DOC230621-23062021122017

Section 1 - Annual Governance Statement 2020/21

our responsibility for ensuring that thereis a sound system of. internal control, including arrangemenits for
the preparation of the Accounting Statements, We confirm, to the ‘best of our knowledge. and belief, with
: respect to the Accounting Statements for the year ended 31 March 2021, that:

  1. We have put in place arrangements for effective financial              prepared its accounting statements in‘accordance
     management during the year, and for the Preparation of                 with the Accounts and Audit Regulations.
    the accounting statements.

 2. We maintained.an adequate system of internal control                    imatle proper arrangements aad aedeptedreaponslolly
    including measures. designed to prevent and detect fraud                for safeguarding the public. money: and resources in
    and corruption and reviewed j effectiveness.                            its charge.

- | 3. We took ail reasonable steps
to assure ourselves has only’‘done whatithas the. legal power to do and has
that there are no matters of actual or potential complied with Proper Practices in doing so.
non-compliance with laws, requiations and Proper
‘Practices that could have a significant financial effect
on the ability of this authority to conduct its
business or manage its finances...
4. We provided proper opportunity during the year for during the year gave all persons interested the opportunity to
the exercise of electors’ rights in accordance with the inspect and ask questions about this authority's accounts.
requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations.

 5. We carried out an assessment of thé risks facing this                   considered arid documénted the financial and other‘sks it
    authority and took appropriate steps to manage those                    faces and dealt with them properly. .
    tisks, including the intraduction.of internal controls and/or
    external insurance cover where required.          -

 6. We maintained throughout the year.an adequate and                       arranged for a competent.person, independent of the financial
   -effective system of intemal audit of the accounting                     controls and procedures, to give an objective viewon whether
  . tecords and control systenis,-              .                           internal controls meet the needs of this smaller authority.

 7. We took appropriate action on_all matters raised                        responded to matters brought to its attention by internal and
    in reports from intemal and extemal audit.                              extemal audit.

 8. We considered whether any litigation, liabilities or                    disclosed everything it should have about its business activity
    commitments, events or transactions, occurring either                   during the year including events takingplace, after the year
    during or after the year-end, have a financial impact on                end ifrelevant.
    this authority and, where appropriate, have included them
    in the accounting statements.                     :
 9. (For local councils only) Trust funds including                              ie)   has met ail of its responsibilities where, as a body
    charitable. In our capacity as the sole managing                                   corporate, it is a sole managing trustee of a local
   trustee we discharged our accountability                                               ist or trusts,
   tesponsibilities for the fund(s)/assets, including
   financial reporting and, if required, independent
   examination or audit.

*Please provide explanations to the external auditor on a separate sheet for each ‘No’ response and describe how the
authority will address the weaknesses identified. These sheets must be published with the Annual Governance Statement.

This Annual Governance Statement was approved ata                   Signed by the Chairman and Clerk of the meeting where
meeting of the authority on:                                        approval was given:

Chairman :
and recorded as minute reference:

Aceven ITEM Gi 22-062) Clerk

www.hellesdon-pe.gov.uk

Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2020/21 Part 3                                                                      Page 4 of 6
Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities”
  1, Balances brought -
   ‘forward      :                                                          recorded in the financial records. Value must agree to
                                                                        Box 7.of previous year.
 2..(+) Precept or Rates and                                            Total amount of, precept (oF for’DBstates andl ies)
   “Levies

3. (+) Total other receipts ~ : Total income oror receipls as.
a jecorded inhi thé cashbook Jess
the, precept or rates/evies received.(ine 2). Include any

 4. (-) Staff costs                                                     Total expenditure ‘ot payments made to and on behalF
                                                                     ,|.of all employees. Include gross salaries and wages, - .
                                                                       employers.NI contributions, employers pensian
                                                                       contributioris, gratuities and severance payments. -
 5. (-) Loan interest/capital                                           Total expenditure ‘or payménts of capital and intorest
    repayments                                                         made during:the year on the authority's borrowings (if any).

