Here below you will find everything to do with The Council Accountability & Finance
There is an annual Town Meeting held every year between 1st March and 1st June, where members of the public are invited to come and ask questions of the Mayor and Chairs of the main committees.
READ THE MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Town Meeting Minutes 2022 | 172 KB | |
| Annual Town Meeting Minutes 2019 | 317 KB |
This Code was adopted by the Council on 7th December 2021 under Section 27 of the Localism Act 2011
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| WTC Code Of Conduct | 286 KB |
The Freedom of Information Act allows you to access information held by us (subject to certain exemptions).
Our publication scheme sets out the information that we hold and where it can be found. It also defines exempt material and our charging policy.
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| FOI Publication Scheme | 113 KB |
If you can’t find the information you are looking for, please submit a request using the form below.
We will acknowledge your request within 5 working days and respond within the required 20 working days.
You can view FOI requests received and the responses provided here
More information is available at the Information Commissioner’s Office website.
Privacy Policy
The EU regulation known as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force on 25 May 2018 and the Government has confirmed that it will introduce new legislation to repeal the Data Protection Act 1998. This information will be updated when legislation has been passed.
This privacy policy sets out how Wokingham Town Council uses and protects any information that you give us when you use our services.
For the purposes of GDPR, Wokingham Town Council is the Data Controller (the holder, user and processor) of this information.
Wokingham Town Council is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.
Wokingham Town Council may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from April 2018.
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy Policy | 391 KB |
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure,we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
How we use cookies
A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
The right to access personal data we hold on you
At any point you can contact us to request the personal data we hold on you as well as why we have that personal data, who has access to the personal data and where this data was obtained from. If you require this information please complete the form here
Financial Reports
Click on the links below to download the Town Council’s financial reports.
These are in CSV format which is compatible with all common spreadsheet programs.
Expenditure over £500
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Over £500 1st November to 31st December 2024 | 238 KB | |
| Over £500 1st September to 31st October 2024 | 70 KB | |
| Over £500 1st July to 31st August 2024 | 285 KB | |
| Over £500 1st to 30th June 2024 | 206 KB | |
| Over £500 1st Apr to 31st May 2024 | 56 KB | |
| Over £500 1st Jan to 31st Mar 2024 | 14 KB | |
| Over £500 1 Sept to 31 Dec 2023 | 13 KB | |
| Over £500 1 July – 30th Sept | 20 KB | |
| Over £500 1st April – 30 June 2023 | 11 KB | |
| April 2022 to March 2023 | 45 KB | |
| 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 | 15 KB |
Audit requirements
2023-2024
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Town and Parish CIL 2023-2024 | 111 KB | |
| WTC AGAR 2023-2024 | 664 KB | |
| Closure of Audit 2023-24 Notice | 42 KB | |
| WTC AGAR 2023-2024 | 680 KB | |
| WTC supporting info | 34 KB | |
| Notice of appointment for the exercise of public rights 2023-2024 | 99 KB | |
| Summary of rights for local authority | 114 KB | |
| Internal audit report 4 September 2023 | 189 KB | |
| Internal audit report 4 March 2024 | 192 KB | |
| Internal audit report 29 April 2024 | 206 KB |
2022-2023
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Town and Parish Council CIL 2022-23 | 115 KB | |
| Audit Approved Annual Return 2022-23 Part 2 | 152 KB | |
| Audit Approved Annual Return 2022-23 Part 1 | 136 KB | |
| Closure of Audit 2022-23 Notice | 42 KB | |
| WTC AGAR 2022-2023 | 559 KB | |
| WTC Supporting Information | 79 KB | |
| Notice of appointment date | 77 KB | |
| Summary of rights for local authority | 99 KB |
2021-2022
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Town and Parish Council CIL 2021-22 | 107 KB | |
| Closure of Audit 2021-22 2nd Notice | 42 KB | |
| Audit Approved Annual Return 2021-22 part 2 | 149 KB | |
| Audit Approved Annual return 2021-22 part 1 | 231 KB | |
| Notice of Appointment of date of Electors Rights Audit Notice for Display 1st notice | 266 KB | |
| AGAR 2021-2022 Supporting Statement | 266 KB |
2020-2021
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Town and Parish Council CIL 2020-21 | 114 KB | |
| Audit Approved Annual Return 20-21 part 2 | 142 KB | |
| Audit Approved Annual Return 2020-21 Part1 | 186 KB | |
| Notice of Appointment date of Electors Rights Audit Notice 202-21 1st notice | 100 KB | |
| AGAR 2020-21 Subject to external audit review | 512 KB |
The Town Council owns and/or manages the following properties and land on behalf of local residents.
