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Display or publish the completed notice and the notes which accompany it (Councils' Accounts: A
Summary of Your Rights) in a conspicuous place or conspicuously advertise the notice and notes.

COUNCILS' ACCOUNTS: A SUMMARY OF YOUR RIGHTS

The basic position

By law¹³ any person interested has the right to inspect a parish council's or parish meeting's accounts. If you are
entitled and registered to vote in local council elections then you (or your representative) also have the right to ask the
appointed auditor questions 14 about the council's accounts or object to 15 an item of account contained within them.

The right to inspect the accounts

When your council has finalised its accounts for the previous financial year it must let you know that they are available
for inspection. Giving your council reasonable notice of your intentions, you then have 20 working days to look
through the accounting statements in the annual return and any supporting documents. By arrangement you will be
able to make copies of the accounts and the relevant documents although you may have to pay a copying charge.

The right to ask the auditor questions about the accounts

You can only ask the appointed auditor questions about the accounts. The auditor does not have to answer questions
about the council's policies, finances, procedures or anything else not related to the accounts. Your question must be
about the accounts that they are auditing. The auditor does not have to say whether they think something the council
has done, or an item in its accounts, is lawful or reasonable.

The right to object to the accounts

If you think that the council, has spent money that they shouldn't have, or that someone has caused a loss to the
council deliberately or by behaving irresponsibly, you can object by sending a formal 'notice of objection' to the auditor
at the address below. The notice must be in writing. In it, you must tell the auditor why you are objecting. The
auditor must reach a decision on your objection. If you are not happy with that decision, you can appeal to the courts.

You may also object if you think that there is something in the accounts that the auditor should discuss with the council or
tell the public about in a 'public interest report'. Again, you must give your reasons in writing to the auditor at the
address below and send a copy to the council. In this case, the auditor must decide whether to take any action. The
auditor will normally, but does not have to, give reasons for their decision and you cannot appeal to the courts. More
information is available from the Audit Commission website.

You may not use this 'right·to object' to make a personal complaint or claim against your council. You should take such
complaints to your local Citizens' Advice Bureau, local Law Centre or to your solicitor. You may also be able to complain
to the Standards Committee of your Local authority if you believe a member of the council has broken the Code of
Conduct for Members. For further information about the local standards framework contact Standards for England at: The
Standards for England, Fourth Floor, Griffin House, 40 Lever Street, Manchester, M1 1 BB, telephone 0161 8175300 or
email: enquiries@standardsforengland.gov.uk. Standards for England website is at www.standardsforengland.gov.uk/.

What else you can do

Instead of objecting, you can give the auditor information that is relevant to their responsibilities. For example, you can
simply tell the auditor if you think that something is wrong with the accounts or about waste and inefficiency in the way
the council runs its services. You do not have to follow any set time limits or procedures. The auditor does not have to
give you a detailed report of their investigation, but they will usually tell you the outcome.

A final word

Councils, and so local taxpayers, meet the costs of dealing with questions and objections. When the auditor decides
whether to take your objection further, one of a series of factors they must take into account includes the costs that
will be involved. They will only continue with the objection if it is in the public interest to do so. If you appeal to the
courts, you might have to pay for the action yourself.

Copies of the publication Council Accounts - Your Rights are available
by calling FREEPHONE 0800 502030 or by down load from the. Audit
Commission website at http://www.audit-

13 Section 15(1) Audit Commission Act 1998
14 Section 15(2) Audit Commission Act 1998
15 Section 16(1) Audit Commission Act 1998

If you wish to contact your Council's appointed
external auditor please write to:

Audit Commission, 2^nd Floor, Aspinall House,
Aspinall Close, Middlebrook, Bolton, BL6 6QQ