Can I ask what the Salaries part of the finances are and who and why they are paid?

Question

I recently found that the parish council pay around £120k pa in salaries. I know we have the clerk and the gardener on salaries but cannot think who else will be paid. I thought being a Parish Councillor was unpaid except for expenses, or are they able to be paid a salary? I would like a breakdown or who and what is being paid or at least who / what roles are paid roles in the parish. Thank you

Answer 1

I presume from your question that you are not a councillor in which case your starting point would be either your parish council website or perhaps a direct question to your council but councils would, of course, have staff although clearly that depends upon the council and it's responsibilities.    Staff costs include national insurance and pension contributions (if applicable). Whilst you can ask for more detail about who gets paid what, that is generally considered to be data protected information but some councils are a little more forthcoming.
Councillors don't get paid a salary but they may receive an allowance (common in Wales and for larger councils but not so common in smaller parishes) but this is shown separately in the accounts.

Answer 2

It is impossible to say whether £120k for salaries is appropriate / inappropriate without more detail of the subject council.
For example - Is it (by title since the difference is little other than size and turnover) a 'town' or a 'parish' council?

You can look at the latest Annual Governance and Accountability Return which will show macro financial detail and this would allow an assessment of the % of salary costs against other elements.

Rather than the size of the salary bill, what is more relevant is the size of that bill in relation to overall financial liabilities.
2 local town councils showed staff costs (year end 31 Mar 24) as £281,355 and £358,680 so yes, the costs can very easily run away if not diligently scrutinised, managed and monitored (a rarity it seems)

If you are a Cllr and you want to see the detail for your own council you absolutely should be provided answers.  If you are not a Cllr but you have concerns about your council spending you will need to be quite specific in how you frame your question.  For example, it is perfectly reasonable to ask how many paid employees the council has.
The skill is in properly framing the question if you are to stand any chance of a sensible answer from an organisation which operates under a self maintained veil of secrecy.

Answer 3

If the council has income of £200,000+ (which they probably do if they are paying salaries of £120k) then they are subject to the Local Government Transparency Code.

This requires them to publish (to their website) details of all staff paid over £50,000. So check out the councils website. You might have to search a bit, they usually bury it in some hard to find corner. If you can't find it ask the clerk for the information.

They must also publish a staff organisation chart.