REMINDER - Sub £25,000 turnover councils - annual data sets due

A reminder to all small (sub £25,000 turnover) parish councils that the deadline to publish the annual data sets required by law is rapidly approaching.

The statutory deadline is 1st July each year and the following items must all be published on a website:

• All items of income and expenditure above £100.
• End of year accounts. The end of year accounts should be accompanied by a copy of the bank reconciliation for the relevant financial year; an explanation of any significant variances (e.g. more than 10-15%, in line with proper practices) in the statement of accounts for the relevant year and previous year; and an explanation of any differences between 'balances carried forward' and 'total cash and short term investments', if applicable.
• Annual governance statement.
• Internal audit report (as contained in the annual return).
• A list of councillor or member responsibilities.
• Details of public land and building assets.

The above requirements come from the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities (see here). This is the legislation which also requires all council meeting minutes to be published within a month of the meeting (even if still draft), and the publication of all background papers (e.g. financial reports, budget, planning applications, requests for grants, etc) alongside the agenda at least 3 clears days before the meeting.