Datablog + Government data

Local council spending over £500: Islington first published its data in PDF format - now it publishes as XLS. Photograph: Garry Weaser for the Guardian

Ask every local authority in England to publish all its spending over £500 in an open format and what do you get? A whole load of PDFs. Get our list of the best and the worst
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Government spending releases by Information is Beautiful. Click image for full graphic. By David McCandless

Government spending data released today shows what gets spent on every item of government spending, from the smallest to the biggest

The Birmingham new hospitals PFI project. Photograph: Balfour Beatty

New government spending figures have focused attention on PFI deals. How much profit are private companies making from them? Here's the key data

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By publishing the Whitehall accounts, David Cameron's government will need more than just posturing to explain itself. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images

Analysis: The Whitehall accounts mean the government is more exposed than ever and civil servants have to justify every payment

Government spending over £25,000: the biggest private companies. Click image for full graphic Photograph: Paul Scruton for the Guardian

The government has released spending by every department over £25,000. How important is it, how big is it and what have we missed?

Member of Royal Marines 4 Troop, Bravo Company, 40 Commando at Sangin in preparation for the handover to the Americans at the end of Op Herrick. Photograph: LA(PHOT) Si Ethell/PA

What is the human cost of the war in Afghanistan for British forces? As British troop deaths exceed 300, these are the latest figures - including new wounded and amputation statistics

There has been a suprise fall in people claiming unemployment benefit. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

The number of people claiming jobless benefits in Britain last month has fallen for the first time since July

Inflation is rising again. Photograph: guardian.co.uk

What's happening to the cost of living? Get the full data

Government spending needs us to be paying tax Continue reading...

A page of council data has been released this week with information ranging from motorcycle parking and cemetries' locations to ward boundaries and public toilets in the city.

It's the first such downloadable information to be released from the council and follows hot on heels of neighbouring authorities Trafford Council (data downloads here ) and Salford Council (data downloads here).

A spokeswoman said the council was now reviewing the data it can provide with a view to releasing a second phase by the end of the year.
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Spending on temporary doctors has topped £750 million a year. Photograph: Hongqi Zhang/Alamy

Temporary doctors are costing the NHS more than £750m a year. Find the data for your local trust

Open data in Toronto: open data initiatives are springing up all over Canada

The US and the UK might get all the attention but should we be looking to Canada for innovative open data initiatives?

Departmental business plans launched: David Cameron addresses civil servants at the Foreign Office, speaking of a shift in power from government to the people. Photograph: Wpa Pool/Getty Images

Government departments in Whitehall have published their business plans - and Downing Street has launched a new Transparency site. Find out what they have committed to - and what it will cost

Housing benefit reforms: the immediate impact, mapped by Shelter. Click image for full graphic.

Housing benefit reform is proving controversial. New analysis shows many of Britain's cities will bust the new government caps within years. Find out where they are