snowdonia national park authority
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Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
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SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2016
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
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SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 2015/16
INDEX
Page(s)
Narrative Report 3-8
Statement of Responsibilities for the Statement of Accounts 9
Statement of Accounting Policies 10-19
The Accounting Statements:
- Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement 20-21
- Balance Sheet 22
- Movement in Reserves Statement 23-24
- Cash Flow Statement 25
Notes to the Accounts 26-59
Auditor’s Report 60-61
Annual Governance Statement 62-75
Glossary 76
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
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NARRATIVE REPORT
1. INTRODUCTION
The narrative report provides a brief explanation of the more significant matters reported in the accounts and aims to add to and assist the interpretation of the accounting statements which are set out on pages 20 to 25 and consist of :-
The Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement consolidates all the gains and losses experienced by the Authority during the financial year. These gains and losses should reconcile to the overall movement in net worth.
The Balance Sheet setting out the financial position of the Authority as at 31st March 2016.
The Movement in Reserves Statement is a summary of the changes that have taken place in the bottom half of the balance sheet over the financial year.
The Cash Flow Statement which summarises the inflows and outflows of cash arising from transactions for revenue and capital purposes.
The accounts are supported by the Statement of Accounting Policies and explanatory
notes.
2. ESTABLISHMENT OF SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY
Under the provision of Section 63 of the Environment Act 1995 and The National Park Authorities (Wales) Order 1995 the Secretary of State established the Snowdonia National Park Authority on 23rd November 1995
It has the following purposes as defined by the Act:
To conserve and enhance the natural beauty , wildlife and cultural heritage, and
To promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the (National) Park by the public.
The Authority has responsibility for planning, conservation, countryside management, access and recreation. Services such as schools, highways, social services and other Local Authority duties are carried out by the local Unitary Authority. The Act goes on to say that in pursuing National Park purposes, the National Park shall seek to foster the economic and social well being of local communities within its boundaries, and shall for that purpose co-operate with local Authorities and public bodies whose functions include the promotion of economic and social development within the area of the Park. The Authority is a local planning Authority under the Environment Act 1995 for the whole of the National Park, and is responsible for the production of the Local Development Plan and for the determination of planning applications.
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The National Park covers 2,139 square km of varied countryside including mountain, moorland, woodland and coast. About 25,702 (2011 census) people live in the National Park which receives an estimated 9.7 million visitor days each year.
Approximately 59% of the residents of the National Park are Welsh speaking. 3. APPROVED REVENUE EXPENDITURE
In determining the amount of the National Park Grant, the Welsh Government also
determines, in accordance with the National Park Authorities (Levies)(Wales) Regulations 1995 as amended, the minimum amount that can be raised by the National Park Authority for the financial year by way of levies to be borne by constituent Councils (billing authorities).
The Grant represents 75% of the total net revenue expenditure deemed appropriate by the Welsh Government for the National Park, while the remaining 25% is raised by way of the levies. A comparison of budgeted expenditure with the actual for 2015/16 is as follows:
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
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2015/16 REVENUE ACCOUNT
`
Revised
Budget
2015/2016
Actual
2015/2016 Variance
£ £ £
Conservation and Natural Environment 638,278 579,399 58,879
Conservation and Cultural Heritage 576,618 467,452 109,166
Understanding 1,581,561 1,491,097 90,464Recreation Management & Traffic and
Transport 472,212 314,608 157,604
Wardens, Estate Workers and Volunteers 1,274,236 1,223,193 51,043
Development Control 611,399 529,695 81,704
Forward Planning and Communities 721,955 622,524 99,431
Corporate & Democratic 674,682 619,082 55,600
Non Distributable Cost 16,000 16,000 -
NET COST OF SERVICES 6,566,941 5,863,050 703,891
Gains & losses on disposals - 44,073
Interest Earned - 17,067Net interest (Pensions adjustment) 286,000Capital grants and contributions - 578,364
NET OPERATING EXPENDITURE 5,509,546
Items debited/credited to the Authority Fund Balance - 239,600
5,269,946
FUNDED FROM
National Park Grant - 3,952,460
Levies to Constituent Councils - 1,317,486
- 5,269,946
4. REVENUE EXPENDITURE 2015/16 The Authority’s net expenditure is arrived at after deducting from gross
expenditure fees and charges, service specific grants and making other various deductions as detailed in the Income and Expenditure Account on pages 20-21.
The variance on the 2015/16 Revenue Account of £703,891 corresponds to the variance on service budget lines before transfers to/from reserves of £710,406 as reported in the “Revenue & Capital Outturn Report 2015/16” to the Authority on the 8 June 2016. The difference of -£6,515 consists of -£9,636 (removal of income on disposals to “Gains & losses on disposals”), +£12,745 (adjustment to Plas Tan y Bwlch income) and -£9,624 (accrual for redundancy cost).
5. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FUND Following the change in the Welsh Government settlement arrangements, the
Authority stipulated that for 2015/16, £157,000 of the National Park Grant be ring fenced to directly support partnership projects that develop and test ways of achieving a more sustainable way of living in Snowdonia. During the year expenditure from the
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grant-aided scheme, locally promoted as the Cronfa Arbrofol Eryri, was £124,354. (2014/15: £169,438).
