Biggleswade Town Council year end accounts 31st March 2010 & 2011

Details of the last post on this, dated 25th October 2011, can be seen at:

http://biggleswadeonline.blogspot.com/2011/10/biggleswade-health-centre-planning_25.html

I have changed the title of this post update from "Biggleswade Health Centre Planning Application - funding and expenditure - FOI Request." as after nearly a year of asking, I have now been told this. What now transpires is, that I do not have the "real" copy of the accounts for year ended 31st March 2010 & 2011.

On the morning of the 8th November 2011 a letter dated 5th November, was hand delivered from Deputy Town Mayor, Biggleswade Town Council. It advised me that an internal review had been held by a panel that consisted of Cllr W P Smith, Cllr. I Bond & Cllr M Russell. The review panel decided that the question I asked in January 2011 was similar to the question I had asked in December 2010, so had already been answered. I was advised in this letter that £49,690 was allocated to cost centre 4819 (Saxon Sports Village) in the year ended 31st March 2010. The panel advised that they felt I had now been supplied with all of the information required in response to my queries over the last eighteen months.

 

15th November 2011 my response, hand delivered to the Councillors home addresses that day.

Thank you for your letter dated 5th November, which was hand delivered on 8th November 2011.

In my email of 27th December 2010 to the Town Clerk, I asked:

Now we know that the approval for this expenditure on the planning application was not minuted, but can you tell me what powers were relied upon to authorise the Council going outside of its normal remit and spending this money??

His answer to that procedural question on the 4th January 2011 was:

Any other expenditure the Council consider as long as this is agreed by Council can be made from the capital budget; this does not fall under the same category as Grants and hence requires no powers.

My question of 9th January 2011 was:

Whilst I await the accounting information I have requested, can you tell me how this application was funded and expenditure allocated within the Town Council Accounts?

It may be considered that the Town Clerks email of 4th January 2011, answered the first part of the question, but I cannot for the life of me see where in the Town Clerks email he told me where the expenditure was allocated.

If the Town Clerk was so convinced that he had provided me the information why when I asked again on 23rd February 2011 did he refer me to the Auditors and again when I asked on 16th June 2011 did he ignore me?

It is also relevant, that prior to all of this I asked for a copy of the accounts for year ended 31st March 2010, I have attached a summary of my efforts.

You are now telling me that a total of £46,960 was capitalised at year end 31st March 2010. This is news to me. You are obviously under the impression that this is shown in the copy of the accounts that I finally received in February 2011, for that period. The copy I was provided with does not show any expenditure allocated to Cost Centre 4819 - Saxon Sports Village.  Neither does the one for 31st March 2011, although there were monies expended in that period as well, and the expenditure has continued into this year. In fact I have never seen a copy of the accounts for any period that shows any expenditure for Cost Centre 4819 - Saxon Sports Village. That's why I keep asking the question!

It appears that all our time has been wasted, because for some reason the Town Clerk has chosen not to provide me with the correct copy of the accounts.

I would be grateful if you can arrange for me to be provided with the correct copies of the cost centre breakdown for year ended 31st March 2010 and 2011. I would also be grateful if you could personally verify that these are correct before they are sent to me?

I thank you and your panel for the professional way that you have conducted this Internal Review.

encls:

1. summary of my efforts to get copy of accounts for year end 31st March 2010.

2. copy of page that I was told was part of year end 31st March 2010 accounts.

3. copy of page that I was told was part of year end 31st March 2011 accounts.

Emailed to Noel Mullarkey ICO

On the 25th November 2011 a letter dated 23rd November, was hand delivered from Deputy Town Mayor, Biggleswade Town Council.

The response was that:

A complete set of Budget papers for year ending 31st March 2011 were supplied to you on the 5th November 2011.

The copy budget sheets attached to your letter show the costs for the Saxon Sports Village allocated to 109/4819.

As you have already been provided with all the relevant information requested we are unable to supply any further documentation.

10th December 2011, my response sent by email to Cllr W P Smith, Cllr. I Bond & Cllr M Russell.

Thank you for your letter dated 23rd November 2011, which was hand delivered on 25th November 2011. I apologise for the delay in replying.

Given the information provided in your letters, I will advise the ICO that my request for the information, that was the subject of the Internal Review, has now been satisfied.

However you have now raised other issues that need resolving.

You said in your letter of 23rd November 2011:

"A complete set of Budget Papers for year ending 31st March 2010 were supplied to you on the 5th November 2011"

Is your reference to the 5th November 2011, to your letter of that date that was hand delivered on 8th November 2011? This letter did not indicate any enclosures and in fact there were no enclosures. Should there have been?

The "budget papers" finally provided to me as purporting to be year end accounts for both 31st March 2010 & 2011 do not show the expenditure of £49,960 you told me for 2010 or the £5876.70 the Auditors have told me was expended in 2011. All they show is a budget of £50,000 for 2010 with no expenditure and no budget or expenditure for 2011.

Therefore, I still do not have a copy of the year-end accounts for 2010 and 2011 which reflect these figures. As I asked in my letter of the 15th November 2011:

I would be grateful if you can arrange for me to be provided with the correct copies of the cost centre breakdown for year ended 31st March 2010 and 2011. I would also be grateful if you could personally verify that these are correct before they are sent to me.

I trust you will provide these documents in a timely manner, as I would prefer not to involve the ICO again.