The Town Council publishes a budget and a formal audited statement of accounts every year. The council is also obliged to operate within financial guidelines, which include Financial Regulations and Standing Orders. These documents, and other policies which the council have adopted, are listed below.
This is the statutory document that the council has to produce to confirm that councillors have approve the accounts and that the accounts have been through a process of both internal audit and external audit.
Each month the Council reviews the expenditure to date compared to budget and the Clerk produces a quarterly budget monitoring report. The budget is set annually, usually in January, and is presented to the full Council for approval.
The annual budget includes income from residents’ Council Tax to cover some of the council’s costs. Council agrees this figure each year as part of the budget setting process. In 2026-27, the precept charge for a Band D property is £92.99. This will generate an income for the council in 2026-27 of £326,980.
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a planning charge, introduced by the Planning Act 2008 as a tool for local authorities to help deliver infrastructure to support the development of their area. Beccles Town Council currently receives 25% of any Community Infrastructure Levy contributions paid over to the district council.
Beccles Town Council must prepare a report for any financial year in which it receives CIL contributions.
The monthly full council meeting approves a list of expenditure. These lists can be viewed as an appendix to the minutes of each meeting of full council.
In addition, the council is required to publish quarterly a list of transactions above £500.
Councillors have a statutory duty to declare any pecuniary interests and for these to be published. For Beccles Town Council, the Register is maintained by East Suffolk Council. You can view the register for individual councillors by going to Beccles Town Council | Who’s who and clicking on the page for each councillor and then the link to their Register entry.
Financial Regulations govern the conduct of financial management by the Council and may only be amended or varied by Resolution of the Council. The Council are responsible for ensuring that its financial management is adequate and effective, including arrangement for the management of risk, and for the prevention and detection of fraud and corruption.
Beccles Town Council acknowledges the importance of prudently investing the temporary surplus funds held on behalf of the community as part of its fiduciary duty. This strategy establishes formal objectives, policies and practices and reporting arrangements for the effective management and control of the Council’s treasury management activities and the associated risks.
The Town Council has a statutory responsibility to carry our risk assessments of its activities, in order to minimise the risk to everyone who uses our services or open spaces.
Under the 1972 Local Government Act Councils have the power to organise their own affairs. When councils choose to do this, they are required to document how they intend to function.
This document is known as Standing Orders and will cover procedures during meetings; the committee structure they wish to use; financial matters not covered in the Councils Financial Regulations; delegation to Council Officers and other matters.
It is important to note Standing Orders cannot override any matters defined by legislation.
Local Government Transparency Code 2015
Overview
The Local Government Transparency Code 2015 (‘the Code’) came into effect on 1 April 2015. The Code is issued by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in exercise of powers under section 2 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980, and replaces any previous codes issued in relation to authorities in England under those powers.
Beccles Town Council meets the definition of a local authority covered by the requirements of the Code, defined as a ‘parish council which has gross annual income or expenditure (whichever is higher) exceeding £200,000’
Requirements
The Town Council complies with the requirements of the Code where applicable, by publishing the information on its website. The requirements of the code are as follows:
Quarterly publication – figures below are for quarter 1st July 2026 to 30th September 2026:
