The Parish Precept

Each year Old Basing and Lychpit Parish Council calculates how much money it requires to provide its services or achieve any planned projects.  This sum, called the Precept, is collected by Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council on behalf of the Parish Council as part of a household's council tax.  Old Basing & Lychpit Parish Council does not receive any money from central government or Hampshire County Council, nor does it receive any financial support from local business rates which are collected by the borough council.  Details of the amounts charged for your band are shown on your Council tax bill. 

For details of the items of expenditure included in the Precept charge click here. 

For additional details as to how your precept payment is spent, please click here. 

Why might the parish precept amount charged on a council tax bill have increased/lowered even though there has been no actual change in the parish precept?
Even if a Parish Council requests the same financial precept for a future financial year, due to changes in the number of Band D equivalent properties in the Parish, the individual precept against each property may change. This can result in the individual precept rising or falling by a small percentage even when the parish precept as a whole has not changed. 

Accountability

As a local resident, you have legal rights to inspect, ask questions about and challenge items in your Council's accounts.  For more information, the National Audit Office has published a guide, Local Authority Accounts - A Guide to your Rights.

Full details of the budget figures may be obtained on request, from the Parish Clerk for a small materials charge.

Details of previous years accounts can be also be obtained from the Parish Council office.

Accounts and Audit Regulations

In order to comply with the Accounts and Audit Regulations and associated documents, the Parish Council is required to publish certain information.  

The Local Audit & Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts & Audit Regulations 2015 set out the responsibilities of all local councils in respect of their accounting and auditing procedures. 

Each year, the Council's financial accounts and statements must be examined by an independent internal auditor appointed by the Parish Council.   

The Council is also required to complete an Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) which includes the findings of the Internal Auditor, together with Governance Statements and Financial Statements. The AGAR is then submitted to the independent external auditor appointed by the Audit Commission, for examination.