The Council is a ‘Precepting Authority’ which means that it is lawfully allowed to set its own funding level. The ‘Precept’ is collected by Somerset Council as part of Council Tax. The Parish Council agrees ‘the precept’ in January each year, based on a budgeted forecast of the level of expenditure it requires to fund its activities and services (less any remaining funds from the previous year and grants it may receive from time to time).
The finalised audited accounts for previous financial years and the Parish Council’s budget for the current year can be seen here.
The Budget shows the ‘Out-turn’ of the previous financial year, the budget for the current financial year, how this budget is performing and a forward look at the budget requirement for the next financial year. The budget is structured to either exclude or include VAT (clearly stated in the budget) and as an iterative document will be updated throughout the year.
The Precept requirement for 2023/24 is available here.
The Council has a Grant Award Policy which can be downloaded here. this should not be confused with Community Benefit Fund which is dealt with on a separate page – Community Benefit Fund.