East Hendred Parish Council operates a compliant financial management system, to ensure the appropriate scrutiny for the management and use of public funds.
Funding
The Parish Council is funded through a ‘precept’, which is collected through the council tax system and paid by the Vale of the White Horse District Council. This precept is determined through a bottom-up, annual budget process, which is undertaken by the Parish Council Finance Working Group towards the end of the calendar year.
How are these funds used?
Whilst distribution of funds varies a little from year to year, the primary use of funds are for:
- Village maintenance – including maintenance of village assets, grass cutting, tree surgery etc
- Governance – including payments for the Parish Council clerk, lengthsmen (x 2), litter picker, financial auditor etc
- Playgrounds – both existing playground maintenance and periodic equipment replacement
- Communications – including the quarterly bulletin, website hosting costs, noticeboards etc
- Grants – local organisations can apply for grants to support their operations
- Allotments – land lease payment (albeit all costs are recovered from allotmenteers)
- Other – including courtesy lighting
Process
Financial management responsibility lies with the Finance Working Group, which reviews the accounts on a monthly basis – working to a defined Finance Policy (a copy of which can be found on this website). The accounts are then taken to the monthly PC meeting for ratification and sign-off.
Independent Audit
A formal, annual Council audit is undertaken once per year. This audit covers all aspects of financial management and includes areas such as: risk assessment; finance policy; asset register etc. Copies of the completed audit and associated certification are presented on this website.