6. MATERIAL ASSETS ACQUIRED AND LIABILITIES INCURRED
Assets acquired in 2015/16 were vehicles for the Planning and Land Management directorate, and items relating to the annual I.T. replacement programme. No material liabilities were incurred during the 2015/16 financial year other than the capital commitment referred to in note 11 to the Financial Statements.
7. PENSION LIABILITY Snowdonia National Park Authority is a member of the Gwynedd Pension Fund. The
accounts fully incorporate the requirements of International Accounting Standard 19 (IAS 19).
The policy reflects the commitment in the long-term to increase contributions to make
up any shortfall in attributable net assets in the pension fund. The net pension liability in the balance sheet reduces the net worth of the Authority
by £5.753m as at 31 of March 2016.
According to the Gwynedd Pension Fund’s Actuary the decrease of £3.097m in the pension liability is because of the increase in real bond yield rates. The bond rate is the discount rate used to calculate the present value of the pension benefits which will be paid in the future. If these rates fall in subsequent years the liability will increase.
8. UNUSUAL CHARGE OR CREDIT IN THE ACCOUNTS
The main credit of significance in the 2015/16 accounts relates to the decrease in pension liability as identified in note 7 above. There is a net capital receipt of £74,440 resulting from the sale of land at Aberangell.
9. CHANGE IN ACCOUNTING POLICIES The only significant change in accounting policy is that surplus assets are now valued at fair (market) value.
10. CHANGE IN STATUTORY FUNCTIONS
There have been no changes in statutory functions during 2015-16.
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11. CAPITAL EXPENDITURE 2015/16
Capital expenditure is expenditure on the acquisition of a fixed asset or expenditure which adds to and not merely maintains the value of the existing fixed asset.
Capital expenditure in the year amounted to £901k. Details of expenditure within each service area are shown in note 36. The expenditure was financed by grants and contributions from other bodies (£564k) and direct revenue financing (£337k).
All planned capital expenditure will be funded from revenue, external grants and reserves held for one off spends.
The main scheme in which the Authority was involved as at 31/3/2016 was the development of the Ysgwrn property currently estimated at a cost of circa £3.1m
12. CAPITAL FUNDING
All capital expenditure of the Authority, since being established on 23rd November 1995, has been funded by capital grants and contributions from the Government, European Community and other sources of grants, from capital receipts applied and from the Authority’s revenue resources. As at 31 March 2016 the Authority had no outstanding debts, and as such will continue to be regarded for treasury management purposes a debt-free authority.
13. SIGNIFICANT PROVISIONS / CONTINGENCIES AND MATERIAL WRITE OFFS
The General Revenue Reserve target of £400,000 was reviewed and confirmed by the Authority in the meeting on 9 December 2015. The Authority has specific Usable Reserves totalling £2,832k and these are detailed in note 21 to the financial statements.
14. REVALUATION OF ASSETS
One revaluation of a surplus asset was required during 2015/16.
15. MATERIAL EVENTS AFTER THE REPORTING DATE
The contract value for the main contractor on the Ysgwrn scheme (part 2) was reduced by £150k.
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16. CHANGE IN CLASSIFICATION IN THE COMPREHENSIVE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
STATEMENT
The lines relevant to the Ysgwrn have been moved from “Conservation and Natural Environment” to “Conservation and Cultural Heritage” on the basis of appropriateness.
17. IMPACT OF THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE
The Authority has balanced its budget for 2016/17 with an £18k contribution from reserves to “bridge” consistent with the recommendations approved in March 2016. Whilst measures have been considered to mitigate a further budget cut in 2017/18, it was decided to postpone any further implementation until better clarity is available following the May 2016 elections.
FURTHER INFORMATION Further information about this Statement of Account is available from:
Emyr Roberts Head of Finance Snowdonia National Park Authority National Park Offices Penrhyndeudraeth Gwynedd LL48 6LF Tel: 01766 772 225 Email: [email protected]
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THE STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS
THE AUTHORITY’S RESPONSIBILITIES The Authority is required to:-
Make arrangements for the proper administration of its financial affairs and to secure that one of its officers has the responsibility for the administration of those affairs. For Snowdonia National Park Authority, that officer is the Chief Finance Officer;
Manage its affairs to secure economic, efficient and effective use of resources and safeguard its assets;
Approve the statement of accounts. These accounts were approved by the Authority on 28 September 2016
THE CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER’S RESPONSIBILITIES The Chief Finance Officer is responsible for the preparation of the Authority’s statement of accounts in accordance with proper practices as set out in the CIPFA/LASAAC Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom (the CODE). In preparing this Statement of Accounts, the Chief Finance Officer has:-
Selected suitable accounting policies and then applied them consistently; Made judgements and estimates that were reasonable and prudent; Complied with the local authority CODE.
The Chief Financial Officer has also:-
Kept proper accounting records which were up to date; Taken reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other
irregularities.
CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER’S CERTIFICATE
I certify that the Statement of Accounts has been prepared in accordance with the Local Government Accounts and Audit Regulations and gives a true and fair view of the financial position of the Authority at the accounting date and its income and expenditure for the year ended 31 March 2016. Signature 16 September 2016 DAFYDD L. EDWARDS - CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER
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STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES
1. General Principles The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the CIPFA/LASAAC Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom (the CODE). The Code of Practice requires accounting policies to be applied consistently. The overriding requirement is that the Statement of Accounts “present a true and fair view” of the financial performance and position of the Authority.
2. Accounting Concepts The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the following fundamental (and pervasive) accounting principles and concepts:
Going concern
Relevance
Faithful representation
Comparability
Understandable
Materiality
Accruals
Primacy of legislative requirement These principles and concepts have been used in the selection and application of accounting policies and estimation techniques and in the exercise of professional judgement.
3. Accruals of Expenditure and Income The revenue and capital accounts of the Authority are maintained on an accruals basis. All sums due to the Authority are set up in the accounts at the time they are due.
The Debtors appearing in the balance sheet are the balances of those sums outstanding at 31st March 2016. Creditors are the amounts which are charged in the accounts for goods and services consumed or received, for which invoices had not been paid at 31st March 2016.
4. Acquired operations
No such items are applicable to the 2015/16 accounts
5. Cash and Cash Equivalents These consist of the Authority’s imprest and float accounts and cash held on “call” or short term deposit with banks where the monies are repayable without penalty on notice of not more than 24 hours.
6. Exceptional Items No such items are applicable to the 2015/16 accounts
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7. Prior period adjustments, changes in accounting policies and estimates and errors
There are no relevant material adjustments or changes impacting on the 2015/16 accounts.
8. Charges to revenue for non-current assets Services, support services and trading accounts are debited with the following amounts to record the cost of holding fixed assets during the year:
depreciation attributable to the assets used by the relevant service.
revaluation and impairment losses on assets used by the service where there are no accumulated gains in the Revaluation Reserve against which the losses can be written off.
amortisation of intangible fixed assets attributable to the service. These sums are not chargeable against the Authority’s General Fund and as such are therefore reversed out through an adjusting transaction with the Capital Adjustment Account as shown in the Movement in Reserves Statement.
9. Discontinued Operations No such items are applicable to the 2015/16 accounts (other than closure of one Information Centre at Dolgellau).
10. Employee Benefits Benefits Payable During Employment : Short-term employee benefits are those due to be settled within 12 months of the year-end. They include such benefits as wages and salaries, paid annual leave and paid sick leave, bonuses and non-monetary benefits (eg cars) for current employees and are recognised as an expense for services in the year in which employees render service to the Authority. Termination Benefits : Termination benefits are amounts payable as a result of a decision by the Authority to terminate an officer’s employment before the normal retirement date or an officer’s decision to accept voluntary redundancy and are charged on an accruals basis to the Non Distributed Costs line in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement when the Authority is demonstrably committed to the termination of the employment of an officer or group of officers or making an offer to encourage voluntary redundancy.
11. Events After the Balance Sheet Date Events after the Balance Sheet date are those events, both favourable and unfavourable, that occur between the end of the reporting period and the date when the Statement of Accounts is authorised for issue. Two types of events can be identified:
those that provide evidence of conditions that existed at the end of the reporting period – the Statement of Accounts is adjusted to reflect such events
those that are indicative of conditions that arose after the reporting period – the Statement of Accounts is not adjusted to reflect such events, but where a category of events would have a material effect, disclosure is
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made in the notes of the nature of the events and their estimated financial effect.
Events taking place after the date of authorisation for issue are not reflected in the Statement of Accounts.
12. Financial Instruments Financial Liabilities The Authority is a debt-free Authority in that it has no borrowings. Financial Assets Financial assets are classified into two types:
loans and receivables – assets that have fixed or determinable payments but are not quoted in an active market. Such instruments relevant to the Authority are car loans made to employees (however the sums are deemed not to be material enough for inclusion).
available-for-sale assets – assets that have a quoted market price and/or do not have fixed or determinable payments. The Authority has one such asset.
13. Foreign Currency translation
Income and expenditure arising from any transactions denominated in a foreign currency is translated to £ sterling.
14. Government Grants and other Contributions Whether paid on account, by instalments or in arrears, government grants and third party contributions and donations are recognised as due to the Authority when there is reasonable assurance that:
the Authority will comply with the conditions attached to the payments, and
the grants or contributions will be received. Amounts recognised as due to the Authority are not credited to the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement until conditions attached to the grant or contribution have been satisfied. Conditions are stipulations that specify that the future economic benefits or service potential embodied in the asset acquired using the grant or contribution are required to be consumed by the recipient as specified, or future economic benefits or service potential must be returned to the transferor. Monies advanced as grants and contributions for which conditions have not been satisfied are carried in the Balance Sheet as creditors. When conditions are satisfied, the grant or contribution is credited to the relevant service line (attributable revenue grants and contributions) or Taxation and Non-Specific Grant Income (non-ring fenced revenue grants and all capital grants) in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement. Where capital grants are credited to the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement, they are reversed out of the General Fund Balance in the Movement in Reserves Statement.
