Loose Parish Council Finances

All of the Parish Council’s budgets are put together usually by the end of November each year. Each Committee submits a proposed budget to cover items/projects as outlined within each Committee’s Management Plan, and which covers items such as the running of the Pavilion & Playing Field, also the upkeep of Brooks Field, and the general maintenance of the Parish of Loose. It also covers the day to day costs associated with running the Parish Office and salaries for the Clerk, Deputy Clerk, Communications & Media Clerk, Responsible Financial Officer and Caretaker. These figures are then scrutinised by the Finance & Admin Committee chaired by the Parish Council Chairman, Vianne Gibbons, and anything is amended as felt appropriate. The final budgets are then submitted to, and agreed by the full Parish Council annually, usually at the December/January meeting.

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At the end of each fiscal year (1st Apr to 31st Mar) the Annual Audit is sent to the PKF Littlejohn External Auditors, who then checks spends and income made by the Parish Council, and the assets held. They also check that the full Parish Council have agreed to the ‘Annual Governance Statement’ in full, and if not, an explanation has to be submitted to them. At each half year the accounts and budget spends are also checked for accuracy and compliance by the Internal Auditor, and which must also be in line with with the checks as laid down by the Finance and Admin Committee, which are detailed in the ‘Governance and Accountability for Local Councils,  A Practitioners Guide 2020’.

Members of the public are always invited to look at the accounts, and notices are displayed either on this website or on the Parish notice boards at the end of each fiscal year. Copies of the audit or any accounting document are available to any elector in the Parish of Loose electronically, or paper copies can be available for a charge of  £2 per document.