 6. ©) All other payments                                            | Total expenditure or payments.as. recordedin.the cash-
                                                                       book less staff costs (ine 4) and loan interest/capital
                                                                       repayments (line §).
 7. (=) Balances carried                                                Total balances and reserves at the end of the year. Must
    forward                                                            equal (1+2+3)- (4+5+6).-                        .

 8. Total value of cash and                                            The sum of all current and deposit bank accounts, cash
   short term investments                                              holdings and shart term investments held as at (31, March —
                                                                     | To agree with bank reconciliation.

 9. Total fixed assets plus.                                         ‘| The value of all the property the authority owns— itis made
    long term investments                                            [| up of all its fixed assets and long term investments as at
    and assets -                                                       31 March.
 410. Total borrowings                                                 The outstanding capital balance as.at 31 March of all loans
                                                                       from third parties (including PWLB).

 41. (For Local Councils Only) Disclosure:note                         The Council, as a body corporate, acts as sole trustee for
   re Trust funds (including charitable)                               and is responsible for managing Trust funds or assets.
                                                                       N.B. The figures in the accounting statements above do
                                                                       ‘not inchide any Trust transactions.

| certify that for the year ended 31 March 2021 the Accaunting confirm that these Accounting Statements were
Statements in this Annual Governance and Accountability approved bythis authority on this date:
Return have been prepared on either a receipts and payments
or income and expenditure basis following the guidancein
Governance and Aécountability for Smaller Authorities — a
Practitioners’ Guide to Proper Practices and present fairly
as recordedin minute reference:
the financial position of this authority.
Signed by Responsible Financial Officer before being ACePRA Ikenn on 22-0
presented to the author. for approval
Signed by Chairman of the meeting where the Accounting

“age: oecaney
Statements were appro

Date

Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2020/21 Part 3 Page 5 of 6
Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities*
 Smalier authority name: Hellesdon Parish Council

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION

OF UNAUDITED ANNUAL GOVERNANCE &

ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 Sections 26 and 27
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)
NOTICE NOTES

1. Date of announcement Wednesday 23 June 2021 (a) (a) insert date of placing of the notice
which must be not less than 1 day
before the date in (c) below
2. Each year the smaller authority’s Annual Governance and Accountability
Return (AGAR) needs to be reviewed by an external auditor appointed by
Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments Ltd. The unaudited AGAR has been
published with this notice. As it has yet to be reviewed by the appointed auditor,
it is subject to change as a result of that review.
Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of 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 must be made available for inspection by any person
interested. For the year ended 31 March 2021, these documents will be available
on reasonable notice by application to:
(b} Insert name, position and
(b) Natasha Carver, Responsible Financial Officer, address/telephone numberf/ email
Diamond Jubilee Lodge, Woodview Road, Hellesdon, Norwich, NR6 5QB. address, as appropriate, of the Clerk or
Tele 01603 301751; email clerk@hellesdon-pc.gov.uk other person to which any person may
apply to inspect the accounts

(©) insert date, which must be at least 1
commencing on (c) Thursday 24 June 2021
day after the date of announcement in (a)
above and at least 30 working days
before the date appointed in (d) below
and ending on (d) Wednesday 4 August 2021
(d) The inspection period between (c)
and (d) must be 30 working days
3. Local government electors and their representatives also have: inclusive and must include the first 10
working days of July.
e The opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the accounting
records; and

© The right to make an objection which concerns a matter in respect of which
the appointed auditor could either make a public interest report or apply to
the court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice
of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the
smaller authority.

The appointed auditor can be contacted at the address in paragraph 4 below for
this purpose between the above dates only.

4. The smaller authority’s AGAR is subject to review by the appointed auditor
under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the
Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the NAO’s Code of Audit Practice
2015. The appointed auditor is:

PKF Littlejohn LLP (Ref: SBA Team)
15 Westferry Circus
Canary Wharf
London E14 4HD
(sba@pkf-l.com) (e) Insert name and position of person
placing the notice — this person must be
5. This announcement is made by (e) Natasha Carver, Responsible Financial the responsible financial officer for the
Officer smaller authority
 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
2021 for 2020/21 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 ail 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 itern 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. Smatler 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 auditors 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.

