The Council's Finance Committee meets at least quarterly to review the budget. The minutes of the Finance Committee can be found in the Minutes section of the website.
On 9th December 2021, the Parish Council approved the budget for 2022/2023 and set the precept at £85 per Band D household. The budget is available to view here.
Annual Governance & Accountability Return 2022/2023
The Clerk/Responsible Financial Officer must prepare the ‘Annual Governance and Accountability Return’ document as follows:
Section 1 is the ‘Annual Governance Statement’ which lists a number of statements relating to financial activity, internal mechanisms of control, consideration of the results of previous Internal and External Audits and other aspects and expectations involved in the operation of the Parish Council. The Parish Council considers each aspect in detail and must agree and approve whether or not each aspect has been adhered to.
Section 2 completed by the Parish Council is the ‘Accounting Statements’ and is a summary of financial activity through the year. An analysis of the comparison of financial activity with the previous year, an explanation of any ‘significant variances’ is also sent to the External Auditor, together with a bank reconciliation for the end of the financial year.
The two completed sections of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return must be approved by the Parish Council. This took place on 11th May 2023 and the documents were signed by the Chairman, Councillor Goodwill. Once these sections have been approved and the Internal Audit completed, the Annual Governance and Accountability Return is sent to the External Auditor PKF Littlejohn, for audit.
The Annual Governance and Accountability Return must be returned to the Parish Council by 30th September 2023, with a completed External Auditor’s Report.
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234) state that the Council must:
- Prepare a “Notice of conclusion of audit” which details the rights of inspection, in line with the statutory requirements. (See below.)
- Publish the certified AGAR (Sections 1, 2 & 3) before 30 November, which must include publication on the authority’s website. (See below.)