(Local Councils) To receive an explanation of EFDC’s decision to use a revised tax base for the financial year 2015/16 without prior notification to the affected parish and town councils. The impact has been that these 11 councils have consequently received an adverse comment from the External Auditor on their Annual Returns. The Branch also seeks reassurance that this did not occur for the financial year 2016/17.
Minutes:
The Assistant Director of Accountancy explained to the Committee the situation regarding the Council Tax and Precepts for the 2015/16 year and why they had received an adverse comment from the External Auditor.
He advised that the Council had set a provisional tax base for the year 2015/16 which was communicated to the major preceptors, that being the Fire, Police and Essex County Council during November 2014. However this tax base figure was later updated and it became apparent during January 2015 that due to an oversight this change had not been reported to the major preceptors only to the Town and Parish Councils. Therefore the major preceptors were working on one basis and the Town and Parish Councils on another basis. As soon as the issue was identified the major preceptors were contacted with a view to getting them to amend their budget papers to reflect the precept figures that had been updated but for whatever reason this did not happen.
When the Parish and Town Councils put in their precept demands the District Council honoured these in full. However within the District Council’s accounts this was accounted for slightly differently and the difference between the two figures was treated as a grant.
The Assistant Director, Accountancy understood that when the final accounts for that year were reviewed by the auditors the issue became apparent and that there was a return that the Parish and Town Councils would have to make to Central Government around the precepts of income that they received during the year.
He advised that in hindsight it would have been helpful if the District Council could have communicated the issue to the Town and Parish Councils and that the Auditors should have also alerted the District Council at that point and the issue could have been resolved.
The Assistant Director confirmed that this did not happen for the 2016/17 year.
Town and Parish members expressed concerns and they asked the District Council to send all of the Town and Parish Council’s a letter of apology to explain that they were not at fault. Loughton and Waltham Abbey had achieved Gold Quality Status at their accreditation and they were concerned that they would now be marked down for no fault of their own.
Councillor Knapman advised that he was a Member of Essex County Council’s Audit Committee and Chairman of the Fire Service Audit Committee and would raise this matter at the next meeting of both of these Committees, as to why they hadn’t updated their figures.
The Assistant Director of Governance advised that the Assistant Director of Accountancy should approach the Director of Resources to discuss this matter and then he would inform the Town and Parish Councils of the outcome.
RESOLVED:
(1) That Councillor Knapman would raise with Essex County Council’s Audit Committee and the Fire Service Audit Committee why the figures had not been updated; and
(2) The Director of Accountancy would inform the Town and Parish Councils of the outcome of the Director of Finance’s decision regarding sending letters of apology to the Town & Parish Councils in the District.