Finances

Parish Precept

Parish Councils do not receive any direct funding from central government and rely on their Precept and any other income they generate from services or facilities they provide.

In North Marston, the Precept is collected on the Parish Council’s behalf by Buckinghamshire Council and makes up a small percentage of your Council Tax. The Parish Council needs to agree a budget before it can set its Precept and both must be agreed by the full Parish Council. When calculating the Precept, the Parish Council takes into consideration its current year's spending levels and the ongoing services for which it is responsible e.g. grass and hedge maintenance and asset repairs, the council's running costs such as the Clerk's salary, any projected spending on projects, contingencies and reserves and levels of any anticipated income e.g. from grants and the hire of the Memorial Hall by the Preschool, and private hirings for events.

The Precept Calculation is based on the number of Band D properties in the parish. This is the middle band of Council Tax and is supposed to represent the amount of Council Tax paid on an average property in the area. Once the Precept has been approved by the Parish Council, we inform Buckinghamshire Council and it is then added to residents Council Tax bills. Buckinghamshire Council pay the Precept to the Parish Council in two instalments in April and September.

Audit

The financial year for local councils is a 12 month period from 1st April to 31st March.

At the end of the financial year, the Clerk prepares an Annual Governance and Accountability Return, known as the AGAR. This is a mandatory document required under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. It is submitted to both the internal and external auditors and provides a snapshot of the council's financial transactions, governance arrangements, and other key information. It helps to ensure that the council is operating in a responsible and efficient manner, and serves as a means of demonstrating accountability and transparency to the public. It also helps parish councillors to assess the council's financial health to make sure that resources are used effectively and to help members of the public understand the council's activities and financial transactions.