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Lifting the Lid Part 5: Follow Your Money - Accounting

  For some time now people have been raising issues relating to  Parish Council governance, transparency, and decision-making.  Written below is a summary of a series of recurring concerns raised by residents, and those who have observed, from the inside, Parish Council financial administration, governance processes, and the transparency of decision-making. While each matter may be capable of explanation in isolation, the cumulative picture has led to wider questions about the consistency with which established procedures are applied and documented and the way in which this parish is governed. The intention here is to set out some of these issues clearly and to highlight areas where improved clarity, accountability and transparency may be necessary to maintain public confidence.  It is not intended to attribute fault, necessarily, to any individual.   1. External donations and financial recording A donation from the Betley Bonfire Committee was mad...
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Anonymous, Observer and the Betley Poison Pen

       It is unfortunate that in every community there are individuals who engage in persistent and often anonymous attempts to undermine others.  Such behaviour rarely involves open dialogue or accountability.   Instead, it tends to rely on misrepresentation, group pressure, harassment and intimidation, all of which are efforts to exclude or diminish those who hold different views. This blog, on occasion, attracts a small number of anonymous comments (for publication) who appear unwilling to engage constructively with what is written. There is a noticeable difficulty in acknowledging alternative perspectives, particularly those which challenge established or group-held views.  Rather than debate, the response can take the form of coordinated criticism intended to discredit or silence. This is a pattern that leans more toward pressure than discussion. In recent academic commentary on social behaviour, such patterns have been described as ‘poisonous...
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 Last week I received a response to one of the Blog pieces below from a Judy Bettley-Smith.   Part of it is worth reproducing here and in order to make sense of my response .  I felt a response on this occasion was needed: '''''''''''' 'Do you ever look at anything in a positive light? What have you achieved that has had a positive and beneficial impact? You just seem to enjoy trying to find fault wherever possible. What a sad way to live.' ''''''''''  I felt a response on this occasion was needed: Dear Mrs Bettley-Smith Thank you for your comments which you recently submitted to the AboutWrinehill Blog. I was disappointed to read them, as they came across as unnecessarily personal and dismissive.  I believe it is important that discussions about local matters remain respectful and focused on issues of importance and relevance to the Parish rather than individuals. My original comments w...
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Lifting the Lid Part 4 - Asset Registers and Risk Assessments

  Betley Parish Council Asset Register Each year local Councils are expected to update their Asset Register.   The Asset Register is part of the end of year accounting process so this needs to be addressed.   Parish Councils are not excluded from this exercise. An asset has several contexts:   it can be financial, business or personal.   In   a governance scenario all three appear to be enshrined in the term Asset and this would include any item with a long-term existence, purchased with public funds, which needs to be accounted for – whether it is cash/property- land/ equipment/ investments, Xmas lights/Xmas animals/SIDs and poles/statues/poppies/war memorials/benches/picnic tables/notice boards/display boards/ loudhailers/laptops /apps and other peripheral hard and software. For accounting purposes assets are listed on a company’s/Council’s balance sheet as either current assets (cash etc) or non-current assets (buildings, machinery and other tangib...
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At Last

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 Well finally,  I am delighted to report something positive - that Staffordshire County Council Highways Department is getting around to dealing with the constant flooding in Wrinehill . It appears to be carrying out all the repair and remedial work suggested (by the wrongfully defamed Councillor) and the land owner (who was being vilified)  in 2023.   Had action been taken in a timely manner so much inconvenience and damage to the road and verges and personal property  could have been avoided.   It is also amazing and salutary that all the mud was recently cleared by a local resident. This work also highlights the mis/disinformation that was circulating at the time regarding the cause of the flooding and confusing and getting in the way of a remedy - ie it was the fault of the the HS2 project and that it should be the one to take responsibility (and pay for any damage) etc..  That, in my view, was potentially libellous, and certainly rub...
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Lifting the Lid on Accounts (3) : Precepts and Reserves

  Recently Betley Parish Council decided to earmark £8000 from it s reserves to cover election expenses.  No election took place in April 2025 to replace one of the councillors.  Two applications were received and one was chosen by the Council as a co-optee to fill the vacancy for  Wrinehill. The rules are about to change with regard to who pays for local elections.  It seems that NBC will now charge parish and smaller councils.   In 2022 the cost of an election was around £350.   Now we are told that it will be £8000 as advised by the NBC.   Perhaps the NBC can give a full account of the costs?   It should also be noted that whilst larger council are capped with regard to the Council Tax, Parish councils are not.  Perhaps this is why the council tax in Betley has steadily risen over the years.  (At one point it was suggested that it rise by 10 percent.)  But then the Minutes can record a lot of information ...
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Lifting the Lid 2: Accounting and Governance

  Re Risk management and internal control: Did you know that: The Parish Council must ensure that it has a sound system of internal control, which delivers effective financial, operational and risk management.   It is unclear if this is the case.   The recent Finance and Audit Committee set up appeared to be unworkable and it is questionable why it was set up at all.   The same could be said for the Planning Committee.       That at least once a year, the Council must review the effectiveness of its system of internal control, before approving the Annual Governance Statement (ie completing the AGAR Form).   This can only be done by the full council not a working party or a committee.   It is not a tick box exercise and the process demands both scrutiny and honesty.    Any accounting control systems determined by the RFO must include measures to:   ensure that risk is appropriately managed; ensure the prompt, accura...
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