External auditor, PKF Littlejohn have completed a limited assurance review for the year ended 31 March 2020

The review is of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) for Ludlow Town
Council for the year ended 31 March 2020. Please find the external auditor report and certificate (Section 3 of the AGAR Part 3) along with a copy of Sections 1 and 2.

The external auditor report and certificate detail any matters arising from the review. The smaller authority must consider these matters and decide what, if any, action is required.

The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234) as amended by the Accounts and Audit (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/404) require Luldow Town Council to:

 Prepare a “Notice of conclusion of audit” which details the rights of inspection, in line with the statutory requirements.

 Publish the “Notice” along with the certified AGAR (Sections 1, 2 & 3) before 30 November, which must include publication on the smaller authority’s website. This deadline has been extended from 30 September 2020 for 2019/20 only as a result of the restrictions imposed by the government to prevent the spread of Covid-19. (Please note that when the statute and regulations were amended in 2014 and 2015, they did not include a requirement for the length of time for which the “Notice” must be published.

There is no requirement for the “Notice” to be publicly accessible for 5 years, as there is for the AGAR and the external auditor report and certificate. The previous statute required 14 days; but it is now up to the authority to make this decision).

 Keep copies of the AGAR available for purchase by any person on payment of a reasonable sum.

 Ensure that Sections 1, 2 and 3 of the published AGAR remain available for public access for a period of not less than 5 years from the date of publication.

Please click this the link and view the concluson notice and the Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) on the budget page.