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Where the grant has yet to be used to finance capital expenditure, it is posted to the Capital Grants Unapplied reserve. Where it has been applied, it is posted to the Capital Adjustment Account. Amounts in the Capital Grants Unapplied reserve are transferred to the Capital Adjustment Account once they have been applied to fund capital expenditure.
15. Heritage Assets Heritage assets are those assets preserved in trust for future generations because of their cultural, environmental or historic associations i.e. they have historical, artistic, scientific, geophysical or environmental qualities. They are maintained by the Authority principally for their contribution to knowledge and culture, but are not utilised by the Authority in its normal course of business. Depreciation of heritage assets, where appropriate, is in line with the Authority’s general policy on depreciation.
16. Intangible Assets Purchased intangible assets in the form of software licences are accounted for as part of the Information Technology replacement programme, and are written off to revenue in line with depreciation charges.
17. Interests in Companies and Other Entities The Authority has an interest in a Limited Liability Partnership set up jointly by the 15 UK National Park Authorities for the purpose of generating income mainly from sponsorship.
18. Inventories and Long Term Contracts Stocks are brought into account at cost price for bar stocks, goods for resale and general provisions at Plas Tan y Bwlch, Study Centre, and for goods for resale at the Authority’s Information Centres. This is consistent with the policy adopted in previous years. Recommended practice requires stocks to be shown at the lower of actual cost or net realisable value but the difference in this case is not considered to be material.
19. Investment Property The Authority does not hold any such property.
20. Jointly controlled Property and Jointly Controlled Assets Following the end of the Snowdonia Uplands Footpaths Scheme, the assets acquired under that scheme are recorded in the accounts of Snowdonia National Park Authority but a proportion of these assets are in use by the National Trust. This was in lieu of the condition on the European grant funding awarded that the assets purchased are continued to be used by the partners in work related to that of the scheme. The condition has now lapsed and arrangements in place to formally transfer ownership of relevant assets to the National Trust.
21. Leases (Finance) As at 31/3/2016 the Authority has no finance lease arrangements.
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22. Leases (Operational) The Authority manages operating leases for:
Vehicles,
Photocopiers and snacks & drinks machines.
Land and buildings Lease payments are charged in full according to date payable on a straight line basis, ensuring an equal annual charge to service revenue accounts throughout the life of the lease. The Authority rents a number of properties in support of its services, and also receives rental income from a number of owned properties. The owned properties are held as fixed assets in the balance sheet. The lease income is accounted for on a straight line basis.
23. Overheads and Support Services
The costs of overheads and support services are charged to those that benefit from the supply or service in accordance with the costing principles of the CIPFA Best Value Accounting Code of Practice 2015/16 (BVACOP). The total absorption costing principle is used – the full cost of overheads and support services are shared between users in proportion to the benefits received, with the exception of:
Corporate and Democratic Core – costs relating to the Authority’s status as a multifunctional, democratic organisation.
Non Distributed Costs – past service costs relating to the Pension Fund. These two cost categories are defined in BVACOP and accounted for as separate headings in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement, as part of Net Expenditure on Continuing Services.
24. Property, Plant and Equipment Assets that have physical substance and are held for use in the production or supply of goods or services, for rental to others, or for administrative purposes and that are expected to be used during more than one financial year are classified as Property, Plant and Equipment. Recognition: Expenditure on the acquisition, creation or enhancement of Property, Plant and Equipment is capitalised on an accruals basis, provided that it is probable that the future economic benefits or service potential associated with the item will flow to the Authority and the cost of the item can be measured reliably. Expenditure that maintains but does not add to an asset’s potential to deliver future economic benefits or service potential (ie repairs and maintenance) is charged as an expense when it is incurred. Measurement: Assets are initially measured at cost, comprising: the purchase price any costs attributable to bringing the asset to the location and condition
necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management (the initial estimate of the costs of dismantling and removing the item and restoring the site on which it is located.)
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The cost of assets acquired other than by purchase is deemed to be its fair value, unless the acquisition does not have commercial substance (i.e. it will not lead to a variation in the cash flows of the Authority). In the latter case, where an asset is acquired via an exchange, the cost of the acquisition is the carrying amount of the asset given up by the Authority. Where gains are credited to the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement, they are reversed out of the General Fund Balance to the Capital Adjustment Account in the Movement in Reserves Statement. Assets are then carried in the Balance Sheet using the following measurement bases:
infrastructure, community assets and assets under construction – depreciated historical cost where known
Non-operational assets (surplus assets) - measured at fair (market) value.
all other assets – service potential at existing use value (EUV), determined as the amount that would be paid for the asset in its existing use.
Where there is no market-based evidence of fair value or existing use value because of the specialist nature of an asset, depreciated replacement cost (DRC) is used as an estimate of the value.
