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RUNTON PARISH COUNCIL -
Statement of Account
NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION OF UNAUDITED ANNUAL GOVERNANCE &
ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN
ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 Sections 26 and 27
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)
NOTICE |
NOTES |
1. Date of announcement 15th June 2022 (a)
2. Each year the smaller authority’s Annual Governance and
Accountability Return (AGAR) needs to be reviewed by an external
auditor appointed by Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments
Ltd. The unaudited AGAR has been published with this notice. As
it has yet to be reviewed by the appointed auditor, it is
subject to change as a result of that review.
Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies
of the accounting records for the financial year to which the
audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers,
receipts and other documents relating to those records must be
made available for inspection by any person interested. For the
year ended 31 March 2022, these documents will be available on
reasonable notice by application to:
(b) Barbara Emery – Clerk to Runton Parish Council – 01263
512214
The Reading Room, Felbrigg Rd, East Runton NR27 9PE
Or email: > runtonpc@aol.con <
commencing on (c) Monday 20th June 2022
and ending on (d) Friday 29 July 2022
3. Local government electors and their representatives also
have:
* The opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the
accounting records; and
* The right to make an objection which concerns a matter in
respect of which the appointed auditor could either make a
public interest report or apply to the court for a declaration
that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice of an
objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to
the smaller authority.
The appointed auditor can be contacted at the address in
paragraph 4 below for this purpose between the above dates only.
4. The smaller authority’s AGAR is subject to review by the
appointed auditor under the provisions of the Local Audit and
Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015
and the NAO’s Code of Audit Practice 2015. The appointed auditor
is:
PKF Littlejohn LLP (Ref: SBA Team)
15 Westferry Circus
Canary Wharf
London E14 4HD
(sba@pkf-l.com)
5. This announcement is made by (e) Barbara Emery – Clerk and
RFO |
(a) Insert date of placing of the notice which must be not
less than 1 day before the date in (c) below
(b) Insert name, position and address/telephone number/ email
address, as appropriate, of the Clerk or other person to which
any person may apply to inspect the accounts
(c) Insert date, which must be at least 1 day after the date of
announcement in (a) above and at least 30 working days before
the date appointed in (d) below
(d) The inspection period between (c) and (d) must be 30 working
days inclusive and must include the first 10 working days of
July.
(e) Insert name and position of person placing the notice – this
person must be the responsible financial officer for the smaller
authority |
LOCAL AUTHORITY ACCOUNTS: A SUMMARY OF YOUR RIGHTS
Please note that this summary applies to all relevant smaller authorities,
including local councils, internal drainage boards and ‘other’ smaller
authorities.
The basic position
The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (the Act) governs the work of
auditors appointed to smaller authorities. This summary explains the
provisions contained in Sections 26 and 27 of the Act. The Act and the
Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 also cover the duties, responsibilities
and rights of smaller authorities, other organisations and the public
concerning the accounts being audited.
As a local elector, or an interested person, you have certain legal rights
in respect of the accounting records of smaller authorities. As an
interested person you can inspect accounting records and related documents.
If you are a local government elector for the area to which the accounts
relate you can also ask questions about the accounts and object to them. You
do not have to pay directly for exercising your rights. However, any
resulting costs incurred by the smaller authority form part of its running
costs. Therefore, indirectly, local residents pay for the cost of you
exercising your rights through their council tax.
The right to inspect the accounting records
Any interested person can inspect the accounting records, which includes but
is not limited to local electors. You can inspect the accounting records for
the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds,
contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those
records. You can copy all, or part, of these records or documents. Your
inspection must be about the accounts, or relate to an item in the accounts.
You cannot, for example, inspect or copy documents unrelated to the
accounts, or that include personal information (Section 26 (6) – (10) of the
Act explains what is meant by personal information). You cannot inspect
information which is protected by commercial confidentiality. This is
information which would prejudice commercial confidentiality if it was
released to the public and there is not, set against this, a very strong
reason in the public interest why it should nevertheless be disclosed.
When smaller authorities have finished preparing accounts for the financial
year and approved them, they must publish them (including on a website).
There must be a 30 working day period, called the ‘period for the exercise
of public rights’, during which you can exercise your statutory right to
inspect the accounting records. Smaller authorities must tell the public,
including advertising this on their website, that the accounting records and
related documents are available to inspect. By arrangement you will then
have 30 working days to inspect and make copies of the accounting records.
You may have to pay a copying charge. The 30 working day period must include
a common period of inspection during which all smaller authorities’
accounting records are available to inspect. This will be 1-14 July 2022 for
2021/22 accounts. The advertisement must set out the dates of the period for
the exercise of public rights, how you can communicate to the smaller
authority that you wish to inspect the accounting records and related
documents, the name and address of the auditor, and the relevant legislation
that governs the inspection of accounts and objections.
