Financial Regulations

Financial Regulations for Weston on the Green Parish Council were approved at 12th May 2026 Parish Council meeting.

Financial Regulations are the rules that govern how a parish council manages, spends and accounts for public money. They set out the procedures councillors and staff must follow to ensure that the council’s finances are managed properly, transparently and responsibly.

For a parish council such as Weston on the Green, the money involved largely comes from the precept paid by local residents through their council tax, together with grants, donations and other income. Financial Regulations help ensure that this money is protected and used for the purposes agreed by the Council.

Financial Regulations cover the following areas:

• Budgeting and spending: how the annual budget and precept are prepared, approved and monitored, and how the Council ensures that expenditure is affordable and properly authorised.
• Purchasing goods and services: the procedures for obtaining quotations or tenders, comparing prices, awarding contracts and demonstrating value for money. For example, this could apply to bus shelters, tree work or repairs to parish assets.
• Banking and payments: who can authorise payments, how online banking is controlled, what checks are required and how the Council prevents unauthorised payments or fraud.
• Roles and responsibilities: the respective responsibilities of the full Council, committees, the Clerk and the Responsible Financial Officer (RFO), including which decisions can be delegated and which must be made by the Council.
• Accounting and audit: how financial records are maintained, income and expenditure are recorded, accounts are checked and information is provided for internal and external audit.
• Risk management and protection of assets: how the Council identifies financial risks, protects its bank accounts and assets, maintains appropriate insurance and establishes checks to reduce the risk of error, fraud or misuse of funds.

All councillors share responsibility for ensuring that the Council manages public money properly.

Financial Regulations provide a clear framework so that:

• Decisions about spending are made by the right people, with the correct authority.
• Public money is not committed without proper approval.
• Purchases and contracts are handled fairly and represent value for money.
• There is a clear audit trail showing how and why money was spent.
• The Council can demonstrate to residents and auditors that it has appropriate financial controls.