Where non-property assets that have short useful lives or low values (or both), depreciated historical cost basis is used as a proxy for fair value. Other than for information systems equipment, a de minimis level of £10,000 has been used for the recognition of non-current assets. Assets included in the Balance Sheet at fair value are revalued sufficiently regularly to ensure that their carrying amount is not materially different from their fair value at the year-end, but as a minimum every five years. Increases in valuations are matched by credits to the Revaluation Reserve to recognise unrealised gains. [Exceptionally, gains might be credited to the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement where they arise from the reversal of a loss previously charged to a service.] Where decreases in value are identified, they are accounted for by: o where there is a balance of revaluation gains for the asset in the Revaluation
Reserve, the carrying amount of the asset is written down against that balance (up to the amount of the accumulated gains)
o where there is no balance in the Revaluation Reserve or an insufficient balance, the carrying amount of the asset is written down against the relevant service line(s) in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement.
The Revaluation Reserve contains revaluation gains recognised since 1 April 2007 only, the date of its formal implementation. Gains arising before that date have been consolidated into the Capital Adjustment Account.
Componentisation :The Authority has applied the componentisation principle to those assets valued at £150,000 or over and where the difference in depreciation cost is identified as being material. This principle is applied in order that those elements of a property that have different operational lives and thereby differing rates of depreciation are recognised and accounted for.
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Impairment: Assets are assessed at each year-end as to whether there is any indication that an asset may be impaired. Where indications exist and any possible differences are estimated to be material, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated and, where this is less than the carrying amount of the asset, an impairment loss is recognised for the shortfall. Where impairment losses are identified, they are accounted for by:
where there is a balance of revaluation gains for the asset in the Revaluation Reserve, the carrying amount of the asset is written down against that balance (up to the amount of the accumulated gains)
where there is no balance in the Revaluation Reserve or an insufficient balance, the carrying amount of the asset is written down against the relevant service line(s) in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement.
Where an impairment loss is reversed subsequently, the reversal is credited to the relevant service line(s) in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement, up to the amount of the original loss, adjusted for depreciation that would have been charged if the loss had not been recognised. Depreciation: Depreciation is provided for on all Property, Plant and Equipment assets by the systematic allocation of their depreciable amounts over their useful lives. An exception is made for assets without a determinable finite useful life (i.e. freehold land and certain Community Assets) and assets that are not yet available for use (i.e. assets under construction). Neither investment assets nor assets held for sale are depreciated. Deprecation is calculated on the following bases:
buildings – straight-line allocation over the useful life of the property as estimated by the valuer
vehicles, plant, furniture and equipment – a percentage of the value of each class of assets in the Balance Sheet, as advised by a suitably qualified officer
Where an item of Property, Plant and Equipment asset has major components whose cost is significant in relation to the total cost of the item, the components are depreciated separately. Revaluation gains are also depreciated, with an amount equal to the difference between current value depreciation charged on assets and the depreciation that would have been chargeable based on their historical cost being transferred each year from the Revaluation Reserve to the Capital Adjustment Account. Disposals and Non-current Assets Held for Sale When it becomes probable that the carrying amount of an asset will be recovered principally through a sale transaction rather than through its continuing use, it is reclassified as an Asset Held for Sale. The asset is revalued immediately before reclassification and then carried at the lower of this amount and fair value less costs to sell. Where there is a subsequent decrease to fair value less costs to sell, the loss is posted to the Other Operating Expenditure line in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement. Gains in fair value are recognised only up to the amount of any previously losses recognised in the Surplus or Deficit on Provision of Services.
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If assets no longer meet the criteria to be classified as Assets Held for Sale, they are reclassified back to non-current assets and valued at the lower of their carrying amount before they were classified as held for sale; adjusted for depreciation, amortisation or revaluations that would have been recognised had they not been classified as Held for Sale, and their recoverable amount at the date of the decision not to sell. Assets that are to be abandoned or scrapped are not reclassified as Assets Held for Sale. When an asset is disposed of or decommissioned, the carrying amount of the asset in the Balance Sheet (whether Property, Plant and Equipment or Assets Held for Sale) is written off to the Other Operating Expenditure line in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement as part of the gain or loss on disposal. Receipts from disposals (if any) are credited to the same line in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement also as part of the gain or loss on disposal (i.e. netted off against the carrying value of the asset at the time of disposal). Any revaluation gains accumulated for the asset in the Revaluation Reserve are transferred to the Capital Adjustment Account. Amounts received for a disposal in excess of £10,000 are categorised as capital receipts. The balance of receipts is required to be credited to the Capital Receipts Reserve, and can then only be used for new capital investment [or set aside to reduce the Authority’s underlying need to borrow (the capital financing requirement)]. Receipts are appropriated to the Reserve from the General Fund Balance in the Movement in Reserves Statement. The written-off value of disposals is not a charge against the General Fund. These amounts are appropriated to the Capital Adjustment Account from the General Fund Balance in the Movement in Reserves Statement.
25. Provisions, contingent liabilities and contingent assets Provisions are made where an event has taken place that gives the Authority a legal or constructive obligation that probably requires settlement by a transfer of economic benefits or service potential, and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation. For instance, the Authority may be involved in a court case that could eventually result in the making of a settlement or the payment of compensation. Provisions Provisions are charged as an expense to the appropriate service line in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement in the year that the Authority becomes aware of the obligation, and are measured at the best estimate at the balance sheet date of the expenditure required to settle the obligation, taking into account relevant risks and uncertainties.
