TAMWORTH BOROUGH COUNCIL 

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS
LOCAL AUDIT & ACCOUNTABILITY ACT 2014 (ss 26, 27, 28)
ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT REGULATIONS 2015
REGULATIONS 9, 14, 15
ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2021

 

2021/22 Statement of Accounts

In response to the COVID19 Pandemic, the Government introduced The Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2021. These Regulations provide authorities with additional time to complete the audit of their accounts, given the impact of the COVID19 virus on the availability of local authority staff and auditors to complete the audit process within current deadlines. These Regulations apply only in relation to annual accounts relating to the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years.

The period for the exercise of public rights under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 is normally required to include the first 10 working days of June. However, the requirement has been suspended for 2020 and 2021.

This means that for the deadline to publish the Council’s unaudited accounts has now moved from 31st May to 31st July, with the deadline for publishing audited statements being moved from 31st July to 30th September.

The Council’s accounts are subject to external audit by Laurelin Griffiths for and on behalf of Grant Thornton UK LLP.  Members of the public and local government electors have certain rights in the audit process:

1. Notice is hereby given under Regulation 15(2)(b) of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (as amended) that from 25th July 2022 to the 5th September 2022 (inclusive) between the hours of 9.00am to 4.30pm Monday to Friday any person may on reasonable notice inspect and make copies of the accounts of the Council for the year ended 31st March 2022 and certain related documents (comprising books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts), as stipulated in sections 25 and 26 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. The accounts and other documents will be available for inspection at the offices at which they are normally kept or otherwise by arrangement; application should be made initially to the Executive Director Finance, Marmion House, Lichfield Street, Tamworth; tel: 01827 709242. Please note a copy of the Councils accounts will also be available on the Councils website.

2. During this period, a local government elector of any area to which the accounts relate, or their representative may question the auditor about the accounts, or make an objection to the accounts as set out in sections 26 and 27 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Any objection, and the grounds on which it is made, must be sent to the auditor in writing, with a copy to the Executive Director Finance at the address given below. Any objection must state the grounds on which the objection is being made and particular of:

a.    any item of account which is alleged to be contrary to law; and

b.    any matter in respect of which it is proposed that the auditor could make a public interest report under section 24 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 7 to the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

Written notice of the proposed objection and the grounds on which it will be made must be sent to the auditor at the address given below, or via the Grant Thornton UK LLP website (www.grantthornton.co.uk) and also copied to the Council at the address given above. 

A guide to your rights can be found at www.nao.org.uk/code-audit-practice/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/03/Council-accounts-a-guide-to-your-rights.pdf

Please note that the accounts published for public rights of inspection are draft unaudited accounts and as such may be subject to change.

Questions may be received at Marmion House by arrangement with the auditor, Laurelin Griffiths, Grant Thornton UK LLP, 17th Floor, 103 Colmore Row, Birmingham, West Midlands, B3 3AG; tel: 0121 232 5363 to whom requests for this purpose should be addressed.  

S. GARNER, CPFA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FINANCE

Marmion House
Lichfield Street
TAMWORTH
Staffs
B79 7BZ