                  .    :               vue             If you wish to contact your authority’s appointed
 he Fo eae octet copies of the external auditor please write to the address in
      raat                 °       >          4        paragraph 4 of the Notice of Public Rights and
 penipestirl BocaSuthory cS A oe Publication of Unaudited Annual Governance &
your nants                                         - | Accountability Return.
Annual Internal Audit Report 2020/21

www hellesdan-po.gov.uk =."

During the financial year ended 31 March 2021, this authority's intemal auditor acting independently and on the basis
of an assessment of risk, carried out a selective assessment of contplance with the relevant procedures and contrals
in operation and obtained appropriate evidence from the authority.
The internal audit for 2020/21 has been carried oul in accordance with this authority's needs and planned coverage.
On the basis of the findings in the areas examined, the Internal audit conclusions are summarised in this table. Set
aut below are the objectives of intemal control and alongside are the internal audit conclusions on whether, in all
significant respects, the contral objectives were being achieved throtighout the financial year to a standard adequate
to meet the needs of this authority.
Not
Internal control objective
Yes_|. No* covered**

A. Appropriate accounting records have been properly kept throughout the financial year.
B, This authority complied with its financial regulallons, payments were supported by invoices, alll
‘expenditure was approved and VAT was appropriately accounted for. .
CG. This authority assessed the significant risks to achieving Ils objectives and raviewed the adequa
of arrangements to manage these,
D. The precept or rates requirement resulted from an adequate budgetary process; progress against
the budget was regularly monitored: and reserves were appropriate.
E. Expected income was fully received, based on correct prices, properly recorded and promptly
banked; and VAT was appropriately accounted for,
. Petty cash payments were properly supported by réceipts, all petty cash expenditure was approved
and VAT appropriately accounted for.
G. Salaries to employees and allowances to mambers were paid in accordance with this authority's
approvals, anid PAYE and NI requirements were properly applied.
H. Asset and investments registers Were complete and accurate and properly maintained.
. Periodic bank account reconciliations were properly carfied out during the year.
J. Accounting statements prepared during the year were prepared on the correct accauniting basis (receipts
and payments or Income and expenditure), agreed to the cash book, supporiad by an adequate audit
trail from underlying records and where appropriate debtors and creditors were properly recorded.
K. If the authority certified itself as exempt from a limited assurance review In 2019/20, it met the
exemption criteria and correctly declared itself exempt. (if the authority had a limitad assurance :
review of its 2019/20 AGAR tick “not covered’) ee | ees
L. Ifthe authority has an annual tumover not exceeding £25,006, it publishes Information on awebsitef jf"
webpage up fo date al the time ofthe internal audit in accordance with the Transparenay code for
smaller authorities.
M. The autharily, during the previous year (2019-20) correctly provided far the period for the exercise of
public rights as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulafions (evidenced by the nolice published
on the website and/or authorily approved minutes confirming the dates sel). ;
N. The authorily has complied with the publication requirements for 2019/20 AGAR
(see AGAR Page 1 Guidance Noles).

©. (For focal councils only)
Trust funds {including charltable)~ The council met its responsibililies as a trustee.
For any other risk areas identified by this authority adequate controls existed (list any other isk areas on separate shests if needed).
Date(s) internal audit undertaken Name of person who carried out the Internal audit

   04 fiz [x06              ii fosfa03                     :            ;      bites Kerleh an , Directtr, Lacking Fowen
 Signalure of person who               :         Olé. S—               la                                     24/05 /202f
 cartied outthe internal audit

Page 3 of 6
Annual Governance and Accauntabilily Return 2020/21 Parl 3
Locat Councils, Internal Drainage Beards and other Smailer Authorities

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