Bleadon Parish Council indicates that it failed in 7 out of 9 areas of governance last year, along with 9 independently assessed internal controls, as revealed in its current 2022-23 Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR)
The current 2022-23 AGAR Return follows the previous two years, where Bleadon Parish Council (BPC) told residents to take their concerns to the External Auditor via AGAR, rather than answer their questions. BPC’s previous lack of openness and transparency cost the council over £10K, with at least 15 resident concerns being wholly or partially upheld, including those relating to non-compliance with regulations and lack of best practice.
So how did the £10K external audit processes, and Auditors reports of 2021 and 2022, benefit residents? …. we should now get everything we should have had in the first place!! This includes:
- Better governance and financial compliance
- Increased best practice.
- Greater openness, transparency and timely access to information.
- Agenda that automatically contain all agenda related non-confidential documentation in the appendices.
- Including documentation on decision making and spending on working groups, contracts, budgets, trusts, assets and reserves.
- The Coronation Halls, with a stated insurance value of £1million, are now back in trust after mysteriously being logged on the council’s own Asset Register for a few years! (and 2020)
- The External Auditor also confirmed that if independent groups request public money from BPC, like the Playground Trust, Bleadon in Bloom Project, Halls Trust and Youth Club Trust, they should apply via the formal more transparent grant process, as all other groups are requested to do.
Residents will have to wait until next summer’s 2024 AGAR to see if the new councillors, elected since May 23, along with a new clerk (qualified or otherwise), will officially do any better.
In the meantime, if you want to see documents and invoices relating to expenditure and activities for Apr22-Mar23, contact BPC's locum clerk before Friday 04 August 2023, more info here.
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See also:
- Other parish councils
- Weasenham Parish Council (PDF)
- "Dogged resident whose constant criticism of local council sparked mass resignation declares himself vindicated as 27 of his 31 complaints are upheld David Fairchild spent five years going over Weasenham Parish Council's returns His investigations saw £15,000 of local taxpayers' money being spent on audits"
- Nationally - Seventh Annual Report of the Chair of the Committee of Public Accounts Second Special Report of Session 2022–23 (PDF)
- "Government’s annual reports and accounts estimate fraud against the taxpayer rose from £5.5 billion in total over the two years before the pandemic (2018–20) to £21 billion in total over the two years since the start of the pandemic (2020–22).Departments have a duty to recover taxpayer money lost to fraud and error and prevent it in the future".
Previous Bleadon Accountability Statement AGAR Guide (AUG23)
External Audit Challenges (2020-2022)
2023
2022
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