FREEHOLD ASSETS
Buildings
Town Hall (RG40 1AS)
Emmbrook Village Hall (RG41 1JN)
Parks
Howard Palmer Gardens
Joel Park & Holt Copse
King George V Playing Field
Langborough Recreation Ground
Leslie Sears Playing Field
Redlands Park Farm
Allotments
Ormonde Road
Latimer Road
Gipsy Lane
Binfield Road
Mulberry Grove
Title Number
BK444164
BK152146
Title Number
BK247735 & BK95702
BK247735 & BK297252
BK167542 & BK463373
BK458141
BK171162
BK138424
Title Number
BK461334
BK460265
BK460274
TBC
BK503376
MANAGED ASSETS
Buildings
Woosehill Community Hall (RG41 3DA)
Parks
Viking Field
Elms Field
Allotments
St Paul’s Gate
Ifould Crescent
Penny Row
Owner
Wokingham Borough Council
Owner
Wokingham Borough Council
Wokingham Borough Council
Owner
Wokingham Free Church Burial Ground
Transfer to town council in progress
Transfer to town council in progress
The Council’s business is governed by Standing Orders.
The Council’s financial management is governed by Standing Financial Regulations
Risk is the threat that an event or action will adversely affect an organisation’s ability to achieve its objectives and to successfully execute its strategies.
Risk Management is the process by which risks are identified, evaluated and controlled and is an essential feature of good governance. An organisation that manages risk well is more likely to achieve its objectives.
The Town Council has adopted a structured approach to Risk Management. Click on the links below for more information.
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| WTC risk register Council Year 2022-23 Nov 23 revision | 158 KB |
Using this website
This website is run by Wokingham Town Council. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. The theme used for this Website is WCAG compliant see WCAG Compliant Theme for more details. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
- navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:
- most older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
- the Facebook feed on main page does not respond to text size enlargement
What to do if you can’t access parts of this website
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:
- email – control@wokingham-tc.gov.uk
- call 0118 9783185
We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, contact: webmaster@wokingham-tc.gov.uk
Enforcement procedure
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Wokingham Town Council is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
Issues with technology
Third Party add-ons such as the Facebook feed do not allow text resizing
We’ve assessed the cost of fixing these issues and believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when we next do a major redevelopment of the website.
Issues with PDFs and other documents
The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Issues with images, video and audio
We add alt text to all images on the home page. We don’t plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
How we tested this website
This website was last tested in November 2023. The test was carried out by ourselves at Wokingham Town Council. This was only basic testing.
We tested:
- our main website platform, available at Wokingham-tc.gov.uk
This statement was prepared on 9 July 2019. It was last updated on 30th January 2024
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Safeguarding Policy 2022 | 483 KB |
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Investment Strategy Policy 2022 | 152 KB |
About the Transparency Code
The government has published ‘The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency’ which effectively recommends parish councils which have a gross annual income or expenditure (whichever is the higher) of a least £200,000 to publish ‘Public Data’.
The Government has implemented this Code of Practice for local authorities to provide greater transparency of public bodies, which is at the heart of their mandate to enable greater democratic accountability over how council tax and public money is spent. However, Public Data does not include personal information as this would contravene the Data Protection Act 2018.
