Public sector must share data

Police, NHS and local authorities should start sharing data to ensure their partnerships aren't wasting taxpayers' money, a government watchdog has warned.

The Audit Commission has published a report, Governing Partnerships: Bridging the Accountability Gap, which says the benefits of public sector partnerships are "undermined by blurred lines of accountability leading to poor value for money".

One way to provide better value, according to an AC spokesperson, is for governments to ensure various departments are sharing the latest information.

He said: "Information is important in any organisation. Once you get into a partnership, getting information around becomes clearly more important. For a partnership to [work], you can only deliver if you've got up-to-date data."

The UK currently has around 5,500 public sector partnerships, which account for £4bn worth of public expenditure.

The AC urges public bodies to break any partnerships where the costs outweigh the benefits.