Smaller authorities FAQs

These regulations apply to all local government smaller authorities including: 

• Local councils (including parish, town, village and community councils and parish meetings) 

• Internal drainage boards 

• Other smaller authorities such as charter trustees, port health authorities, conservation bodies, harbour boards and crematorium boards. 

Authorities must have approved and published accounts before the first working day of July (1 July 2026). The relevant AGAR Form should be sent to Moore for review by 30 June 2026. 

As soon as the accounts are formally approved by the Council and all documents are signed by the relevant parties, you can send us the AGAR along with the supporting documents necessary and the dates intended for the Notice of Public Rights Period. 

We can then perform our review of the accounts and, once the Notice of Public Rights Period ends, and assuming no objections have been made, we can then sign off the report of the auditor. This will help make the process run efficiently. 

An additional charge of £40 plus VAT will be incurred each time Moore is required to send a formal reminder to any authority.  

Yes, there is no requirement for authorities satisfying the exemption criteria to have a Limited Assurance Review, they may request one. 

In these circumstances, the authority should complete an AGAR Form 3 (or 3PM) for 2025/26 and return it to Moore for review. The cost to the smaller authority for the review will be £210 + VAT. 

If completing Form 1 or Form 1PM 

• A copy of the Certificate of Exemption and Declaration of No Accounts 

If completing Form 2 or Form 2PM 

• Certificate of Exemption 

• Annual Internal Audit Report 2025/26 (recommended) 

• AGAR Section 1 – Annual Governance Statement 2025/26 

• AGAR Section 2 – Accounting Statements 2025/26 

• Analysis of variances 

• Bank reconciliation 

• Notice of the period for the exercise of public rights and other information required by Regulation 15 (2), Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 

• Name and address of the External Auditor 

If completing Form 3 or Form 3 PM 

• Annual Internal Auditors Report 2025/26 (recommended) 

• AGAR Section 1 – Annual Governance Statement 2025/26 

• AGAR Section 2 – Accounting Statements 2025/26 

• A declaration that the accounts are as yet unaudited 

• Notice of the period for the exercise of public rights and other information required by Regulation 15 (2) Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 

• Name and address of the External Auditor 

Additionally, in relation to AGAR Form 3 and Form 3PM only smaller authorities are required to publish* after conclusion of the exercise of public rights but before 1st October 2026 the following information: 

• AGAR Section 1 – Annual Governance Statement 2025/26 

• AGAR Section 2 – Accounting Statements 2025/26 

• AGAR Section 3 – The External Auditor Report and Certificate (if issued) together with a Notice of Conclusion of Audit. 

It is recommended as best practice that you also publish the Annual Internal Audit Report to avoid any potential confusion by local electors and interested parties. 

*Parish Meetings are not required to have their own website, therefore they may publish their documents on a suitable website OR display them in their local area for a period of not less than 14 days. 

The statutory requirements for 2025/26 in regards to the Period for the exercise of Public Rights are the following: 

• The smaller authority itself must notify the electorate of a single period of 30 working days during which their public rights may be exercised. This is done by publishing (including on the Council’s website) the relevant Notice of Announcement (Notice) and Sections 1 & 2 of the approved AGAR at least one day before the commencement of that period. This Notice must be dated when it is published. The relevant notice is one of either: Notice of Public Rights & Publication of Unaudited Annual Governance & Accountability Return for those subject to our review or Notice of Public Rights & Publication of Annual Governance & Accountability Return (Exempt Authority) for exempt authorities.  

• The period for the exercise of public rights is clearly defined in statute and must be for 30 consecutive working days and include the first 10 working days of July (i.e. 1 to 14 July 2026 inclusive). 

• Therefore, to meet these requirements, the period for the exercise of public rights may be exercised: 

• at the earliest, between Wednesday 3 June and Tuesday 14 July 2026: and 

• at the latest, between Wednesday 1 July and Tuesday 11 August 2026. 

• Please ensure the announcement notice is placed/published/uploaded, together with the supporting documentation, no later than one day before the commencement of the inspection period. 

• All authorities subject to a review must inform us, as external auditors, of the 30 working day period chosen whether it is our suggested period or alternative dates. Please note that this period must be exactly 30 working days, therefore please do not set dates that cover a longer period. 

• When calculating your inspection period, the strict 30 working day period must exclude weekends and bank holidays. If the statutory requirements above are not complied with, we must report this in Section 3 of the AGAR. 

If an elector has a question about or wants to challenge any item on the accounts, you should direct them in the first instance to the National Audit Office (NAO) publication – Local Authority Accounts: A guide to your rights 

The SAAA guidance advises: “The completed and signed AGAR when published on a website is by necessity a scanned document, and scanned documents by definition cannot be made accessible. Therefore, to comply with the Accessibility Regulations all that is needed is a note stating that the completed AGAR is a scanned document.”