Finance

Information about the Council’s budgets, financial statements and the latest annual return can be found on this page.

Annual Budget and Precept

The financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March.

The Council begins its budget process in November each year. The budget takes account of repairs and maintenance work to be carried out, any capital expenditure and inflation. Each item of expenditure is examined and a calculation is made as to the expected cost of that item in the forthcoming financial year. Unspent funds at the end of the current year are also taken into account when working out the precept. The precept is the level of funding paid to the parish council by Stratford District Council and is raised from the council tax paid by local residents.

All items of expenditure are listed in the budget document which is available to download from this page. It also includes the calculation for the precept and details of funds held in reserves. The precept for the current year, 2022/23, is £119,677.

Audit and Annual Return

The Parish Council has a system of internal audit. As well as a comprehensive risk assessment, there is an appointed internal auditor who tests the Council’s systems and conducts an audit trail of financial transactions. In addition to this, an external auditor also examines the Council’s accounts and practices. Every year the Council completes an annual return which is signed by the external auditor on completion of the audit before being publicly displayed. The completed annual return for the last financial year will be published on this page as soon as it has been approved by the Parish Council.

Councillors’ Allowances

Harbury Parish Council has agreed to pay its elected members a basic annual allowance. Details of allowances paid in the each financial year can be found below.

Monthly Accounts Payable and Financial Reports

The Council pays its accounts monthly and these are authorised by the Council at its monthly meeting. At the same time, members are provided with a report on actual expenditure to date versus budgeted expenditure. Copies of these reports are included in the minutes of the meeting and can be downloaded from the Council Meetings page.

Financial Regulations

Our regulations set out how the council should manage its financial activities, including the handling of quotes and contracts. You can read our Financial Regulations on our Policies page.

Community Infrastructure Levy

Parish and Town Councils receive an element of Community Infrastructure funds (CIL) arising from certain development within their area.

With effect from 2019/20, each Parish and Town Council is required by government regulations to publish information on its website regarding the spend of any CIL funds it has received and send a copy to the District Council no later than 31 December following the reported year.  A copy of the report is published alongside the accounts for the relevant year as shown below.

Council Accounts