Notice of Public Rights and Unaudited Accounts
2019-20

WHAT SMALLER AUTHORITIES NEED TO DO TO ADVERTISE THE PERIOD DURING WHICH
ELECTORS AND INTERESTED PERSONS MAY EXERCISE RIGHTS RELATING TO THE ANNUAL
ACCOUNTS

The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015
require that:

1. 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, during a period of 30
working days set by the smaller authority and including the first 10 working days of July.

2. The period referred to in paragraph (1) starts with the day on which the period for the
exercise of public rights is treated as having been commenced i.e. the day following the
day on which all of the obligations in paragraph (3) below have been fulfilled.

3. The responsible financial officer for a relevant authority must, on behalf of that
authority, publish (which must include publication on the authority’s website):

(a) the Accounting Statements (i.e. Section 2 of either Part 2 or 3, whichever is
relevant, of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR)), accompanied
by:

(i) a declaration, signed by that officer to the effect that the status of the
Accounting Statements are unaudited and that the Accounting Statements
as published may be subject to change;

(ii) the Annual Governance Statement (i.e. Section 1 of either Part 2 or Part 3,
whichever is relevant, of the AGAR); and

(b) a statement that sets out—

(i) the period for the exercise of public rights;

(ii) details of the manner in which notice should be given of an intention to
inspect the accounting records and other documents;

(iii) the name and address of the local auditor;

(iv) the provisions contained in section 26 (inspection of documents etc.) and
section 27 (right to make objections at audit) of the Act, as they have effect
in relation to the authority in question;

HOW DO YOU DO IT?

1. You will meet statutory requirements if you fully and accurately complete the notice of
public rights pro forma in this document, and

2. Publish (including publication on the smaller authority’s website) the following
documents, the day before the public rights period commences:

a. the approved Sections 1 and 2 of either Part 2 or 3, whichever is relevant to your
smaller authority, of the AGAR; and

b. the completed Notice of Public Rights and Publication of Unaudited Annual
Governance & Accountability Return. Please note that we have pre-completed it
with the following suggested dates: Monday 17 June – Friday 26 July 2019. (The
latest possible dates that comply with the statutory requirements are Monday 1 July
– Friday 9 August 2019); and

c. the notes which accompany the Notice (Local authority accounts: a summary of your
rights).

Smaller authority name: _____________________________________________

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION OF
UNAUDITED ANNUAL GOVERNANCE &
ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN

ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2019

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______11 JUNE 2019_________(a)

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 2019, these documents will be
available on reasonable notice by application to:

(b) _Mrs Lesley Cooper, Low Marshside, Underhill nr Mill LA18 5HA______
______email: eskdaleparishcouncil@gmail.com__________
Tele no 01229 775492

commencing on (c) __Monday 17 June 2019 _______________________

and ending on (d) ___Friday 26 July 2019 ________________________

3. Local government electors and their representatives also have:

• 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)
1 Westferry Circus
Canary Wharf
London E14 4HD
(sba@pkf-littlejohn.com)

5. This announcement is made by (e) Lesley Cooper, Interim Clerk/RFO

(e) Insert name and position of person
placing the notice – this person must
be the responsible financial officer for
the 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 1-12 July 2019 for 2018/19 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 all 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 item 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. Smaller 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 auditor’s 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.

For more detailed guidance on public rights
and the special powers of auditors, copies
of the publication Local authority accounts:
A guide to your rights are available from the
NAO website.

If you wish to contact your authority’s
appointed external auditor please write to the
address in paragraph 4 of the Notice of Public
Rights and Publication of Unaudited Annual
Governance & Accountability Return.