New Government platform shares data on £100bn worth of grants awarded last year
Melanie May | 26 October 2017 | News
The Government has published £100bn of grant data for the 2016/17 financial year through its new Government Grants Information System (GCIS).
The GCIS, which was announced last year, holds data on the billions of pounds worth of grants government departments made in 2016/17 with the aim of providing greater transparency, improving efficiency and countering fraud. According to the Government, GGIS enables grants data to be recorded and reported across government departments in a simple, standardised and scalable way, and represents the most comprehensive picture of the grants landscape available to government. Grants range from government funding for schools, to UK Sport grants, to funding for Bus Service Operators.
The data for the Department for Transport and the Ministry of Justice has also been released to a standard format developed by the 360Giving initiative, which means it is available to the public and can be compared with that of other grant making organisations to provide a bigger picture of the UK funding landscape.
The grant data is collected at scheme and awards level where the scheme is related to an overarching policy area and the grant award is given out to meet the objectives of the grant scheme. The GGIS does not reflect the total funding of all sectors or organisations but that received by means of a grant. Additional funding awarded through contracts or other funding mechanisms is not recorded.
John Manzoni, Chief Executive of the Civil Service and Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, said:
“We spend more than £100bn a year on government grants. We will continue to ensure that this money is being spent effectively. Through the GGIS, for the first time, we are able to collect more extensive data across government departments, not only on the levels of grant giving, but also how the process is being managed within each department.
“The new system will reinforce our drive for efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in how we do our business in government and gives us greater assurance identifying and preventing fraud.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.