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Local government transparency in England

This briefing paper provides details of the following aspects of local government transparency:

• Codes of recommended practice on local authority data transparency
• Rights of access to local authority meetings
• Local authority ‘pay policy statements’, setting out the remuneration of chief officers, and the ratio between the highest-paid and lowest-paid employees
• The Code of recommended practice on local authority publicity
• Filming of, and social media use in, council meetings.

The code on data transparency, and regulations on filming in council meetings, apply in England. Codes on local authority publicity apply in England, Scotland and Wales. Rights of access to local authority meetings, and pay policy statements, apply in England and Wales.