Financial & Council Policies and Procedures Information

The Precept is that element of your Council Tax that is paid to Birstall Parish Council.

Every year, the Parish Council draws up budgets and calculates how much money it needs for the next Financial Year. These are usually finalised at the January Full Council meeting and then submitted to Charnwood Borough Council (CBC). CBC co-ordinates the other demands from Leicestershire County Council, the Police and themselves and come up with the rate to be paid from 1st April of that year.

The Parish Council employ an independent, external company to advise on Human Resources and Heath & Safety Matters to ensure that the Parish Council are current and comply with all required regulations.

They not only offer advice on a one to one basis regarding but also supply handbooks for employees regarding HR and H&S. They also supply two policies that are displayed in the offices and can also be found below.

What is a Fixed Asset Register?

A Fixed Asset Register has four main purposes:

• It forms a basis for completion of box 9 in the 'Annual Return';
• It forms a basis for decisions on risk and insurance issues;
• It provides information on the age and potential lifespan of certain items;
• It provides assurance of the continued existence of Council's property.

Scope of Asset Register

In order to ensure transparency and reasonableness, the following items are included in the Council's asset register, whether purchased, gifted or otherwise acquired, together with their holding location:

• land and buildings held freehold or on long term lease in the name of the Council;
• community assets;
• vehicles, plant and machinery;
• assets considered portable, attractive or of community significance;
• other assets estimated or known to have a minimum purchase or resale value of one hundred pounds;
• long term investments, shares and loans made by the Council;
• assets held in trust.

The following items fall outside the definition for inclusion and are, therefore, excluded from the Council's asset register:

• land and buildings held on short term lease or rented;
• land and buildings maintained or serviced but not owned by the Council;
• assets rented by or loaned to the Council;
• stock items intended for resale;
• stationery and other consumable items;
• boundaries of land owned (e.g. fences, hedges and gates);
• floor or land surfaces and drainage;
• plants and trees;
• assets with a purchase or resale value of less than one hundred pounds (other than items listed as for inclusion on the asset register);
• repairs;
• cash, short term investments and other current assets;
• intangible assets (e.g. trademarks, internet domain names, contingent assets, broadcast rights);
• 'negative' assets (e.g. provisions, borrowings, creditors and contingent liabilities).

Valuation of Assets

Once recorded on the asset register, the value of assets must not change from year to year until disposal. Concepts of depreciation and impairment adjustments are not appropriate for local councils (Governance and Accountability for Local Councils: A Practitioner's Guide (England) 2021 para. 5.148)- https://www.nalc.gov.uk/library/our-work/jpag/3479-practitioners-guide-2021/file

Assets must be valued by one of the following means based on available information:

• ideally, apply the purchase price (net of VAT if VAT has been reclaimed);
• otherwise, apply the purchase price (gross of VAT if VAT has not been reclaimed or where the VAT status of the purchase is unclear).

Where it is not possible to trace the purchase price of the asset, the insurance valuation should be applied. As a last resort, a nominal value of one pound may be applied. This should also be used for assets gifted to the Council.

A list of current contractors used by Birstall Parish Council can be found below. This complies with the Local Government Transparency Code.

A report of Birstall Parish Council's monthly expenditure for a Financial Year can be found below:

Here you can find details of any invitations to tender for contracts to provide goods and/or services with a value exceeding £30,000.

Notice to Tender - BIRSTALL Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) Installation

A Notice to Tender has been published on the GOV.UK Contracts Finder website and can be viewed using this link BIRSTALL Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) Installation - Contracts Finder

Birstall Parish Council is seeking a suitably qualified company to design, construct and install a new all-inclusive Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) on School Lane playing fields in Birstall.

The emphasis is on all-inclusive. The Parish Council's primary objective for the proposed MUGA is to provide an all-inclusive recreational sports facility for the local community. A facility that will focus on being fully accessible to wheelchair users to enjoy recreational activities.

The MUGA will provide for five-a-side football, walking football, circuit training, netball, basketball, and mini-cricket in terms of use but above all it must be accessible for wheelchair user sport and activities.

The proposed site for the installation is: School Lane playing fields, School Lane, Birstall, Leicester, LE4 4DH.

For further information please contact the Clerk, Sue Coulson by email only admin@birstallpc.org.uk