In accordance with the Code of Recommended Practice and general good practice, Wokingham Town Council makes the following information available:
Expenditure exceeding £500
Local authorities must publish details of each individual item of expenditure that exceeds £500. This includes items of expenditure, consistent with Local Government Association guidance. This must be published quarterly. Wokingham Town Council chooses to publish this quarterly. The information is in section above this ‘Financial Reports’
Procurement Information
Publish details of every invitation to tender for contracts to provide goods and/or services with a value that exceeds £5,000. Publish details of any contract, commissioned activity, purchase order, framework agreement and any other legally enforceable agreement with a value that exceeds £5,000. This must be published quarterly.
When contracts are up for renewal they can be found under the NEWS section page of our website.
Local Authority Land
Local authorities must publish details of all land and building assets. This must be published annually.
This information is shown under Assets on this page.
Social Housing Asset Value
Local authorities must publish details on the value of social housing assets within local authorities Housing Revenue Account. This must be published annually.
The Town Council does not hold any Social Housing Assets.
Grants to Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Organisations
Publish details of all grants to voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations.
The Town Council’s Grant Award Policy, can be downloaded from the grant page of our website. Minutes of the meeting where grants were decided can be found Here
Organisation Chart
Publish an organisation chart covering staff in the top three levels of the organisation. This must be published annually.
The Town Council currently employees 18 members of staff. The chart is Here
Trade Union Facility Time
This must be published annually.
The Town Council does not have any Trade Union representatives.
Parking Account
Local authorities must publish on their website, or place a link on their website to this data if published elsewhere: a breakdown of income and expenditure on the authority’s parking account, and a breakdown of how the authority has spent a surplus on its parking account. This must be published annually.
The Town Council does not have a parking account.
Parking Spaces
Local authorities must publish the number of marked out controlled on and off-street parking spaces within their area, or an estimate of the number of spaces where controlled parking space is not marked out in individual parking bays or spaces. This must be published annually.
The Town Council does not control any parking in Wokingham.
Senior Salaries
The Town Council is required to publish details of any senior employees (including job descriptions, responsibilities, budgets, and number of staff) earning over £50,000 per annum. This must be published annually.
In 2024-25, 1 member of staff falls into this category, and their remuneration falls into the £60,000 to £65,000 band. Details of the role, responsibility, budget and number of staff can be found here.
Constitution
Local authorities must publish their Constitution on their website. This must be published annually.
The Council’s business is governed by Standing Orders.
The Council’s financial management is governed by Standing Financial Regulations
Committee Attendance
This information is shown as part of the Annual Town Council Meeting
| Title | File Size | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance 2022-2023 | 118 KB |
Pay Multiple
Publish the pay multiple on their website defined as the ratio between the highest taxable earnings for the given year (including base salary, variable pay, bonuses, allowances and the cash value of any benefits-in-kind) and the median earnings figure of the whole of the authority’s workforce. This must be published annually.
| Date | Highest Pay (FTE) | Median Pay (FTE) | Median Pay: Pay Ratio (to highest paid) | Lowest Pay (FTE) | Lowest Pay: Pay Ratio (to highest paid) |
| 01.04.2023 | £56,658 | £28,484.88 | 1:1.99 | £20,394.40 | 1:2.78 |
| 01.04.2024 | £61,133 | £31,091 | 1:1.966 | £22,506.23 | 1:2.716 |
(1) Pay multiples:
(a) As specified in the Local Government Transparency Code 2015, the ‘pay multiple’ compares the taxable earnings of the highest paid employee to the median full time equivalent taxable earnings of all employees at the specified date.
(b) ‘Lowest pay’ is the full-time equivalent lowest taxable earnings of all employees at the specified date.
Fraud
The Town Council’s Fraud Policy
Update to follow
Waste Contracts
Local authorities must publish details of their existing waste collection contracts at the point they first publish quarterly contract information. This is a one-off publication.
Wokingham Town Council has waste collection contracts in place with:
Grundon and Suez.