Transparency Code Compliance Page

Transparency Code Information FY2023-24

Axminster Town Council is obliged by legislation to adopt, and comply with, the Local Government Transparency Code 2015.

Members have resolved to publish all information on this website so that residents can be assured that the Council

operates in an open and transparent manner. This is in addition to the rights afforded to electors as part of the annual

Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) process. See our Finance pages for further details.

The legislation relating to the Transparency Code can be found by clicking this link

Expenditure over £500 [Published quarterly]

All local authorities with gross income/expenditure over £200,000 per annum are required

to provide full details of all their expenditure over £500. This is a statutory requirement.

Axminster Town Council goes further and follows the recommendations to publish details

of all expenditure over £250 on a monthly "rolling" basis. That information can be found below.

Details of the Town Council's bank reconciliations, earmarked reserves and income/expenditure

can be found on the General Financial Information tab.

Expenditure over £250 [Published monthly]

A recommendation of the Transparency Code legislation is that local authorities publish (monthly) details of their expenditure over £250.

The report HERE is updated monthly and provides such information (individual staff salary payments are redacted for confidentiality)

Government Procurement Card transactions [Published quarterly]

Local authorities MUST publish details of every transaction using a Government Procurement Card (GPC)

As at the time of publication, the Town Council does not hold a GPC and thus no information is published here.

Procurement Information (Contracts and Tenders) [Published quarterly]

Local authorities MUST publish details of every invitation to tender for contracts to provide goods and/or services with a value of

over £5000 (five thousand) or more.

At the time of publication, there is a "live" tender open for receipt of quotes/submissions - GRASS CUTTING CONTRACT.
The value of this contract is not yet determined but is anticipated to be in excess of £5000 per annum.
THE CLOSING DATE FOR THIS TENDER CONTRACT IS 17TH MAY 2024 (NOON)
.

Furthermore, local authorities MUST also publish details of any contract, commissioned activity, purchase order, framework agreement,

or any other legally enforceable agreement with a value of £5000 (excl. VAT) at the time of purchase/contract or over the agreed term of

such contract.

The information must be in a prescribed format (see paragraph 31).

Axminster Town Council publishes the information required in the table found HERE.

Council Land Holdings [Published annually]

Local authorities MUST publish details of all land and building assets.

This information is shown in the report found HERE

Social Housing Assets [Published annually]

Local authorities MUST publish details of the value of all social housing stock that is held in their Housing Revenue Account.

Axminster Town Council owns NO social housing stock or assets and does not maintain a Housing Revenue Account.

NIL RETURN.

Grants to voluntary, social and community organisations [Published annually]

Local authorities MUST publish details of ALL grants to voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE).

The Town Council approved a budget of £10,000 for the financial year 2023-24 towards such grants and the

allocations, and grant awards, this year can be found in the table accessed by clicking GRANTS SCHEDULE FY23-24

If you wish to apply for a grant from the Town Council, please visit our Financial Information page (found under Your Council tab)

on the public access website *
.

* Please note that - as at the 31st March 2024 - the Council's Grant Award Scheme has been suspended pending a review
of the Grant Award Policy and Application Process.

Town Council Organisational Chart [Published annually]

Local authorities MUST publish an organisational chart for the top 3 tiers of the organisation including the information contained in the

table which can be accessed HERE (as such information relates to Axminster Town Council).

Declaration Statement on Senior Salaries [Published annually]

In addition to the information contained within the Organisational Chart shown above,
Axminster Town Council is required to provide further statutory information for employees
earning in excess of £50,000 per annum; this information to include list of responsibilities,
bonuses, benefits-in-kind etc.

As NO employees of this authority earn over £50,000, no information can be published in this section.

Trade Union Facility Time [Published annually]

Local authorities MUST publish the following information on trade union facility time:

Total Number (absolute and FTE) of staff who are union representatives. NONE at Axminster Town Council

Total number (absolute and FTE) of union representatives who devote at least 50% of their paid time to union duties. NONE.

