Disclosure Log
NCC Employee Information (FOI/8715)
Message from Nottinghamshire County Council - 28 October 2026
Dear **********,
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000 – REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REFERENCE FOI/8715
Thank you for your request for information relating to NCC Employee Information.
We are now able to provide the following information:
1. The number of individuals currently employed, engaged or funded by Nottinghamshire County Council specifically to provide support to the Conservative Group at Nottinghamshire County Council.1.a For each individual:
• Their job title or role
• Their employment status, for example permanent employee, fixed-term employee, agency worker or other arrangement
• Their annual salary or salary range
• Their contracted hours, where applicable
• The date they commenced in the role
• The department, service or budget from which their salary or remuneration is paid.
The level of group support available is determined by the size of each political group. The minimum threshold for receiving dedicated support is five elected members. At the time of this response, only the administration (Reform UK Group) and the main opposition group (Conservative Group) meet the relevant threshold s for support.
The current structure chart for the group support posts element of Democratic Services staffing, with the Team Manager post included for context and to clarify reporting lines:
2. For each individual:
• Their job title or role
• Their employment status, for example permanent employee, fixed-term employee, agency worker or other arrangement
• Their annual salary or salary range
• Their contracted hours, where applicable
• The date they commenced in the role
• The department, service or budget from which their salary or remuneration is paid.
As can be seen from the structure chart, all posts are Full Time Equivalent. Four of the five posts are currently filled by an individual post-holder on a permanent, 37 hours a week basis, with the PA to Cabinet Members and Committee Chairs – Ruling Group post currently vacant and subject to review.
The Council has not provided commencement dates. Given the small number of post holders, disclosure of commencement dates, when combined with other information provided in this response, could reasonably lead to the identification of individual employees. This information constitutes personal data and is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
For information, these are the current relevant salary scales, incorporating the most recent agreed increase:
Democratic Services is part of the Strategic and Enabling Services Department
3. Please confirm the total annual cost to Nottinghamshire County Council of employing or engaging staff who provide support specifically to the Conservative Group, including salary, employer pension contributions, National Insurance and any other employment-related costs.
Group support officers are employed within the wider Democratic Services Team and provide support to qualifying political groups. Employment costs, including salaries, employer pension contributions and National Insurance contributions, are recorded and budgeted for within the overall Democratic Services staffing budget rather than against individual political groups.
Given the small number of posts, when combined with other information provided in this response, this information could reasonably lead to the identification of a small number of individual employees. This information constitutes personal data and is exempt from disclosure under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, the salary scales above will give some indication of the potential costs in any given year prior to any employer pension contributions and National Insurance contributions being applied.
4. Please confirm the source of the funding used to pay for these positions. In particular, please state whether the funding comes from:
• Nottinghamshire County Council"s general budget;
• a specific political group allowance or budget;
• councillor allowances;
• a dedicated political group staffing budget; or
• any other source.
The posts are funded from the Democratic Services staffing budget, which forms part of the Council"s approved revenue budget. The funding does not come from a political group allowance, councillor allowances, or a dedicated political group staffing budget.
5. Please provide the current annual budget allocated by Nottinghamshire County Council for staffing or administrative support for the Conservative Group.
The Council does not maintain a separate staffing or administrative support budget for the Conservative Group funding is provided through the Democratic Services staffing budget, which supports the delivery of services across the Council, including political group support functions.
6. Please confirm whether the Conservative Group has any staff members who are directly employed by the Council, but whose salary is wholly or partly funded through a political group staffing allowance or similar arrangement.
No. The Council does not employ any staff under such an arrangement. Relevant staff are employed by the Council and funded through the Democratic Services staffing budget.
7. Please provide the equivalent information for any other political group at Nottinghamshire County Council where the information is held in the same form, so that the arrangements can be understood in context.
As explained in response to Question 1, only two political groups currently meet the threshold for dedicated group support. The structure chart above also includes the three posts designated to the ruling group. Such support levels reflect arrangements towards the end of the previous administration and remain subject to review as appropriate.
We trust this now satisfies your request and that you find this information to be helpful, however if you are unhappy with the way in which your request has been handled, then please email us at [email protected] quoting the reference FOI/8715 and we will be happy to review your request
For future reference, Nottinghamshire County Council regularly publishes previous FOI requests and answers on its website, under Disclosure logs, that may provide details relating to your query. (see link) Your privacy: we use your personal information such as name and address so that we can comply with our legal obligations to respond to FOI requests. For further details about the use of information about you, please see the information handling privacy notice on our website at https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/4323566/informationgovernanceandinformationrightsprivacynotice.pdf
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Requests should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to your original request and should be addressed to: Complaints and Information Team, Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, NOTTINGHAM, NG2 7QP or [email protected].
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office,
Information Commissioner"s Office
4th Floor, No.3 Circle Square
5 Hawkshaw Street
Manchester
M1 7BL
or Copyright Notice
The information supplied in response to this request continues to be protected by copyright. You are free to use the information for your own purposes, including non-commercial research, private study, and news reporting. Any other re-use of the information, including commercial publication, reproduction, or distribution, may require permission from the copyright holder.
Where the information provided is owned by Nottinghamshire County Council, it is supplied in accordance with the Open Government Licence unless otherwise stated.
Any third-party copyright material included within the disclosure remains the property of the respective copyright holder. You must obtain permission from the copyright owner before reproducing or reusing such material
Yours sincerely
Complaints and Information Team
Chief Executives Department
Nottinghamshire County Council
The Council is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring all personal information is kept confidential and safe. For more details see our general and service specific privacy notices at: https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/global-content/privacy