Fraud investigation and prosecution
The Transparency Code 2015 requires the Council to publish information about fraud prevention. Suspected Housing Benefit fraud is now investigated by the Department of Work and Pension.
- Total number of employees undertaking investigations and prosecutions of fraud - Absolute - 2; Full time equivalent - 1.4
- Total number of professionally accredited counter fraud specialists - Absolute - 1; Full time equivalent - 1.4 (April 2021 to April 2023)
- Total amount spent by the authority on the investigation and prosecution of fraud - £50,265 (April 2021 to April 2022), £53,345 (April 2022 to April 2023)
- Total number of fraud cases investigated - 148 (April 2021 to April 2022) 104 (April 2022 to April 2023)
To report an instance of fraud, visit Report fraud.
Grants to voluntary and community organisations
All funding which has been allocated is published at Brentwood Council Document Library - Transparency Act.
Funding from 2021:
For more information on funding available, visit Funding.
Land and building assets
Under the Transparency Code 2015, the Council is required to publish details of all land and building assets including:
- all service and office properties occupied or controlled by user bodies, both freehold and leasehold
- any properties occupied or run under Private Finance Initiative contracts
- all other properties they own or use, for example, hostels, laboratories, investment properties and depots
- garages unless rented as part of a housing tenancy agreement
- surplus, sublet or vacant properties
- undeveloped land
- serviced or temporary offices where contractual or actual occupation exceeds three months
- all future commitments, for example under an agreement for lease, from when the contractual commitment is made.
Work is currently in progress to create a database for the publishing of the Council's land and assets, which will be published on this page in due course. In the meantime if you have a query regarding the data, email enquiries@brentwood.gov.uk.
Parking account and spaces
The Transparency Code requires local authorities to publish information about parking accounts, Penalty Charge Notice revenue collected and controlled parking spaces.
On-street parking account
On-street parking enforcement and on-street parking provision is the responsibility of Essex County Council (ECC), the Highway Authority. ECC have delegated this function to the South Essex Parking Partnership (SEPP) Joint Committee who deliver this function on behalf of ECC via an agency agreement.
SEPP consists of the Boroughs, Districts and City Councils from Basildon, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Maldon and Rochford. SEPP holds a single parking account which is the responsibility of the Joint Committee. The Joint Committee is responsible for how any surplus or deficit is managed. All surpluses are managed as per Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act (RTRA) 1984.
The parking enforcement activity in Brentwood contributes to the overall SEPP single parking account. Brentwood Borough Council has no direct control of this account.
The SEPP Joint Committee produces an annual report which provides a breakdown of the enforcement activity and financial performance in each of the partner areas.
South Essex Parking Partnership
Off Street Parking Account 2023/24 (from the Unaudited Statement of Accounts 2023/24)
- Income £1,867,470.73
- Expenditure £1,265,743.46
- Surplus £601,727.27
Where there is a surplus from the parking account, this is used to help fund other street scene services, in particular vehicle fleet management.
The data above can be viewed or downloaded via DataShare or Brentwood Council Document Library - Transparency Act
Parking spaces
| Controlled parking spaces off-street | Number of car parks | Number of spaces |
|---|---|---|
| Surface Car Parks | 22 | 2002 |
| Multi-Storey Car Park | 1 | 543 |
For more information on off-street parking spaces, including the availability of free parking spaces, visit Car Parks.
Electric Vehicle (EV) charging spaces
King George's playing field has 14 EV charging bays and Chatham way has 8 EV charging bays.
Payments to suppliers
All councils are required to publish details of single transactions that are greater than or equal to £500. To provide greater transparency, as of April 2013, we now publish all of our payments to suppliers, including those below £500.
Data from April 2013 and onwards can be viewed or downloaded via DataShare and from February 2021 Brentwood Council Document Library - Transparency Act
Publication of this data forms part of the Council's commitment to transparency and openness with the residents of Brentwood Borough.
If you have any queries regarding any of the payments, email creditors@brentwood.gov.uk. We aim to answer queries within five working days but it may be necessary to make further enquiries within the Council which may take a little longer.
Although we aim to be as transparent as we can, in certain cases we will need to respect information that could be seen as commercially sensitive.
