The Local Government Transparency Code (2015) applies to all local authorities, including parish councils, which have gross annual income or expenditure in excess of £200k. The Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities applies to all smaller authorities where the gross income or gross expenditure is £25,000 or less. Scarisbrick Parish Council’s annual turnover is slightly more than £25k so neither of these regulations apply.
There are currently no legal requirements explicitly for transparency on local councils with turnover between £25,000 and £200,000. However, guidelines in the Local Government Transparency in England Briefing Paper (2016) state – “Parish councils with a ‘turnover’ of between £25,000 and £200,000 will be expected to follow the Local Government Transparency Code 2015”. In reality SPC already publishes data in relation to both codes (where applicable) on this website. The purpose of this page is to provide a convenient source of links to the required data under BOTH codes, or to explain the reasons for it being unavailable.
Transparency code for smaller authorities – Information which should be published:
a) All items of expenditure above £100. This information is present within the finance section of approved minutes for each Council meeting. Minutes can be accessed by clicking here.
b) End of year accounts (including links to bank reconciliations and explanations of any significant variances compared to the previous year’s accounts). Click here.
c) Annual governance statements. Click here.
d) Internal audit reports. Click here.
e) List of councillors and their nominated responsibilities (please note that SPC does not have any committees). Click here.
f) Details of public land and building assets (i.e. Millennium Wood). Click here.
g) Agendas for Council meetings. Click here.
h) Minutes of Council meetings. Click here.
Local government transparency code (2015) – Information which should be published:
a) All items of expenditure above £500. This information is present within the finance section of approved minutes for each Council meeting. Minutes can be accessed by clicking here.
b) Scarisbrick Parish Council does not have a Government Procurement Card.
c) Scarisbrick Parish Council has not invited tenders for contracts with a value that exceeds £5,000.
d) Scarisbrick Parish Council has no contracts with a value that exceeds £5,000, neither is it a party in any local purchase order, commissioned activity, framework agreement or any legally enforceable agreement with a value that exceeds £5,000. There is no waste collection contract, this function is outside the Council’s remit and is carried out by principal authorities.
e) For details of public land (i.e. Millennium Wood), click here. Scarisbrick Parish Council has no other land or property, no social housing assets, and does not administer any parking spaces.
f) The following requests for grants were received in the 2022/23 financial year and were awarded in the sums shown:
- St Mark’s Church (for maintenance): £150 awarded in June 2022.
- Good Shepherd Mission (for maintenance): £150 awarded in June 2022.
- Friends of Bescar Lane Station (for planting and maintenance): £100 awarded in June 2022.
- Royal British Legion (poppy wreath donation): £50 awarded in November 2022.
- Scarisbrick Litter Group (purchase of equipment): £54 awarded in February 2023.
g) The Clerk/RFO is the Proper Officer of the Council and its only employee (information on pay dispersion is therefore not applicable). This is a permanent part-time post. The Clerk’s salary ceiling is defined by SCP17 (pro rata) on pay scales agreed by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services. The Clerk’s contact details can be accessed by clicking here.
h) Scarisbrick Parish Council has no employees whose annual remuneration is £50k or more. No employee is a trade union representative and no time is spent on trade union business.
i) Scarisbrick Parish Council’s constitution can be accessed by clicking here.
j) The provisions of this code in terms of dedicated counter-fraud work do not apply to Scarisbrick Parish Council.