property Team at PropertyEnquiries@walthamforest.gov.uk 

Transparency Data

Parking accounts and spaces

Information about the council's parking accounts and parking spaces including income and expenditure.

The income and expenditure in the council’s parking account including details of revenue collected from on-street parking, off-street parking and penalty charge notices.

Final parking accounts

Final parking accounts

Other transparency information

Including information on Councillor allowances, gifts and interests as well as council inspections and audits.

Councillor allowances, gifts and interests

Information on individual councillor's allowances can be found on the members allowance scheme page.

Details of councillors' declarations of their receipt of gifts and hospitality are also reported in the ethical monitoring report.

Details of councillors' declarations of interests that are made during meetings can be found in the:

  • minutes of individual meetings under declarations of Interests
  • ethical monitoring reports submitted to the council's standards committee

Inspections and audits