Open Data and Data Transparency

Open Data

Open Data is about being transparent - sharing our information with the wider community, and giving you the opportunity to use that data as you like, including for commercial and research activities. The data is published under the Open Government Licence.

Where possible and relevant, we have made this data available in both a 'human-readable' format (such as PDF) and an open, 'machine-readable' format that is not dependent on any specific software (such as CSV or XML).

If you have any questions about our open data, or would like to request the publication of a particular dataset, please email webmaster@ribblevalley.gov.uk. You can also read our publication scheme, which lists the information we make available as part of our obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Data Transparency

The government has pledged greater transparency across the public sector through publishing data. As a public body, spending tax payers money, we strive to be open and accountable in the way we do business.

The Government believes that in principle all data held and managed by local authorities should be made available to local people unless there are specific sensitivities (eg. protecting vulnerable people or commercial and operational considerations) to doing so.

Ribble Valley Borough Council is committed to being open and transparent about how we work, our decision-making processes and the services we provide. As part of this commitment we are increasing the amount of data that we make available publicly so that residents are able to hold us to account better.

We have used the government's Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency, which recommends the datasets councils should make available as a minimum, as a starting point for deciding what information we should make available.

We have also used your feedback and requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to identify additional datasets for publication. We will continue to increase the number of datasets that we make available over time, where resources and capacity permit and there is a clear public demand for the information.