Contingent Liabilities A contingent liability arises where an event has taken place that gives the Authority a possible obligation whose existence will only be confirmed by the
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occurrence or otherwise of uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the authority. Contingent liabilities also arise in circumstances where a provision would otherwise be made but either it is not probable that an outflow of resources will be required or the amount of the obligation cannot be measured reliably. Contingent liabilities are not recognised in the Balance Sheet but disclosed in a note to the accounts. Contingent Assets A contingent asset arises where an event has taken place that gives the Authority a possible asset whose existence will only be confirmed by the occurrence or otherwise of uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the authority. Contingent assets are not recognised in the Balance Sheet but disclosed in a note to the accounts where it is probable that there will be an inflow of economic benefits or service potential.
26. Reserves The Authority sets aside specific amounts as reserves for future policy purposes or to cover contingencies. Reserves are created by appropriating amounts out of the General Fund Balance in the Movement in Reserves Statement. When expenditure to be financed from a reserve is incurred, it is charged to the appropriate service in that year to score against the Surplus or Deficit on the Provision of Services in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement. The reserve is then appropriated back into the General Fund Balance in the Movement in Reserves Statement so that there is no net charge against the General Fund for the expenditure. Certain reserves are kept to manage the accounting processes for non-current assets, financial instruments, retirement and employee benefits and do not represent usable resources for the Authority – these reserves are explained in the relevant policies.
27. Revenue Expenditure Funded From Capital Under Statute Expenditure incurred during the year that may be capitalised under statutory provisions but that does not result in the creation of a non-current asset has been charged as expenditure to the relevant service in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement in the year. Where the Authority has determined to meet the cost of this expenditure from existing capital resources or by borrowing, a transfer in the Movement in Reserves Statement from the General Fund Balance to the Capital Adjustment Account then reverses out the amounts charged so that there is no impact on the General Fund Balance.
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28. Value Added Tax VAT payable is included as an expense only to the extent that it is not recoverable from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. VAT receivable is excluded from income. The Authority supplies :
Some services which are exempt of VAT (e.g. providing educational courses at Plas Tan y Bwlch, renting out land & buildings without opting to tax etc.,), and
Other goods and services which are not exempt of VAT (e.g. bar sales at Plas Tan y Bwlch, sale of trees etc.,)
The Authority, therefore, falls within the scope of VAT Partial Exemption regulations (including at present the capital goods scheme). As such the Authority is unable to recover all the input tax incurred. It is the Authority’s practice to include all input tax which cannot be recovered from H.M. Revenue and Customs within the costs of relevant services.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 20 of 76
THE COMPREHENSIVE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE STATEMENT This statement shows the accounting cost in the year of providing services in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices.
2014/15
Gross
Expenditure
£'000
2014/15
Gross
Income
£'000
2014/15
Net
Expenditure
£'000
2015/16
Gross
Expenditure
£'000
2015/16
Gross
Income
£'000
2015/16
Net
Expenditure
£'000Conservation and Natural
Environment
214 - 5 209
Natural Environment and
Forestry 0 0 0
900 - 351 549
Conservation and
Agriculture 737 -158 579
1,114 -356 758 737 -158 579
Conservation and Cultural
Heritage
258 0 258 Built Environment 367 -29 338
266 -162 104 THI Dolgellau 0 0 0
95 -10 85 Archaeology 104 -12 92
19 -4 15 Ysgwrn 71 -8 63
13 -6 7 Ysgwrn (HLF scheme part1) 0 0 0
17 -19 -2 Ysgwrn (HLF scheme part2) 105 -132 -27
6 0 6 Bwrlwm Eryri 1 0 1
674 -201 473 648 -181 467
Understanding
