When your precept rises,
your accountability must too.
Council Clearsight gives parish and town councils an independent, evidence-based performance score — the Verifiable Digital Transparency Index — delivered as a clear, publishable report that demonstrates your value to every resident who pays the precept.
Parish precepts have risen by £654m over five years. Residents are asking harder questions. Council Clearsight gives you the answers — and subscribing councils receive their updated assessment within 4 weeks.
Free snapshot — no payment required. See your council's VDTI score in seconds.
National picture — LGA Research, October 2025
Three reasons every council needs Council Clearsight in 2026
Precept pressure is intensifying
Parish precepts have been rising in recent years, and residents and principal councils are asking harder questions about value for money. Council Clearsight provides independent evidence to help demonstrate that the precept is being well-spent.
See the methodologyDevolution is expanding your role
The English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill (currently before Parliament) proposes new powers and responsibilities for the parish tier. Councils that can demonstrate accountability and community engagement will be first in line to receive them.
Read the clerk's guideLCAS accreditation made easier
Council Clearsight's four pillars map directly onto the Local Council Award Scheme criteria. Hundreds of councils are actively working towards Foundation, Quality, or Quality Gold status. Council Clearsight provides the independent evidence base your application needs.
LCAS evidence guideSee your council's VDTI score in 60 seconds
Enter your council name, provide your email address, and receive a free personalised one-page Snapshot showing your current VDTI score, pillar breakdown, national ranking, and your two most impactful improvement opportunities.
Your VDTI score out of 100 (public max)
Calculated from publicly observable data
Four-pillar breakdown
Digital Presence, Contact, Community, Delivery
National & regional ranking
How you compare to peer councils
Top 2 improvement opportunities
Specific, actionable, evidence-based
Full 21-page report with 8 evidence-based recommendations available via subscription from £249/yr.
Independent evidence. No forms to fill in.
Council Clearsight assesses your council using only publicly available evidence. You don't self-report, prepare documents, or fill in questionnaires. We do the work.
We gather the evidence
Our team assesses your council across 13 observable indicators using publicly available sources — website, minutes, annual report, social media, and more.
We calculate your VDTI score
Your score is calculated across four weighted pillars: Digital Presence, Governance & Transparency, Community Connectivity, and Accessibility & Inclusion.
We benchmark against peers
Your council is compared against a matched peer group — same council type, similar geography and population. Every comparison is fair and meaningful.
You receive a publishable report
Your report arrives with your score, pillar breakdown, peer comparison, and evidence-based recommendations. Ready to share with residents and councillors.
A 21-page report your council will be proud to publish
Every Council Clearsight report includes a full VDTI score breakdown, pillar-by-pillar analysis with observable evidence, local demographic context, peer benchmarking, and eight evidence-based recommendations — each with specific actions, cited sources, and projected VDTI impact.
The report is designed to be shared. Every subscriber receives a resident-facing summary PDF they can publish on their website and social media without editing.
Sample — Crewkerne Town Council · Assessment: January–March 2026
VDTI Score · Top 25% nationally
Full 100-point scale available to subscribers
The independent evidence base for your Local Council Award Scheme application
The Local Council Award Scheme (Foundation, Quality, Quality Gold) assesses councils against criteria that map directly onto Council Clearsight's four pillars. If your council is working towards LCAS accreditation, Council Clearsight provides the independent, third-party evidence your application needs.
Unlike self-assessment, Council Clearsight evidence is gathered from publicly observable sources and independently verified — exactly the standard LCAS assessors expect.
LCAS: Governance & Compliance
→ Digital Presence pillar
LCAS: Community Connectivity
→ Community Connectivity pillar
LCAS: Council Improvement
→ Accessibility & Inclusion pillar
LCAS: Resident Accountability
→ Governance & Transparency pillar
Foundation Award
Demonstrates lawful operation and basic governance standards. Council Clearsight's Digital Presence pillar provides the independent evidence base.
Quality Award
Requires evidence of good practice across governance, community engagement, and council improvement — all three of which Council Clearsight measures independently.
Quality Gold Award
The highest LCAS standard. Council Clearsight's full four-pillar assessment, with trend data across multiple reporting periods, provides the comprehensive evidence base Gold applications require.
Schools identified via GIAS register
We cross-reference your council boundary with the Department for Education's GIAS register to identify all primary and secondary schools in your area.
Three-source evidence assessment
We search your council's website, published meeting minutes, and accounts for verifiable evidence of engagement with local schools.
Documented engagement, not proximity
The score reflects whether your council has demonstrably engaged with schools — not just whether schools happen to be nearby.
School engagement evidence — assessed, not assumed
Council Clearsight identifies schools in your area using the DfE GIAS register, then searches for publicly verifiable evidence that your council has engaged with those schools through its website, meeting minutes, and published accounts.
A detailed school engagement evidence review is included in Clearsight+ subscriptions and available as an add-on for Clearsight subscribers.
See how councils in your region compare
The Council Clearsight Directory publishes VDTI scores for 10,800+ councils across England, growing towards full coverage of all 10,000+. Every score is computed from publicly observable data and can be independently verified.
Monthly deep-dive analysis — free to read
Each month, Council Clearsight publishes a detailed public analysis of one council's VDTI performance — covering their score, what they do well, where they could improve, and what the local context tells us. Free to read, shareable, and independently researched.
Crewkerne Town Council
Somerset · VDTI Score: 81/95 · Top 1% nationally
A council with strong digital presence and structural completeness scores, facing a clear opportunity in contact transparency — and navigating one of the most significant planning decisions in its recent history. Assessment period: January–March 2026.
The Clearsight Dispatch
Monthly insights on council transparency, ranking updates, and community engagement — delivered free to your inbox.
- Monthly VDTI rankings update — see who's moved up (or down)
- Case studies: how councils improved their transparency score
- School engagement evidence — community connectivity in action
- Policy & legislation updates affecting parish councils
- Early access to new Council Clearsight features and reports
Free forever. Unsubscribe any time. No spam, ever.