Kingston Council has pledged to protect personal details of its staff who may be put at risk by demands for greater financial transparency by the coalition Government.

Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities, wrote to local authorities this week to push for details of all spending items more than £500 on the internet by September, to encourage transparency and greater competition for local government services.

A spokesman for Kingston Council said its website currently publishes details of allowances and expenses paid to councillors, as well as pay and expenses for senior staff.

He said: “In common with colleagues in all other councils we are now working to identify the best way to meet the Secretary of State’s request.

“Public bodies need to ensure that we extract the relevant data from payments systems in such a way that we do not make inappropriate disclosures of any personal information.”

Mr Pickles said he hoped to “revolutionise” local government by allowing voluntary and private companies to get a clearer idea of how they could provide services at a lower cost to the taxpayer.

He said: “Throwing open the council books will open the door to new businesses and encourage greater innovation and entrepreneurism.

“Organisations that might have been effectively locked out before, including voluntary sector and small business, will be in a much stronger position to pitch for contracts and bring new ideas and solutions to the table.”