Accounts : Your Rights

Litcham Parish Council

A c c o u n t s

A Summary of Your Rights

If you are entitled to vote in local council elections then you have the right by law,

to inspect the Parish Council's accounts and ask questions about, or challenge, them.

The right to inspect the accounts

When your council has finalised its accounts for the previous financial year, usually in the late summer, it must advertise that they are available for people to look at. You then have 15 working days to look through the accounts and supporting documents.

For the year ending 31st March these documents will be available on reasonable notice on application to the Clerk of the Council during a four week period usually during August to September. The exact hours and times have to be advertised by law on the Village Notice board. You can get copies of the accounts and most of the relevant documents from your council but please note you may be asked to pay a copying charge.

Local Government Electors and their representative also have:

• The opportunity to question the auditor about the accounts.

You can only ask the auditor questions about the accounts. The auditor does not have to answer questions about

the council's policies, finances, procedures or anything else. Your question must be about the accounts that they are auditing.

• The right to attend before the auditor and make objections to the accounts or any item them.

Written notice of an objection must first be given to the auditor at the address below and a copy sent to the Litcham Parish Council

at the Clerk's address.

If you think that the council has spent money that they shouldn't have done, or that someone has caused a loss to the authority deliberately or by behaving irresponsibly, you can object to the auditor by sending them a formal 'notice of objection'. You must tell the auditor why you are objecting and the auditor must reach a decision on your objection.If you are not happy with that decision, you can appeal to the courts.

You may also object if you think that there is something in the accounts that the auditor should discuss with the council or tell the public about in a 'public interest report'. Again, you must give your reasons. In this case, the auditor must decide whether to take any action. The auditor will normally, but does not have to, give reasons for their decision and you cannot appeal to the courts.

You may not, however, use this 'right to object' to make a personal complaint or claim against your council. You should take these complaints to your local Citizens' Advice Bureau, local Law Centre or your solicitor.

The auditor does not have to say whether they think something the council has done, or an item in its accounts, is lawful or reasonable.

What else you can do

Instead of objecting, you can give the auditor information that is relevant to their responsibilities. For example, you can simply tell the auditor if you think that something is wrong with the accounts or about waste and inefficiency in the way the council runs its services. You do not have to follow any set time limits or procedures. This is also the situation for NHS organisations where you do not have the right to ask the auditor questions about, or object to, the accounts. The auditor does not have to give you a detailed report of their investigation into the issues you have raised, but they will usually tell you the general outcome.

Costs

Councils, and so local taxpayers, must meet the costs of dealing with questions and objections. When the auditor decides whether to take your objection further, they must take into account the costs that will be involved. They will only continue with the objection if it is in the public interest to do so. If you appeal to the courts, you might have to pay for the action yourself.

Appointment of date for the Exercise of Electors Rights

Each year Litcham Parish Council's annual return is audited by an external auditor appointed by the Audit Commission. Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the Annual Return and all books, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts etc. relating to them.

The council's annual audit is conducted under the provisions of the Audit Commission Act 1998, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 and the Audit Commissions Code of Audit Practice. The audit of the accounts of Litcham Parish Council is being Carried out by:

Audit Commission

Second Floor, Midland House

Notte Street, Plymouth

DEVON PL1 2 EJ

The Audit Commision have produced a booklet about Electors Rights.
Councils Accounts - Your Rights (England)