AI DOGE
Public spending records, from the files public bodies publish themselves
What it is
AI DOGE is an independent public spending transparency platform I built. Councils in England are required to publish every payment they make above a threshold, usually £500. AI DOGE collects those files, reads them into one common set of fields, and makes them searchable by public body and by supplier.
Where the figures come from
- Each body's own published payment files, taken as they are and read mechanically. No figure is retyped by hand.
- Budget and outturn figures from the returns councils submit to central government.
- Every page names the source it used and links to it.
How it is checked
Processed totals are reconciled back to the council's own published outturn return, or to its published budget where the outturn is not yet due. A mis-read column then shows up as a number that does not add up. A council year that does not reconcile shows no total at all.
What it will not do
- It does not estimate. A figure that is not in a source document is left out.
- It does not rank councils by what they spend, because the periods held differ from council to council.
- It does not name individuals. Payments to individuals are counted in totals and never listed, and redactions in the published files are kept.
What spending data does not show
Payments above the threshold are not a council's whole budget. Staff pay, most small purchases and internal transfers are outside the published files. A total on AI DOGE is a total of what was published, not what the council spends.
Coverage and corrections
Coverage is uneven because publication is. The coverage page lists every body and what is held for it. If AI DOGE and a council's own file disagree, the council's file is right. Corrections are recorded on the method page with the original figure, the corrected figure and the date. Right of reply and complaints are set out in its policies.