1,346 -544 802 Study Centre 1,297 -673 624
509 -8 501 Information & Education 585 -28 557
433 -135 298 Information Centres 444 -134 310
2,288 - 687 1,601 2,326 - 835 1,491
Recreation Management &
Traffic and Transport
367 -133 234 Access 498 -36 462
266 -149 117 General Visitor Facilities 309 -147 162
0 0 0 Hafod Eryri 7 0 7
196 -483 -287 Car Parks 195 -502 -307
72 -57 15 Llyn Tegid Management 33 -55 -22
11 0 11 Litter Collection 13 0 13
2 0 2 Tourism Projects 0 0 0
914 - 822 92 1,055 - 740 315
4,990 -2,066 2,924 Net Cost of Service c/fd 4,766 -1,914 2,852
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 21 of 76
THE COMPREHENSIVE INCOME AND EXPENDITURE STATEMENT (CONTINUED)
2014/15
Gross
Expenditure
£'000
2014/15
Gross
Income
£'000
2014/15
Net
Expenditure
£'000
2015/16
Gross
Expenditure
£'000
2015/16
Gross
Income
£'000
2015/16
Net
Expenditure
£'000
4,990 -2,066 2,924 Net Cost of Service b/fd 4,766 -1,914 2,852
Wardens, Estate Workers &
Volunteers
789 -3 786 Wardens (and volunteers) 860 -3 857
461 -36 425 Estate Workers 381 -15 366
1,250 - 39 1,211 1,241 - 18 1,223
697 - 206 491 Development Control 755 - 225 530
Forward Planning and
Communities
420 - 40 380 Strategic Plans and Policy 378 0 378
280 0 280
Community and Environment
(incl. CAE) 245 0 245
700 - 40 660 623 0 623
593 -3 590 Corporate & Democratic 622 -3 619
82 0 82 Non-distributable Costs 16 0 16
8,312 - 2,354 5,958 Net Cost of Service 8,023 - 2,160 5,863
-1
Other Operating Expenditure
(note 8) -44
224
Financing and Investment
Income and Expenditure
(note 9) 269
-5,505
Non-specific grant income
(note 10) -5,848
676
Surplus (-) / Deficit on
Provision of Services for
the year 240
-9
Net surplus on revaluation of
fixed assets and impairment
losses charged to the
revaluation reserve (note 22) 57
3,153
Actuarial gains / losses on
pension assets/liabilities
(note 44) -3,598
3,144
Other Comprehensive
Income and Expenditure -3,541
3,820
Total Comprehensive
Income and Expenditure -3,301
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 22 of 76
BALANCE SHEET The Balance Sheet shows the value as at the Balance Sheet date of the assets and liabilities recognised by the Authority. The net assets of the Authority (assets less liabilities) are matched by the reserves held by the Authority. Reserves are reported in two categories. The first category of reserves are usable reserves, i.e. those reserves that the Authority may use to provide services, subject to the need to maintain a prudent level of reserves and any statutory limitations on their use (for example the Capital Receipts Reserve that may only be used to fund capital expenditure or repay debt). The second category of reserves is those that the Authority is not able to use to provide services. This category of reserves includes reserves that hold unrealised gains and losses (for example the Revaluation Reserve) where amounts would only become available to provide services if the assets are sold; and reserves that hold timing differences shown in the Movement in Reserves Statement line “Adjustments between accounting basis and funding basis under regulations”.
2014/15 Notes 2015/16
£'000 £'000
16,065 Property,Plant & Equipment 11 16,064
656 Heritage Assets 12 653
26 Long Term Debtors 17 58
16,747 Long Term Assets 16,775
40 Assets Held for Sale 14 0
410 Short term investments 15 501
102 Inventories 16 119
729 Short Term Debtors 17 610
2,123 Cash and Cash Equivalents 18 2,419
3,404 Current Assets 3,649
-945 Short Term Creditors 19 -1,014
-945 Current Liabilities -1,014
-8,850 Pension Fund liability 44 -5,753
-8,850 Long Term Liabilities -5,753
10,356 Net Assets 13,657
2,558 Usable Reserves 21 2,832
7,798 Unusable Reserves 22 10,825
10,356 Total Reserves 13,657
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 23 of 76
THE MOVEMENT IN RESERVES STATEMENT This statement shows the movement in the year on the different reserves held by the Authority, analysed into “Usable reserves” (i.e. those that can be applied to fund expenditure) and other reserves. The Surplus (+) or Deficit (-) on the Provision of Services line shows the true economic cost of providing the Authority’s services, more details of which are shown in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement. These are different from the statutory amounts required to be charged to the General Fund Balance. The Net Increase/Decrease before Transfers to Earmarked Reserves line shows the statutory General Fund Balance before any discretionary transfers to or from earmarked reserves undertaken by the Authority.
