Leigh Cricket Club
The sun will shine.
Hopefully, by the time you read this, the weather will have abated for a few weeks and we will have managed to have got some cricket in. The exceptionally wet March put us back a few weeks with the preparation of the ground and disrupted the start of the season. However, the underlying soil conditions did mean that once it stopped raining, the field dried relatively quickly.
To whet your appetite (please excuse the pun), in May and June, we welcome the likes of Ottershaw, Abinger and South Nutfield to the Recreation ground, as well as a number of other clubs. In 2024, our fixture list captures 30 games, with the chance of squeezing a few more in if we can raise a team together for the odd friendly or two.
With Saturdays this year, we want to try something new. We’d like to return to playing friendlies on Saturdays but with a team made up of youngsters (11 years of age upwards), and their guardians who live in the village or surrounding area.
We’ll supplement the team with a few of us ‘older’ members and the idea is very much to get everyone involved if we can, and hopefully make a few new friends in the process. If that sounds like something you’d like to get involved with, then please contact me at the email address below.
I know the start of the season has been particularly tough for our ground crew of Ben, Reg and, Richard who have had to resist the urge of getting on the roller early. Without their hard work we wouldn’t have got to this point in May with the ground looking as good as it does, so I’m immensely grateful for their continued efforts and dedication.
If you’d like to find out more about playing for the club or helping out in any way, visit www.leighccsurrey.co.uk, email hello@leighccsurrey.co.uk or pop along to any game. It’ll be great to see you.
Welcome to Leigh Softball Team,
We are a Mixed Sex Sports group of varying age from 16-70.
After a long week at work doesn’t a little exercise, some food and a few drinks down the local pub sound good. If your answer is yes or even maybe, then why not come down to Leigh cricket ground on a Thursday evening and have a go a playing mixed recreational Softball.
Softball is a great game for beginners and experienced players alike. If you haven’t played softball before don’t worry, we will help you understand how to play the game and understand the rules.
If you are 16 and over just come along and say hi, we are welcoming and friendly and if you want to join in and try it out then that’s great, nothing serious, just a bit of fun then off to the Plough for some food and socialising.
If interested drop Mike Harrison an email at mike.harrison52@btinternet.com
(07708 614090) or just come along to the cricket ground on a Thursday evening about 7.00pm, only if it is not raining. .
Check Leigh WI’s page for a full programme of events in 2024.
Due to a clash of local Parish Council meetings, Leigh Parish Council decided to move its meeting to the fourth Monday of the month. This will start from February, with this months meeting being on Monday 26th at 7:30pm.
Everything else remains the same. The location will remain as The Pavilion, Bunce Common Road, with meetings commencing at 7:30pm.
We hope to see you there!
What is the Community Infrastructure Levy?
The Community Infrastructure Levy (or CIL for short) is the district councils collect financial contributions from developers to help pay for new and improved infrastructure. It is calculated on a pounds (£) per square metre basis of new development. The levy replaces financial contributions historically made through section 106 agreements. Section 106 agreements will continue to be used for
certain site-specific infrastructure.
What can CiL be spent on?
Money raised can be spent on anything that deals areas online. with the demands that development places on the area, such as:
transport infrastructure
open spaces
educational facilities
medical facilities
sporting and other recreational facilities
social and community facilities
affordable housing
preparation of a neighbourhood plan
Parish councils should work closely with neighbouring parishes and us (the district council) to agree on
infrastructure spending priorities.
Join us at the November Parish Council meeting to hear and share options for the current funds available to the village.
LEIGH PARISH COUNCIL
NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION OF UNAUDITED ANNUAL GOVERNANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN (This can be viewed here Leigh PC AGAR 2022_23 complete)
ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023
Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 Sections 25, 26 and 27
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)
The Accounts and Audit (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/404)
| NOTICE |
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1. Date of announcement 12TH JUNE 2023 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 2023, these documents will be available on reasonable notice by application to:
(b) LAURA MANN 7 YEW TREE ROAD CHARLWOOD 07970734612 LEIGHPARISHCOUNCIL@GMAIL.COM
commencing on (c) __Monday 12 June 2023 _______________________
and ending on (d) ___Friday 21 July 2023 ________________________
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
5. This announcement is made by LAURA MANN
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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, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the Accounts and Audit (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 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. Legislative changes have been made as a result of the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus for the 2019/20 reporting year which mean that there is no requirement for a common period for public rights. The period for the exercise of public rights must however commence on or before 1 September 2020. 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:
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. |
LEIGH PC Making Provision for the exercise of Public Rights 2022-23
It is with sadness that we report the news that Ted Brain passed away last Wednesday 3rd May. In his long time living in Leigh, Ted served on the parish council and for many years looked after The Spinney, the patch of woodland behind the recreation ground. Our thoughts are with his wife Caryl and his family at this time.
