13th February 2025

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Preston Capes Parish Council Serving the people of Preston Capes

Parish Council Finances

Parish Council Precept

The Parish Council Precept is the key funding source of public money for your Parish Council activities. It may also apply for grant funding and recover expended VAT.

The Parish Council Precept forms a small component (roughly only 5%) of the local Council Tax which is collected by the West Northamptonshire Unitary Council (WNC) from village ratepayers.

The Unitary Council co-ordinate the budgetary demands of the Parish Council, together with its own demands and those of the Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner to determine the overall Council Tax rates to be paid from 1st April that year.

The Parish Council also receives Community Infrastructure Levy monies from developments within the area. These are restricted o the improvement of local infrastructure, in consideration of increased local demand. the council is required to produce an annual report of how these monies have been spent. The reports are available here.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

The Community Infrastructure Levy is a tax raised from local developments. A small portion of it is granted to the Parish Council in order to support projects which enhance the local infrastructure or services, to the benefit of the community. To download a detailed guide, please click here. Additional details are available at the former DDC site at click link.

The Parish Council is required to report annually about how these CIL monies have been spent. For a list of reports, please click here. If CIL monies are left unspent for five years, they are to be returned to the granting authority. CIL monies are restricted in how they may be spent and this expenditure usually lies outside of the regular Parish Council budget and usual reserves.

Parish Council Budgeting

During November - December of each year the Parish Council drafts a budget for the following financial year (commencing the 1st April). This budget is considered and approved (with possible amendments) in the January Parish Council meeting (open to the public, as is usual).

The approved budget results in a Precept demand which is passed to the District Council for collection on behalf of the Parish Council. The Precept is received from the District Council in two halves, in April and September of the financial year.

A further budget is produced in April of each year, including the full expenditures of the past year, in preparation for the end of year audits. All the Parish Council budgets may be seen here.

Inventory of Assets

Preston Capes Parish Council has tangible assets for which it may be deemed to hold a responsibility or an interest. Examples include the bus shelter, the public defibrillators, vehicle activated speed signs, waste bins etc. The Parish Council has no land holdings nor interest in any buildings. The Asset Register (reviewed annually) is available here.

The Council must consider if budgeted reserves are required for the maintenance or periodic replacement of its assets. Thus a list of assets, their current value and any allocated reserves is included within the appendicies of the annual budget.

The assets are given a notional value upon their entry onto the asset register, which must then remain fixed for audit purposes, until such time as they are removed from the register (depreciation is not a factor).

Parish Council Accounts and Audit

The Parish Council's Standing Orders (section 17) state that the council must employ proper practices with regards its accounts, with reference to the most recent version of "Governance and Accountability for Local Councils - a Practical Guide".

The Parish Council's Standing Orders (section 18) states that the council shall consider and approve financial regulations drawn up by its Responsible Financial officer, detailing such issues as the keeping of accounting records and systems of internal control.

The Parish Council is required to have an Internal Auditor (an independent local villager with audit experience) and an assigned External Auditor (PKF Littlejohn). The External Auditor requires the completion of an Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) by the Parish Council, signed by the Parish Chair and its Responsible Financial Officer. It also recommends the following Practitioners' Guide from NALC (March 2020) .

Annual Parish Council Audits

Any person can ask to inspect the accounting records of the Parish Council. As an elector within the Parish, having inspected the records and asked your questions, you may wish to object to the accounts on the basis that an item is unlawful or there are matters of a wider concern arising from the finances. You may click here to see a summary of your public rights.

Annual Return for 2023-24 Financial Year

The following related documents can be found here

  • 2024 Signed Accounts
  • 2024 AGAR - Exemption Certificate
  • 2024 AGAR - Governance Statement 1
  • 2024 AGAR - Accounting Statements 2
  • 2024 AGAR - Explanation of variances
  • 2024 AGAR - Internal Audit Report
  • Notice of Public Rights - 17 June - 26 July 2024
  • Parish Council Insurance to 31st May 2025
  • Parish Council Asset Register, reviewed May 2024
  • Parish Council Risk Assessment, reviewed May 2024

Annual Return for 2022-23 Financial Year

The following related documents can be found here

  • 2023 Signed Accounts
  • 2023 AGAR - Exemption Certificate
  • 2023 AGAR - Governance Statement 1
  • 2023 AGAR - Accounting Statements 2
  • 2023 AGAR - Explanation of variances
  • 2023 AGAR - Internal Audit Report

  • Notice of Public Rights - 21 June - 22 July 2023
  • Parish Council Insurance to 31st May 2023
  • Parish Council Asset Register, reviewed May 2023
  • Parish Council Risk Assessment, reviewed May 2023

Annual Return for 2021-22 Financial Year

The following related documents can be found here

  • Exercise of Public Rights (22 June to 21 July 2022)
  • 2022 Signed Accounts
  • 2022 AGAR - Exemption Certificate
  • 2022 AGAR - Internal Audit Report
  • 2022 AGAR - Governance Statement
  • 2022 AGAR - Accounting Statements
  • 2022 AGAR - Explanation of variances
  • Parish Council Insurance renewal to 31st May 2023 TBA
  • Asset Register reviewed May 2022

Annual Return for 2020-21 Financial Year

The following related documents can be found here

  • Exercise of Public Rights (23 June to 22 July 2021)
  • 2021 Signed Accounts
  • 2021 AGAR - Exemption Certificate
  • 2021 AGAR Internal Audit
  • 2021 AGAR - Governance Statement
  • 2021 AGAR - Accounting Statements
  • 2021 AGAR - Explanation of variances
  • Internal Audit Report from N-CALC
  • Parish Council Insurance to 31st May 2022
  • Asset Register reviewed May 2021

Annual Return for 2019-20 Financial Year

The following related documents can be found here

  • Exercise of Public Rights (29 July to 27 August 2020)
  • 2020 Signed Accounts
  • 2020 AGAR - Exemption Certificate
  • 2020 AGAR - Internal Audit
  • 2020 AGAR - Governance Statement
  • 2020 AGAR - Accounting Statements
  • 2020 AGAR - Explanation of variances
  • Internal Audit report from N-CALC
  • Parish Council Insurance to 31st May 2021
  • Asset Register reviewed May 2020

Annual Return for 2018-19 Financial Year

The following related documents can be found here

  • 2019 Exercise of Public Rights (17 June to 26 July 2019)
  • 2019 AGAR - required by External Audit
  • 2019 Internal Auditor Report
  • 2019 Signed Accounts
  • Parish Council Insurance to 31st May 2020

For any information pertaining to the finances of Preston Capes that cannot be found on this website, please contact the Clerk as indicated below.

Last updated: Tue, 25 Jun 2024 22:42