News

Poland House Vacancy

The Poland Trust helps people who are in need, hardship, and/or distress in the Parishes of Brockham, Betchworth, Buckland and Leigh.  At Poland House we have a very strong and supportive residents’ community all set in beautiful grounds.

If you or a family member are struggling or if you know someone who is and would like to be considered for this vacancy, please contact: Diana Ross Hon Secretary and Trustee on 07986746017 and we will send you an application form.

Martin Smith

Chairman

The Poland Trust

Deadline:  December 5th, 2022

The Poland Trust

Registered Charity No 204424

The Syrian Baker – an evening of storytelling, hope and bread

A Farnham Maltings and Little Bulb production, New theatre made especially for village halls www.farnhammaltings.com

Details: Thursday, 3rd November at 7.30pm (doors open 7.10pm)in Charlwood Parish Hall.

Synopsis: With 5% of the world’s population on the move at any one time, desperate to get away from trouble, this is a story about two people deciding to go home despite the state of their country. Told with affection, irrepressible humour and bread – because without bread nothing happens – the Syrian Baker is about knowing where you belong, how small actions can make the biggest difference and about how much we all have in common.

Tickets £15 (18yrs and under, £10) – from the village café at 52 The Street or from Patrick Cox, email: pccox1@outlook.com tel: 01293 862324
No bar – please bring your own drinks and glasses.
No interval, running time 60 minutes
From the company that brought you Brilliance and The Iranian Feast, this is an evening in the company of friends with stories, freshly made bread, Syrian coffee and Mamoull like the ones from caffé plaza in Homs old town.
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A Farnham Maltings and Little Bulb production, New theatre made especially for village halls www.farnhammaltings.com

Leigh Parish Council (Surrey)
Notice of conclusion of audit
Annual Governance & Accountability Return for the year ended 31 March 2022
Sections 20(2) and 25 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014
Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)

Notes

1. The audit of accounts for Leigh Parish Council (Surrey) for the year ended 31 March 2022 has been completed and the accounts have been published. This notice and Sections 1, 2 & 3 of the AGAR must be published by 30 September. This must include publication on the smaller authority’s website. The smaller authority must decide how long to publish the Notice for; the AGAR and external auditor report must be publicly available for 5 years.

2. The Annual Governance & Accountability Return is available for inspection by any local government elector of the area of Leigh Parish Council (Surrey) on application to:

L Mann Leigh Parish Council Clerk, 7 Yew Tree Road, Charlwood, RH6 0DE leighparishcouncil@gmail.com 
During the hours of 10am – 2pm, Monday to Friday

For a copy of the accounts please note there will be a charge of £1.00 for each paper copy of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return.

Announcement made by: L Mann (Clerk) on 3rd October 2022

LEIGH PARISH COUNCIL

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)

 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.