The Town Council is predominantly funded by the residents of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge through a precept on the council tax charge made by Somerset Council.
The 2025/26 budget set a total precept of £1,324,115, which equates to an annual council tax charge of £194.62 per year on a band D household. Properties are put into one of eight bands, A being the lowest, and H the highest, with Band D being the average.
In the interests of openness and transparency, we publish various detailed reports in relation to the operation of the Town Council.
Annual Audits
Every financial year ending 31st March the annual audit of the Town Council’s accounts are reviewed by both the internal and external auditor. Audit information can be viewed below.
2024-2025
Notice of Public Rights and Publication of Unaudited Annual Governance and Accountability Return Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025
-Notification of conclusion of audit and sections 1, 2 & 3 of Annual Governance Accountability Return
Notice of conclusion of audit all pages 2024-25
Annual Governance Statement with Internal Audit Report 2024-25
– Annual Governance Statement_Redacted
2023-2024
2022-2023
Notification of conclusion of audit and sections 1, 2 & 3 of Annual Governance Accountability Review
2021-2022
Notification of conclusion of audit and sections 1, 2 & 3 of Annual Governance Accountability Review
(Links open in new tab)
Budgets
The financial year for local authorities runs between 1 April – 31 March (inclusive).
Payments
Town and Parish Councils, which have a gross annual income or expenditure (whichever is the higher) of a least £200,000 are required to publish ‘Public Data’ as set out in The Code of Recommended Practice for Local Authorities on Data Transparency.
Although it is only recommended practice, Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge Town Council believes that being transparent is pivotal to enable greater democratic accountability over how council tax and public money is spent.
Public Data does not include personal information as this would contravene the Data Protection Act 2018. In accordance with the Code of Recommended Practice, Burnham & Highbridge Town Council will make available for public inspection the relevant information as stipulated within the Code.
Government Procurement Card Payments 2025/2026
Government Procurement Card February 2026
Government Procurement Card January 2026
Government Procurement Card December 2025
Government Procurement Card November 2025
Government Procurement Card October 2025
Government Procurement Card September 2025
Government Procurement Card August 2025
Government Procurement Card July 2025
Government Procurement Card June 2025
Government Procurement Card May 2025
Government Procurement Card Payments 2024/2025
Government Procurement Card April 2025
Government Procurement Card March 2025
Government Procurement Card Feb 2025
Government Procurement Card January 2025
Government Procurement Card December 2024
2025/2026-Payments of over £500
23-Payments over £500 February 2026
22-Payments over £500 January 2026
21-Payments over £500 December 2025
20-Payments over £500 November 2025
19- Payments over £500 October 2025
18-Payments over £500 September 2025
17- Payments over £500 August 2025
16-Payments over £500 July 2025
15-Payments over £500 June 2025
14-Payments over £500 May 2025
2024/2025-Payments of over £500
13-Payments over £500 April 2025
12-Payments over £500 March 2025
11-Payments over £500 February 2025
10-Payments over £500 January 2025
9-Payments over £500 December 2024
8-Payments over £500 November 2024
7-Payments over £500 October 2024
6-Payments over £500 September 2024
5-Payments over £500 August 2024
4-Payments over £500 July 2024
3-Payments over £500 June 2024
1-Payments over £500 April 2024
2023/2024 Payments over £500
https://burnham-highbridge-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Payments-over-500-December-2023.pdf
https://burnham-highbridge-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Payments-over-500-January-2024-1.pdf
https://burnham-highbridge-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Payments-over-500-February-2024.pdf
https://burnham-highbridge-tc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Payments-over-500-March-2024.pdf
Allowances: Councillors are not paid an allowance, apart from the Mayor who received the sum of £5000 in 2024/2025.
Grants Allocated
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
Local Government Transparency Code 2015
The code mandates that local authorities publish information on senior salaries over £50,000 per annum.
The total number of staff earning over £50k per annum (based on full-time equivalent salary) is 1.
Job Title: Town Clerk (Proper Officer)
Salary band: LC3, NJC Scale Points 42-45 (£53,460-£57,139)
Number of staff responsible for: 18
Budget held 2025/26: £1,453,340
Job description is available here: Job Description Town Clerk
The Council has NO employees whose salaries are over £150,000
Pay Multiple
The code requires that local authorities must publish the pay multiple on their website, defined as the ratio between the highest paid 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. The measure must:
- Cover all the elements of remuneration that can be valued
- Use the median earnings figure as the denominator, which should be that of all employees of the local authority on a fixed date each year, coinciding with reporting at the end of the financial year
- Exclude changes in pension benefits, which due to their variety and complexity cannot be accurately included in a pay multiple disclosure
Burnham-on-Sea & Highbridge Town Council’s pay multiple for 2025/2026 is 1.95
These calculations include part-time employees’ total salaries as full-time equivalents, not pro rata