Gordon Brown wants expenses put on the internet and web
inventorTim
Berners-Leeto improve access to government
data, he said in a speech today.
The Prime Minister was addressing the issue of constitutional
reform following the
expenses scandal which has rocked the government.
He said in a speech in the House of Commons, "So that government
information is accessible and useful for the widest possible group
of people, I have asked Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who led the creation
of the worldwide web, to help us drive the opening up of access to
government data on the web over the coming months."
He added, "All MPs' past and future expenses should and will be
published on the internet."
He predicted that the move would improve transparency, and
"given the vital role transparency has played in sweeping away the
decrepit system of allowances, and holding power to account, I
believe we should do more to spread the culture and practice of
freedom of information".
Brown's comments came a few days after the Cabinet Office
published a blog saying it was looking at ways of
improving access to government data, following the example of
the Obama administration, which has launched
data.gov.