Where the Money Goes

Councils publish a great deal about their spending. Almost nobody reads it, because it arrives as spreadsheets and map layers rather than answers. These charts are built directly from North Ayrshire Council's own open data and update themselves as the council publishes more.

We start with North Ayrshire because its published data is the most complete of the three. South and East Ayrshire will follow as their data allows.

How much stays in Ayrshire?

Of every pound a council pays to suppliers, some stays with local firms and some leaves the area. This is the number community wealth building is built on — and it is measurable.

The total bill

This is what one of Ayrshire's three councils pays out to suppliers in a year.

Empty shops and units

Empty commercial premises get rates relief, which means the council keeps a list. It is the closest thing to a public measure of high street vacancy.

What this does and doesn't tell you

We want to be straight about the limits of this, because a campaign that overstates its evidence deserves to lose.

• This is one council, not three. Until the same figures exist for South and East Ayrshire, no comparison between them is possible here.
• None of this proves that merging councils would save money. It shows what one council spends and where it goes. Whether one council would do better is exactly the question a feasibility study exists to answer.
• Supplier location means the registered address of the company, which is not always where the work happens or where the staff live.
• The figures are the council's own. If they are wrong, they are wrong at source, and we would rather be corrected than quietly adjust them.

Why we publish this

The case for reform should rest on evidence that anyone can check. Making the council's own figures readable is a small contribution to that — and it is useful whether or not you agree with us about unification.