Improving the accessibility of government's data and information about the public finances
This report shares lessons learned from Scotland's work to improve public finance transparency, including trialling a fiscal portal, enhancing budget accessibility, and identifying what's needed to make fiscal data more open and reusable for all.
A common goal to work towards
We used the findings and recommendations from the research to co-create a commitment, between government and civil society partners, in Scotland’s third National Action Plan[2]. This commitment was to improve the accessibility and usability of the government’s data and information about public finances, to enable better understanding and scrutiny for a wide range of users, including citizens. Our commitment included actions to improve budget information and engagement on the public finances. A key element of our commitment was the exploration of a digital fiscal portal service, to improve the accessibility, and presentation of the government’s current fiscal data over time.