Budget and Expenditure

Budget and Expenditure

The Town Council pays for services and responsibilities through their budget.  This is made up, in the main, from the precept paid by the council tax-payers of Prudhoe, in addition to a small income from sponsorship and events, burial fees, the reclaim of VAT, grants and any balances from the previous year.

We are required to complete an Annual Governance and Accountability Return each year.  This is legislated in the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.  Electors are entitled to inspect the Council’s accounts, during a set period during the year.  For information pertaining to your rights, click on the link Local Authority Accounts ‘A summary of your rights’.

The Audit Commission continually monitor the performance of the external auditors, assessing the quality of their work and ensuring they carry it out in compliance with their statutory obligations. The Smaller Authorities Audit Appointments Limited (SAAA) have appointed Mazars as our external auditors for 2022/23. They can be contacted at:

Smaller Authorities External Audit Team, Mazars LLP

0191 3836348
local.councils@mazars.co.uk

Prudhoe Town Council is also required to appoint an Internal Auditor who will monitor and review the arrangements in place to ensure the proper conduct and effectiveness of our financial affairs. Our internal auditor is Mrs Susan Saunders.

The Council must have an adequate system of internal control and risk management. This review is an integral part of continually improving governance and accountability. The Council is required to publicly report the outcome of the review of its accounts and to make its accounting statements and other documents available for public inspection.  The results of the External Audit are available to view on the website and on request, this is in the form of an Annual Return, different to the tax return that is completed by most organisations.  The Annual Return is completed in June and usually returned in September, five months after the end of the financial year.  During this period, members of the public are invited to look at the council’s accounts, however, residents may at any time ask to see the council’s accounts and questions relating to spending can always be put to the Town Clerk/RFO.

If you have any questions about the financial governance of the council, our budget or specific spending, throughout the year, please feel free to contact us.

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Finance & Budget