HARD HATS, chocolates and watching Exeter Chiefs are just some of the gifts and hospitality accepted by people at one Somerset council in the last six months.

Sedgemoor District Council – which covers Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea, Cheddar and Highbridge – has published a list of all the gifts accepted by its councillors and officers between January and July 2018.

A full report into the gifts came before the council’s standards committee in Bridgwater on Monday afternoon (September 3).

The council’s monitoring officer has said that none of the items offered were “a surprise” and that no guidelines had been breached.

Under the council’s guidelines, every councillor must disclose any gift or hospitality which has been offered to them if its value exceeds £25, whether they accepted the offer or not.

This includes any gifts or hospitality offered to councillors who also sit on parish or town councils within the Sedgemoor district.

Officers employed by the council are subject to similar guidelines, but must disclose any amount over £10.

Melanie Wellman, the council’s monitoring officer, said: “The majority of gifts that have been declared involve a ceremonial function.

“There is nothing in this report that comes as a surprise to me.”

Her written report listed seven  instances where councillors had accepted gifts or hospitality over the last six months.

Councillor Mike Caswell accepted four of these, which amounted to two tickets to the Bridgwater Pantomime Society’s production of Dick Whittington in January, two tickets for Bridgwater Operatic Society’s performance of My Fair Lady in May, a hard had and safety glasses from Greenham Ltd, and lunch at the AGM of the Western Section Showmen’s Guild.

Councillors Paul Herbert and Gill Slocombe also accepted lunch at the same event, while Councillor Peter Downing accepted a drinks and canapé reception at the House of Commons in March, which was laid on by EDF Energy.

There was also one act of hospitality recorded from Burnham and Highbridge Town Council, with Councillor Andy Brewer accepting a meal and transport to the Annual Coach Tourism Award ceremony from the Burnham-on-Sea Chamber of Trade.

Among the district council’s officers, there were five instances of gifts or hospitality being awarded – of which all were accepted.

Claire Pearce, assistant director for inward investment and growth, accepted a working lunch and watching Exeter Chiefs narrowly lose to Worcester Warriors in February, as part of a networking event put on by the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership.

She also accepted a “working supper” laid on in July by the Salamanca Group, which owns the site of the Huntspill Energy Park near Puriton.

Chief executive Alison Griffin accepted flowers and chocolates for her team from Suffolk Coastal District Council as a thank you for arranging a tour of the Hinkley Point C site, while strategic director Doug Bamsey accepted a gift of “beer, wine, cake and a meal” for his staff for organising a similar visit.

The final gift was a dinner laid on as a “networking opportunity” by property investment company Jones Lang LaSalle, which was accepted by the strategy and development team.

The council said that it could not divulge the precise cost of each of the items listed, with the value of some of the gifts or hospitalities being estimated.