Are you passionate about your community?
Do you want to help make a long-lasting change?
Do you have innovative ideas for the Town Council?
Do you have concerns about a specific issue and want to do something about it?

Peterlee Town Council has a vacancy for the role of Councillor in the Passfield area. If you live, work or own property in Peterlee you can apply to be a ‘co-opted’ Member of the Council.

You can read more about what local councils and councillors do here: https://www.nalc.gov.uk/our-work/local-elections#how-to-become-a-councillor

Application forms are available to download here: https://www.peterlee.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2023/02/co-opt-app-form-live-form.pdf

Completed application forms must be submitted electronically or in hard copy by close of play on Monday 20th February. Applications will be considered at the Council meeting on 27th February, and applicants will be offered the opportunity to speak to the Council about their application to join as a co-opted Member at that meeting.

If you’d like to speak to someone about the position please contact our Democratic Services Manager Kay on 0191 586 2491 or by email council@peterlee.gov.uk

Peterlee Town Council apologises for the poor fireworks display at The Pavilion on Helford Road on Saturday 5th November 2022.

The council had placed a contract with Nemesis Pyrotechnics Ltd for a 18-20 minute fireworks display.  Clearly the display that they provided was far too short and we’re as annoyed and disappointed about it as the thousands of local residents who braved the wet and windy weather to watch the display.

A good deal of time and effort goes in to planning a safe and fun fireworks display every year.  An estimated 3,000-4,000 people came to this event and many enjoyed the free children’s entertainment in The Pavilion and the food provided by catering students from East Durham College.  We are gutted to have been let down so badly by the fireworks company who were trusted to run the key part of the event, and we are deeply sorry for the disappointment felt by so many.

For sale by sealed bids only

Peterlee Town Council is disposing of this TR-Max 320 grass cutting snake.  This is the 2014 model, has a 3.23mtr cutting width and requires an operating system of 30-75bhp.

Sold as seen for spare and repair only.

A photo of the machine can be viewed here: Tri-max 320 spares or repair sale

If you would like to arrange a viewing of the machine prior to placing an order please contact Wayne Harriman on 07801244467 or 0191 5862491.

Any bids must be submitted in writing in a sealed envelope marked

‘FAO Ian Morris, Chief Officer, ref Tri-Max 320 Bid’

and delivered to Shotton Hall, Peterlee SR8 2PH no later than 12pm on Monday 31st October 2022.

Please ensure that you include your name and contact details with the bid!

Section 25 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014

Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015

The External Auditor’s report confirms that the AGAR for 2021/22 was in accordance with proper practices and that they have no cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met (see page 6 here)

The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, and The Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 234)

Please note that an electronic version of the signed AGAR document is also available to view or download here: https://www.peterlee.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2022/06/Annual-Return-PTC-202122-signed-scanned.pdf

Councils’ Accounts: A Summary of Public Rights

The basic position

By law any interested person has the right to inspect a council’s/meeting’s accounts.  If you are entitled and registered to vote in local council elections then you (or your representative) have additional rights to ask the appointed auditor questions about the Council’s accounts or object to 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 advertise that they are available for people to inspect. Having given the Council reasonable notice of your intentions, you then have 30 working days to look through the accounting statements in the Annual Return and any supporting documents. By arrangement, you will be able to inspect and make copies of the accounts and the relevant documents. 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 questions must be about the accounts for the financial year just ended. 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 it should not have, or that someone has caused a loss to the council deliberately or by behaving irresponsibly, you can request the auditor to apply to the courts for a declaration that an item of account is contrary to law. You do this by sending a formal ‘notice of objection’ to the auditor at the address below. The notice must be in writing and copied to the council. In it, you must tell the auditor why you are objecting and what you want the auditor to do about it. 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’. You must follow the same procedure as outlined in the previous paragraph. The auditor must then decide whether to take any action. The auditor does not have to, but usually will, give reasons for his/her decision and you cannot appeal to the courts. More information is available on the National Audit Office website (see contact details below).

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 your solicitor. You may also be able to approach the Standards Committee of your local principal authority if you believe that a member of the council has broken the Code of Conduct for Members.

What else you can do

Instead of objecting, you can give the auditor information that is relevant to his/her 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 should make it clear that you are providing information rather than making a formal objection. You do not have to follow any set time limits or procedures. The auditor does not have to give you a detailed report of any subsequent investigation, but will usually tell you the outcome.

A final word

Councils, and so local taxpayers, must meet the costs of dealing with questions and objections. In deciding whether to take your objection forward, one of a series of factors the auditor must take into account is the cost that will be involved. The auditor 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.

Who should you contact?

The Autumn edition of Peterlee Magazine was delivered to homes in Peterlee over the last couple of weeks.  Here’s a link to the online version as well, just in case you missed the paper version!

https://www.paperturn-view.com/uk/lesley-palmer-advertising/lr-peterlee-town-council-autumn-2021?pid=MTg189672

PETERLEE TOWN COUNCIL

Section 25 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014

Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015

Local council name: Peterlee Town Council

The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, and

The Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 234)

A pdf version of the notice can be viewed here: https://www.peterlee.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/37/2021/06/Notice-of-exercise-of-public-rights-2021.pdf

Councils’ Accounts: A Summary of Public Rights

The basic position

By law any interested person has the right to inspect a council’s/meeting’s accounts.  If you are entitled and registered to vote in local council elections then you (or your representative) have additional rights to ask the appointed auditor questions about the council’s accounts or object to 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 advertise that they are available for people to inspect. Having given the council reasonable notice of your intentions, you then have 30 working days to look through the accounting statements in the Annual Return and any supporting documents. By arrangement, you will be able to inspect and make copies of the accounts and the relevant documents. 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 questions must be about the accounts for the financial year just ended. 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 it should not have, or that someone has caused a loss to the council deliberately or by behaving irresponsibly, you can request the auditor to apply to the courts for a declaration that an item of account is contrary to law. You do this by sending a formal ‘notice of objection’ to the auditor at the address below. The notice must be in writing and copied to the council. In it, you must tell the auditor why you are objecting and what you want the auditor to do about it. 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’. You must follow the same procedure as outlined in the previous paragraph. The auditor must then decide whether to take any action. The auditor does not have to, but usually will, give reasons for his/her decision and you cannot appeal to the courts. More information is available on the National Audit Office website (see contact details below).

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 your solicitor. You may also be able to approach the Standards Committee of your local principal authority if you believe that a member of the council has broken the Code of Conduct for Members.

What else you can do

Instead of objecting, you can give the auditor information that is relevant to his/her 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 should make it clear that you are providing information rather than making a formal objection. You do not have to follow any set time limits or procedures. The auditor does not have to give you a detailed report of any subsequent investigation, but will usually tell you the outcome.

A final word

Councils, and so local taxpayers, must meet the costs of dealing with questions and objections. In deciding whether to take your objection forward, one of a series of factors the auditor must take into account is the cost that will be involved. The auditor 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.