Breakdown of Comms staffing and expenditure
Request received 7 January 2026
For the most recent full financial year for which data is available, please provide the following:
1. Organisational structure and staffing
a) The total number of employees (FTE) working wholly or primarily in marketing, communications, media, public relations, engagement, consultation or related functions.
b) The directorate, department or service area in which these staff sit.
c) A breakdown of roles or grades where available (e.g. senior leadership, managers, officers).
2. Budget and expenditure
a) The total annual budget allocated to marketing, communications and engagement activities.
b) The total actual spend for the year.
c) A breakdown of spend between:
- Staff costs (including salaries, on-costs and temporary staff or contractors) - broken down by post
- External suppliers or agencies
- Advertising and media spend
- Website development
- Graphic and digital design
- Print expenditure
- Events, consultation exercises and engagement programmes
- Any other significant categories of spend
3. Core activities
Please outline the core activities undertaken by the marketing, communications and engagement function(s), for example:
- Corporate communications and media relations
- Campaigns and public information
- Internal communications
- Digital and social media
- Web development
- Advertising/recruitment advertising/public notices
- Public consultation and engagement
- Community engagement
- Stakeholder or partner communications
4. Discretionary vs non-discretionary activity
Please indicate:
a) Which marketing, communications and engagement activities are considered essential or statutory (including any required by legislation or regulation).
b) Which activities are considered discretionary or non-essential.
c) Any distinction you make between internal, external and community-based engagement.
5. Consultation and engagement spend
Please confirm:
a) Total spend on consultation and engagement activities (internal and external).
b) How this spend is categorised or recorded within your authority (e.g. as part of communications, policy, regeneration, public health or other budgets).
Responded 19 January 2026
1a)Two members of staff work in the Communications Team, both are full-time positions
b)These staff report to the Operational Services Directorate
c)The team consists of a Communications Manager and a Communications Officer
2 a) There is no allocated budget for the comms team (excluding salaries)
b) The communication spending for the financial year 2025/26 was £1045.96 (this does not include salary information)
c) this money was spent on external web-based suppliers
3 The communications team undertakes all the activities listed below as required. It is supported by an internal web team.
• Corporate communications and media relations
• Campaigns and public information
• Internal communications
• Digital and social media
• Web development
• Advertising/recruitment advertising/public notices
• Public consultation and engagement
• Community engagement
• Stakeholder or partner communications
4) We undertake the following statutory communications; the rest are discretionary:
• Report on significant decisions made by the council and its relevant committee
• Report on information relevant for residents / customers, for example anything relating to Council Tax or service changes, such as bin collection information
• Report on information relevant to the public from a crisis comms perspective
• Report on public consultations
• Report on elections or anything relevant to the political and organsiational make-up of the council
• Relevant information related to Local Government Reorganisation
• Relevant information under Operation Bridges
5) During the year 2024/25 there was no money spent on consultation or engagement