Procurement card purchases
Data since April 2013 is available to view and download via DataShare and from February 2021 Brentwood Council Document Library - Transparency Act
Publication of this data forms part of the Council's commitment to transparency and openness with the residents of Brentwood Borough.
If you have any queries regarding any of the payments, email creditors@brentwood.gov.uk. We aim to answer queries within five working days but it may be necessary to make further enquiries within the Council which may take a little longer.
Procurement information
Details of Brentwood Borough Council contracts can be viewed and are available to download from the Council's information database DataShare and from February 2021 Brentwood Council Document Library - Transparency Act
For details of current competitive tenders and quotations, visit Tender and Quotation Opportunities.
Pay policy and gender pay gap
Pay policy
The objectives of this policy are to ensure a capable and high performing workforce in respect of all employees so remuneration is set sufficient to attract and retain adequately experienced, trained and qualified individuals to deliver the Council's priorities.
We also ensure simplicity, clarity and fairness between employees and between the Council and the community.
The Pay Policy reported on:
- The level and elements of remuneration of chief officers
- The remuneration of the lowest paid employees
- The relationship between chief officers remuneration and that of other officers
Section 38 (1) of the Localism Act 2011 requires all English and Welsh Councils to produce a Pay Policy Statement for 2012/13 and for each financial year thereafter. Regard is to be had to any guidance from the Secretary of State in producing this statement.
The pay policy statement:
- Must be approved formally by the Full Council
- Must be approved by the end of March each year
- May be amended during the course of the financial year
- Must be published on the Council’s website
The statutory pay policy statement must include the Council’s policy on the level and elements of remuneration of chief officers, the remuneration of the lowest paid employees and the relationship between chief officers remuneration and that of other officers.
Full details may be found in the Pay Policy Statement 2022-23 (PDF).
Gender pay gap
From 2017, any organisation that has 250 or more employees must publish and report specific figures about their gender pay gap.
The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of men and women, expressed relative to men’s earnings.
The figures are calculated using a specific reference date. For public sector organisations, this is 31 March and figures must be published within a year of this date.
Employer’s must both:
- Publish their gender pay gap on their public-facing website
- Report their data to government online
Each year, our results will be published on the Datashare section of our website, and on the government gender pay gap reporting service.
View Brentwood Borough Council results: DataShare - Gender Pay Gap
View: Brentwood Borough Council's Gender Pay Gap Statement March 2021 (PDF)
You are able to view the results for other organisations on the Gov.uk website: Gov.uk Gender Pay Gap Search
Senior officer salaries
As part of the Statements of Accounts, which are published annually, are the details of the gross remuneration of all Council officers who received more than £50,000 in that financial year. The below information is from the Unaudited Statement of Accounts 2021/22.
Table 1
| Post | Note | Salary, Fees and Allowances | Bonuses | Employer’s Pension contribution | Total |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Chief Executive | 1 | 129,167 | 12,500 | 28,192 | 169,859 |
| Strategic Director (Deputy Chief Executive) | 84,842 | 0 | 16,621 | 101,463 | |
| Strategic Director (Regeneration & Housing Development) | 2 | 26,185 | 0 | 0 | 26,185 |
| Corporate Director (Planning & Environment) | 70,773 | 0 | 13,821 | 84,594 | |
| Corporate Director (Housing & Community Safety) | 70,773 | 0 | 14,243 | 85,016 | |
| Corporate Director (Environment & Communities) | 70,773 | 0 | 13,821 | 84,594 | |
| Corporate Director (Digital & Customer Engagement) | 35,769 | 0 | 13,029 | 48,798 | |
| Corporate Director (Finance & Resources) - S151 Officer | 81,192 | 0 | 16,157 | 97,349 | |
| Corporate Director (Law & Governance) - Monitoring Officer | 81,186 | 0 | 16,156 | 97,342 | |
| Total | 650,660 | 12,500 | 132,040 | 795,200 |
Remuneration paid to Council's senior employees during 2021/22
Notes
- Chief Executive. The postholder was appointed as joint chief executive of Brentwood District Council and Rochford District Council from 1 February 2022, following a six month trial period. The annualised salary up to 1 February 2022 was £125,000, and the annualised salary from 1 February 2022 was £150,000. The costs of the post are shared equally between the two authorities.
- Strategic Director (Regeneration & Housing Development). The post holder was in post from 4 January 2022. The annualised salary is £106,172.
