Congleton Town Council receives the majority of its income from the Precept, which is collected through Council tax bills sent to all householders in April each year. The Town Council begins budget calculations around August -September each year to decide how much it will need to deliver its services for the town, and then requests the precept from Cheshire East Council in January once the budget has been approved by Council.
The Town Council’s finances are ultimately governed by the Accounts and Audit regulations 2015, which is a statutory instrument of government but the day-to-day operations are carried out with guidance from its own Standing Orders and Financial Regulations, which can be found in the Council’s Constitution.
The Council must produce a return called the Annual Governance and Accountability Return, which covers our annual governance statement and our annual accounting statements. The return is subject to a review by an external auditor appointed under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and National Audit Office’s Code of Audit Practice. The external auditors are chosen by Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments. (SAAA) The Council has a duty to publish the Annual Governance Statement and Accounting Statements once they have been approved by Council. Members of the public have a right to inspect all documents relating to these for a period of 30 working days after approval.
The Council also has to appoint an internal auditor to check that all the processes of the Council comply with regulations. Our current internal auditors are Auditing Solutions, based in Wiltshire. They carry out three internal audits per year and produce a report each time. They also have to sign the Annual Return.
Congleton Town Council also publishes the unaudited Financial Statements, which are produced by the external accountants (DCK Accounting Solutions who advise the National Association of Local Councils – NALC) in the FRSSE format (Financial Reporting Standards for Smaller Enterprises) to show the Town Council’s accounts in a similar format to a small business. It shows more detail than the Annual return for information.
Open Tender
None.
Awarded Tenders
Redesign and upgrade of Congleton Town Council’s website
Issue Date 23rd February 2024
Closing Date 15th March 2024
Awarded to Thrive Creative Limited
Project Management for the decarbonisation of Congleton Town Hall
Issue Date 12th April 2024
Closing Date 6th May 2024
Awarded to Pearson Surveyors Ltd
