Frome Town Council is open and transparent in all its finance activities and ensures financial management is adequate, effective and has a sound system of internal control. The foundation to achieve this is our Financial Regulations which are reviewed each year. In addition, our expenditure decision making adheres to certain ethical and connected party choices laid out in our Ethical decision Matrix and our Connected Party Declaration form.
The annual budget for the following year is discussed by Councillors and receives final approval at the January council meeting. After expenditure is agreed and any expected income deducted, it leaves a balance required for the Council to provide its services and deliver its Strategic Plan. The balance required is called the ‘Precept’.
The ‘Precept’ is the part of your Council Tax bill that comes to Frome Town Council. The size of your property determines how much Council Tax you pay. Properties are put into one of eight bands, A being the lowest, and H the highest, with Band D being the average.
For Band D properties in 2023/24 this will be £218.92, although 76% of Frome residents will pay less being in Bands A, B and C. All the Council tax is collected by Somerset Council and is then distributed between Avon and Somerset Police, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue, Somerset Council and Frome Town Council.
For the financial year 2023/24 Frome Town Council’s ‘Precept’ is £1,983,504.
The council receives assurance from Internal (quarterly) and External (annual) auditors that they are carrying out their duties responsibly and that appropriate accounting records have been kept.
16th May 2024 – The first Notice of Public Rights for the provisional Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) for 2023/24 is published following approval at the Annual Council meeting on 15th May 2024. The AGAR and associated documents have been submitted to external auditors PKF Littlejohn for the annual audit.
15th October 2024 – The second Notice of Public Rights for the audited Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) for 2023/24 is published here following confirmation from external auditors P K F Littlejohn LLP. Please note this has been published on 15th October 2024 as this is the date the report and closure documents were received.
Previous 5 years of Notice of Conclusion of Audit
Internal Auditors reports
Payments over £500
In order to achieve the aim of being open and transparent, to allow residents to see what the council spends its money on, details of payments over £500 to suppliers each month can be found here:
For more information on any finance related matters please contact:
Sarah Williams, Responsible Finance Officer – email: swilliams@frometowncouncil.gov.uk
Hannah Watts, Assistant Finance Officer – email: hwatts@frometowncouncil.gov.uk Becca Evans, Business Administrator – email bevans@frometowncouncil.gov.uk