Names of all trade unions represented in the local authority: No formal representation but employees belong to UNISON

Basic estimate of spending on unions (Number of Union representatives x FTE x Average Salary). NONE - £0

Basic estimate of spending on unions as above as a percentage of total pay bill. None - £0

Council income from parking facilities [Published annually]

Axminster Town Council derives NO income from paid parking spaces and therefore does NOT operate
a Parking Revenue Account. The Council also derives NO income from Penalty Charge Notices (PCN)

Axminster Town Council owns NO on-street / off-street parking spaces as assets or leased from 3rd parties.

Parking Spaces provided by the Town Council [Published annually]

Axminster Town Council provides NO marked out controlled on-street or off-street parking amenity
within Axminster Parish (nor elsewhere in the UK) and therefore no further information is published here.

If members of the public wish to enquire about parking facilities in the parish of Axminster, may we respectfully
direct your enquiry to either East Devon District Council or Devon County Council.

Town Council Constitution [Published annually]

Local authorities are required to make their Constitution available for inspection at their offices as per
Section 9P of the Local Government Act 2000. In accordance with the Transparency Code, local authorities
MUST also publish their constitutions on their website.

Axminster Town Council does NOT have a formal Constitution but rather operates under a protocol document
referred to as Town Council Standing Orders which are reviewed and approved by the FULL Council.

A copy of the latest approved copy can be accessed by clicking this link - AXMINSTER TOWN COUNCIL STANDING ORDERS

Town Council Pay Policy Statement [Published annually]

Section 38 of the Localism Act requires Local Authorities to produce a Pay Policy Statement which should
include the authority's policy on pay dispersion - the relationship between the Chief Officers and the
remuneration of other staff.

Section 40 of that same act recommends that the pay multiple be included in this statement as a way of illustrating
the authority's approach to pay dispersion.

Under the Transparency Code, a local authority MUST publish - on their website - the pay multiple (which is defined
as the ratio between the highest paid taxable earnings of the senior most member of staff and the median earnings of the
whole of the authority's workforce.

The ratio of earnings MUST include elements such as remuneration, bonuses, allowances and any cash value of benefits-in-kind.

PENSION BENEFITS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THIS STATEMENTS AS PER STATUTORY REGULATIONS.

In accordance with this statutory requirement, Axminster Town Council publishes the following data:

The pay multiple of the salary of the highest paid member of staff is 1.79:1 of the median salary for all employees of the authority.

LA Counter-Fraud information [Published annually]

Local authorities MUST publish information about their counter-fraud work/activity as follows:

Number of occasions they have used powers under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud (power to require information)
[England] Regulations 2014: No occasions

Total number (absolute and FTE) of employees undertaking investigations and prosecutions of fraud: None (in both cases)

Total number (absolute and FTE) of professionally accredited counter fraud specialists employed: None (in both cases)

Total amount spent by the authority on the investigation and prosecution of fraud: £0 (zero)

Total number of fraud cases investigated: None

Total number of cases of irregularity investigated: None

Total number of occasions on which a) fraud and b) irregularity were identified: None for both

Town Council waste and recycling contracts [Published annually]

In accordance with paragraph 32 of the Transparency Code, local authorities MUST publish details of any and all
waste and recycling contracts that exceed £5000 (five thousand) per annum.

Axminster Town Council have entered into NO waste or recycling contracts that exceed this annual amount.

Town Council - Method of Publication Statement

In accordance with the legislation contained within the Transparency Code, public data should be
published in a format (and under a licence that allows for open re-use, including commercial and
research purposes) in order to maximise value to the public. The most recent Open Government Licence
published by the National Archives should be used as the recommended standard for publication.

Where any copyright or data ownership concerns exist with public data, these should be made clear.
Data covered by Part Two of this Code must be published in open and machine-readable formats.

Axminster Town Council believes that its publication protocol accords to these guidelines and requirements.

However, if you wish to access the data and find yourself unable to do so, please contact the Clerk to the Town Council who will
make any such information available to you within the shortest period of time possible and in accordance with the requirements of
this Transparency Code. The Town Council believes that it complies with One Star tier of the Five Step journey ie publication
in an open licence (any) format. At this time, the Town Council does not feel able to provide the information in any other manner
but will always aspire to publish data in the public interest at the highest level of formatting possible and achievable within the
constraints of the IT systems and staffing resource available to the authority.