The right to ask the auditor questions about the accounting records
You should first ask your smaller authority about the accounting records,
since they hold all the details. If you are a local elector, your right to
ask questions of the external auditor is enshrined in law. However, while
the auditor will answer your questions where possible, they are not always
obliged to do so. For example, the question might be better answered by
another organisation, require investigation beyond the auditor’s remit, or
involve disproportionate cost (which is borne by the local taxpayer). Give
your smaller authority the opportunity first to explain anything in the
accounting records that you are unsure about. If you are not satisfied with
their explanation, you can question the external auditor about the
accounting records.
The law limits the time available for you formally to ask questions. This
must be done in the period for the exercise of public rights, so let the
external auditor know your concern as soon as possible. The advertisement or
notice that tells you the accounting records are available to inspect will
also give the period for the exercise of public rights during which you may
ask the auditor questions, which here means formally asking questions under
the Act. You can ask someone to represent you when asking the external
auditor questions.
Before you ask the external auditor any questions, inspect the accounting
records fully, so you know what they contain. Please remember that you
cannot formally ask questions, under the Act, after the end of the period
for the exercise of public rights. You may ask your smaller authority other
questions about their accounts for any year, at any time. But these are not
questions under the Act.
You can ask the external auditor questions about an item in the accounting
records for the financial year being audited. However, your right to ask the
external auditor questions is limited. The external auditor can only answer
‘what’ questions, not ‘why’ questions. The external auditor cannot answer
questions about policies, finances, procedures or anything else unless it is
directly relevant to an item in the accounting records. Remember that your
questions must always be about facts, not opinions. To avoid
misunderstanding, we recommend that you always put your questions in
writing.
The right to make objections at audit
You have inspected the accounting records and asked your questions of the
smaller authority. Now you may wish to object to the accounts on the basis
that an item in them is in your view unlawful or there are matters of wider
concern arising from the smaller authority’s finances. A local government
elector can ask the external auditor to apply to the High Court for a
declaration that an item of account is unlawful, or to issue a report on
matters which are in the public interest. You must tell the external auditor
which specific item in the accounts you object to and why you think the item
is unlawful, or why you think that a public interest report should be made
about it. You must provide the external auditor with the evidence you have
to support your objection. Disagreeing with income or spending does not make
it unlawful. To object to the accounts you must write to the external
auditor stating you want to make an objection, including the information and
evidence below and you must send a copy to the smaller authority. The notice
must include:
* confirmation that you are an elector in the smaller authority’s area;
* why you are objecting to the accounts and the facts on which you rely;
* details of any item in the accounts that you think is unlawful; and
* details of any matter about which you think the external auditor should
make a public interest report.
Other than it must be in writing, there is no set format for objecting. You
can only ask the external auditor to act within the powers available under
the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.
A final word
You may not use this ‘right to object’ to make a personal complaint or claim
against your smaller authority. You should take such complaints to your
local Citizens’ Advice Bureau, local Law Centre or to your solicitor.
Smaller authorities, and so local taxpayers, meet the costs of dealing with
questions and objections. In deciding whether to take your objection
forward, one of a series of factors the auditor must take into account is
the cost that will be involved, they will only continue with the objection
if it is in the public interest to do so. They may also decide not to
consider an objection if they think that it is frivolous or vexatious, or if
it repeats an objection already considered. If you appeal to the courts
against an auditor’s decision not to apply to the courts for a declaration
that an item of account is unlawful, you will have to pay for the action
yourself.
For more detailed guidance on public rights and the special
powers of auditors, copies of the publication Local authority
accounts: A guide to your rights are available from the NAO
website. |
If you wish to contact your authority’s appointed external
auditor please write to the address in paragraph 4 of the Notice
of Public Rights and Publication of Unaudited Annual Governance
& Accountability Return. |
Runton Parish Council
Notice of conclusion of audit Annual Governance & Accountability
Return for the year ended 31 March 2021
Sections 20(2) and 25 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act
2014
Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)
NOTICE is hereby given that the audit for the year ended 31st
March 2021 was signed off on 09/09/2021
1. The audit of accounts for Runton Parish Council for the year
ended 31 March 2021
has been completed and the accounts have been published.
2. The Annual Governance & Accountability Return is available
for inspection by any local government elector of the area of
Runton Parish Council on application to:
The Clerk: Barbara Emery at The Reading Room East Runton.
Telephone 01263 512214 or email: >runtonpc@aol.com< for an
appointment.
3. Copies will be provided to any person on payment of £1.00 for
each copy of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return.
Announcement made by: Barbara Emery
Date of announcement: 16th September 2021
Clerk to Runton Parish Council
Date 16th September 2021
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