The rise marks a considerable month-on-month slowing from March’s 28% increase, which took sales classified under the “local government” banner to £2.47m.

However the sector is bucking an over-all trend that has seen total G-Cloud sales fall in April compared with the previous two months. Data published by the Cabinet Office shows purchases valued at £31.9m were made across all buyer types, against transactions worth £38.6m in March and £39.2m in February.

Since G-Cloud began in April 2012, a total of £591.11m has been spent through it. The latest figures give local government a cumulative total of £35.91m, or 6.07% of the total spend. Central government has accounted for 76% of G-Cloud spending.

April saw 210 G-Cloud purchases made by local authorities, a category that also includes housing associations and mayoral quango Transport for London.

As with March’s figures, the biggest local government item was £325,000 spent by Hampshire County Council on services provided by consultancy Deloitte. The Cabinet Office data does not specify what the payment covers.

The department said that to date 49% of total sales by value, and 58% by volume, had been awarded to SMEs across the whole G-Cloud framework.

The Cabinet Office also announced that the cumulative total of purchases made through the Digital Services Framework (DSF) now stood at £16.41m.

A detailed breakdown of DSF sales is not released, but the Cabinet Office said 87% of purchases were made by central government.