Council chiefs have demanded the DCLG give a firm funding commitment to local authorities to cover the cost of a new legally-binding transparency code.

The request follows today's announcement by communities secretary, Eric Pickles, that all councils with annual gross incomes of more than £6.5m must sign up to a legally binding transparency code.

In a move which replace the previous voluntary code, councils will now be obliged under the statutory provisions to publish additional financial information - including spending on corporate credit cards.

Councils will also be forced to explain in greater detail on how money is raised from parking charges.

A DCLG spokesman said this would include the number of off/on street parking spaces and would help residents ‘go compare' local parking charges with neighbouring authorities.

Included under the new transparency obligations are greater data on the £220bn property assets held by councils and information on local authority contracts and tenders to help small firms bid for town hall business.

‘Councils need to make sensible savings to help freeze council tax and protect frontline services,' said Mr Pickles.

‘This new wave of town hall transparency will empower armchair auditors to expose municipal waste - from surplus offices, corporate credit cards to trade union pilgrims, and help councillors drive down costs.

‘Greater power for local government must go hand in hand with greater local transparency and local accountability.'

In a separate report, the DCLG has claimed the data demands on local authorities have been cut by around one third since 2010.  According to Eland House's Single Data List, the abolition of the Comprehensive Area Assessment and Local Area Agreements has seen the axing of 63 town hall data burdens and the reduction in scale of a further 19.

But in response, Cllr Tim Cheetham, transparency lead on the Local Government Association's (LGA's) improvement and innovation board said a lack of resources to prepare and publish data was the greatest barrier.

‘We are pleased that government has recognised this by reducing their original proposals but councils need a firm commitment that they will receive adequate funding to cover these new expectations,' said Cllr Cheetham.

The full list of information councils will be required to publish quarterly includes: