In a somewhat surprising about-face last week, Apple eased restrictions on building iPhone and iPad applications, allowing developers to use third-party tools such as Adobe Systems' Flash software.

Though it was only a partial capitulation – the ban on third-party tools is gone, but not the prohibition on apps downloading code, so iPhones/iPads still can't access Flash-based web content – it could help ease enterprise concerns about the relative openness of the iOS platform, particularly compared to Google's Android OS that's steamrolling the smartphone market. 

The U.K. government is feeling some heat for its iPhone application development efforts, including spending as much as £40,000 ($61,000) on a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency app designed to offer users "a masterclass for changing your wheel."

The development costs for the iPhone apps were reported Tuesday by BBC News, which obtained them through a Freedom of Information request. Among the other apps, all of which cost at least £10,000 ($15,000) to develop, were a travel advice app and one for job-seekers, called Jobcentre Plus.