List 1
Salaries £50,000 p.a. and above (gross) as at 31 March 2022
Senior management
- Chief Executive, Jonathan Stephenson - £129,167
- Strategic Director (Deputy Chief Executive), Steve Summers - £84,842
- Corporate Director of Finance and Resources (Section 151 Officer), Jacqueline van Mellaerts - £81,192
- Corporate Director of Law and Governance (Monitoring Officer), Amanda Julian - £81,186
- Corporate Director of Planning & Economy, Philip Drane - £70,773
- Corporate Director of Housing & Community Safety, Tracey Lilley - £70,773
- Corporate Director of Environment and Communities, Greg Campbell - £70,773
- Corporate Director of Digital and Customer Engagement, Sarah Bennett - £70,773
Other
- Electoral Services Manager - £59,183
- Corporate Finance Manager - £56,316
- Environmental Health Manager - £55,148
- ICT Manager - £56,316
- Housing Services Manager - £56,316
- Partnership Leisure and Funding Manager - £56,316
- Operations Manager - £53,442
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |
| Remuneration Band | Number of Employees | Number of Employees |
| £50,000 - £54,999 | 1 | 8 |
| £55,000 - £59,999 | 6 | 6 |
| £60,000 - £64,999 | 0 | 0 |
| £65,000 + | 0 | 0 |
Costs of temporary, consultant and interim staff which include agency fees totalling more than £50,000 in 2020/21:
- Senior Planner - DHGV - £123,155
- Project Lead - DHGV - £104,674
- Interim Finance Manager - £91,888
- Environmental Health Officer - £83,822
- Housing System Manager - £83,040
- Investment & Asset Management Consultant - £82,983
- Associate Consultant Planner - £78,541
- Executive Business Consultant - £77,504
- Principal Conservation & Urban Design - £68,869
- Legal consultant - £66,446
- Senior Planning officer - £59,785
- Planning enforcement officer - £59,039
The Council may use consultants for their expertise to reduce costs - through delivering better working practices and helping us make savings. Specialist support is also critical when expertise is not immediately available in-house.
Temporary support is also invaluable when an issue being addressed is of limited duration and we only need to buy-in support for a fixed period.
The headline cost of temporary staff tends to be higher than for permanent staff but there are financial advantages in using this type of staff. It is estimated that hidden costs can add 30% to the cost of a permanent member of staff. Temporary staff are not paid these hidden costs such as pension contributions sick pay, training, payment for public holidays or redundancy.
We can also use temporary staff when recruitment process are taking place and cover needs to be provided or for staff absences, such as covering maternity leave, but we don't use temporary staff to service such gaps in our workforce on an ongoing basis.
Local councillors
Information on local councillors can be found by following the links below:
Social housing assets
The Transparency Code 2015 requires the Council to publish information about its Social Housing Assets.
Details of the Council's Social Housing Assets can be viewed and is available to download from the Council's information database DataShare and from February 2021 Brentwood Council Document Library - Transparency Act.
Trade union facility time
Brentwood Borough Council recognises the importance of working with Trades Unions to promote good industrial relations and to comply with the principles set out in the Trades Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 and Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993.
Under the Transparency Code 2015, the Council is required to publish information relating to Trade Union Facility Time.
Trade Union facility time: 1 April 2019 – 31 March 2020
| Number of employees who were relevant union officials during the relevant period: | 1 |
| Full time equivalent employee number | 0.045 |
| Percentage of time | Number of employees |
| 0% | 0 |
| 1-50% | 1 |
| 51-99% | 0 |
| 100% | 0 |
Percentage of time spent on facility time
| Total cost of facility time | £277 |
| Total pay bill | 9,202,991 |
| Percentage of the total pay bill spent on facility time | 0.003 |
Percentage of pay bill spent on facility time
| Time spent on paid trade union activities as a percentage of total paid facility time | 0 |
Paid trade union activities
Waste contract
Under the Transparency Code 2015, local authorities are required to publish information relating to their existing waste collection contracts.
The Council does not have an external household collection contract, as collections are a service provided by the Council. Information on the Council's contracts for waste disposal can be found in the General Information category in DataShare and from February 2021 Brentwood Council Document Library - Transparency Act.
For more information on the Council's refuse and recycling services, visit Waste and Recycling.