POLICIES

The Council maintains a library of policy and other documents which are made publicly available to guide both the Council and the public. From time to time documents may be updated to reflect changes in policy and it should be noted that the Council is required to regularly review certain documents as part of the audit process.  All the documents in this library are in Adobe PDF format and will require software such as Acrobat Reader.  This may be obtained free of charge from [this link].

Hexham Town Council is not responsible in any way for the content of third-party (or external) web sites. When downloading software from a third-party source,  please be aware that you may be offered additional software (such as security scans or browser toolbars) which may not be appropriate for you.  Watch carefully for tick boxes which have been prefilled.

COUNCIL BUDGET

Background to the Hexham Town Council Budget

Hexham Town Council,  like other town and parish councils,  receives most of its income by precepting. The precept is an instruction to the principal authority (in Hexham’s case this is Northumberland County Council) to raise money on behalf of the town council by including an appropriate sum in the council tax bill.

The precept for 2023/24 is £482,900.00

There are no controls as such on the amount that town councils can precept,  but every council is aware of the significance of its own decision on this and council tax payers –  electors –  can always vote out councils or council members they disagree with at election time. Also the auditor will not condone the building up of a substantial reserve in a town council’s bank account,  unless it is earmarked for particular future projects.

Town and parish councils may only spend money on those things which they are permitted to do by law. This includes expenditure on services and activities (e.g. playing fields,  local amenities, etc.) provided by themselves or some other body,  as well as on running costs (e.g. staff pay,  insurance, etc.). Generally there are no maximum limits on expenditure. However,  expenditure incurred under Section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972,  the ‘free spending power’,  is restricted currently (2023/24) to a total of £8.82 per elector,  in any year,  a figure that is annually uplifted in line with inflation.

Town and parish council accounts are balanced on an annual basis,  1st April – 31st March.

Download the 2023 – 2024 Budget
Budget 2023 – 2024

Download the Audit Report for the year ended 31 March 2022

Notice of Conclusion of Audit 2021-22

Hexham Town Council’s budget

Hexham Town Council aims to keep its precept as low as is realistically possible. Each council tax paying household in Hexham will contribute on average about £99.79 in this current year.

The Town Council owns St Andrew’s Cemetery and the three allotment sites in the town, for which there is both further income and expenditure.

The Council’s income and expenditure is monitored closely and all accounts for payment and all income received are approved and recorded at every monthly Council meeting.

Town Council expenditure falls into 5 main categories:

Running costs – e.g. staff, office costs, insurance

Town services – e.g. allotments, play areas and skatepark, litter bins, seats, Abbey floodlights and town clock, bus shelters

Commemorations and celebrations – e.g. Christmas lights, Remembrance Day

Community – e.g. financial grants to organisations, town twinning

Cemetery – e.g. maintenance and running costs.

GRANT AID

The Council will consider applications for grant aid annually and has agreed a policy to deal with all applications.

The closing date for receipt of applications for the financial year 2024/2025 is 1 September 2023. Applications received after this date will not be considered.

The Council’s Grant Aid policy may be downloaded here Grant Aid Policy

The application form may be downloaded here Grant Aid Application Form

OTHER FUNDING

The Council also provides funding to support tourism and events in Hexham. Applications for this funding may be submitted at any time and will be considered at the next meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee which meets every four to six weeks. The application form may be downloaded here Tourism Support Fund Application Form

Requests for one-off donations (usually in the range of £50 to £250) to local charitable organisations may also be made at any time and will be considered at the next Committee meeting. There is no set format for this, please just email or write to the Council with information on the organisation, the sum requested and what it would be used for.