Movement in Reserves
during 2014/15
Genera
l Fund
Bala
nce
Earm
ark
ed
Reserv
es
Capita
l
Receip
ts
Reserv
e
Capita
l Gra
nts
Unapplie
d
Reserv
e
To
tal U
su
ab
le
Reserv
es
Unusable
Reserv
es
To
tal
Au
tho
rity
Reserv
es
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Balance as at 31 March
2014 brought forward 400 1,884 24 0 2,309 11,867 14,176
Surplus or (deficit) on the
provision of service -676 0 0 0 -676 0 -676
Other Comprehensive
Income and Expenditure 0 0 0 0 0 -3,144 -3,144
Total Comprehensive
Income and Expenditure -676 0 0 0 -676 -3,144 -3,820
Adjustments between
accounting basis &
funding basis under
regulations (note 6) 736 0 95 94 925 -925 0
Net Increase/Decrease
before transfers to
Earmarked Reserves 60 0 95 94 249 -4,069 -3,820
Transfers to/from
earmarked reserves (Note
7) -60 60 0 0 0 0 0
Increase / Decrease in
2014/15 0 60 95 94 249 -4,069 -3,820
Balance as at 31 March
2015 carried forward 400 1,944 119 94 2,558 7,798 10,356
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 24 of 76
MOVEMENT IN RESERVES STATEMENT (CONTINUED)
Movement in Reserves
during 2015/16
Genera
l F
und
Bala
nce
Earm
ark
ed
Reserv
es
Capital
Receip
ts
Reserv
e
Capital G
rants
Unapplie
d
Reserv
e
To
tal U
su
ab
le
Reserv
es
Unusable
Reserv
es
To
tal
Au
tho
rity
Reserv
es
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Balance as at 31 March
2015 brought forward 400 1,944 119 94 2,558 7,798 10,356
Surplus or (deficit) on the
provision of service -240 0 0 0 -240 0 -240
Other Comprehensive
Income and Expenditure 0 0 0 0 0 3,541 3,541
Total Comprehensive
Income and Expenditure -240 0 0 0 -240 3,541 3,301
Adjustments between
accounting basis & funding
basis under regulations
(note 6) 423 0 75 16 514 -514 0
Net Increase/Decrease
before transfers to
Earmarked Reserves 183 0 75 16 274 3,027 3,301
Transfers to/from
earmarked reserves (Note
7) -183 183 0 0 0 0 0
Increase / Decrease in
2015/16 0 183 75 16 274 3,027 3,301
Balance as at 31 March
2016 carried forward 400 2,127 194 110 2,832 10,825 13,657
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 25 of 76
CASH FLOW STATEMENT
The Cash Flow Statement shows the changes in cash and cash equivalents of the Authority during the reporting period. The statement shows how the Authority generates and uses cash and cash equivalents by classifying cash flows as operating, investing and financing activities. The amount of net cash flows arising from operating activities is a key indicator of the extent to which the operations of the Authority are funded by way of grant and levy income or from the recipients of services provided by the Authority. Investing activities represent the extent to which cash outflows have been made for resources which are intended to contribute to the Authority’s future service delivery. Cash flows arising from financing activities are useful in predicting claims on future cash flows by providers of capital (i.e. borrowing) to the Authority.
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
676
Net (surplus) or deficit on the provision of
services 240
-796
Adjustments to net surplus or deficit on the provision
of services for non-cash movements (note 23) -1,233
250
Adjustments for items included in the net surplus or
deficit on the provision of services that are
investing and financing activities 634
130 Net cash flows from Operating Activities -359
251 Investing Activities (note 24) 33
-1 Financing Activities (note 25) 30
380
Net increase (-) or decrease (+) in cash and cash
equivalents -296
2,503
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the
reporting period 2,123
2,123
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
reporting period 2,419
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 26 of 76
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
1. ACCOUNTING STANDARDS THAT HAVE BEEN ISSUED BUT HAVE NOT YET BEEN ADOPTED The Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom (the Code) requires the disclosure of information relating to the expected impact of an accounting change that will be required by a new standard that has been issued but not yet adopted. This applies to the adoption of the following new or amended standards within the 2016/17 Code which could impact upon the Authority.
Amendments to IAS19 Employee Benefits (Defined Benefit Plans : Employee Contributions)
Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2010-2012
Amendment to IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements (Accounting for Acquisitions of Interests in Joint operations)
Amendment to IAS16 Property, Plant & Equipment and IAS 38 Intangible Assets Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2012-2014
Amendment to IAS1 Presentation of Financial Statements (Disclosure Initiative)
The Changes to the format of the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement, the Movement in Reserves Statement and the Introduction of the New Expenditure and Funding Analysis
The Changes to the format of the Pension Fund Account and the Net Assets Statement.
The Code does not anticipate that the above amendments will have a material impact on the information provided in local authority financial statements i.e. there is unlikely to be a change in reported information in the reported net cost of services or the Surplus or Deficit on the Provision of Services. However, in the 2016/17 year the comparator 2015/16 Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement and the Movement in Reserves Statement must reflect the new formats and reporting requirements as a result of the Telling the Story review of the presentation of local authority financial statements.
2. CRITICAL JUDGEMENTS IN APPLYING ACCOUNTING POLICIES None, other than disclosed elsewhere in these notes.
3. ASSUMPTIONS MADE ABOUT THE FUTURE AND OTHER MAJOR SOURCES OF ESTIMATION
UNCERTAINTY
The Statement of Accounts contains estimated figures that are based on assumptions made by the Authority about the future or that are otherwise uncertain. Estimates are made taking into account historical experience, current trends and other relevant factors. However, because balances cannot be determined with certainty, actual results could be materially different from the assumptions and estimates.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 27 of 76
Those assumptions made by the Actuary relating to the pension fund are disclosed in note 44.
4. MATERIAL ITEMS OF INCOME AND EXPENSE There is an decrease of £3.097m in the pension liability due to the change in financial assumptions (further detail in note 44).
5. EVENTS AFTER THE BALANCE SHEET DATE
The only event of note relevant to the 2015/16 accounts is that the value of the contract with the main contractor on the Ysgwrn (part 2) scheme has been reduced by £150k.
6. ADJUSTMENTS BETWEEN ACCOUNTING BASIS AND FUNDING BASIS UNDER REGULATIONS
This note details the adjustments that are made in the total comprehensive income and expenditure recognised by the Authority in the year in accordance with proper accounting practice to the resources that are specified by statutory provisions as being available to the Authority to meet future capital and revenue expenditure.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 28 of 76
Gen
era
l F
un
d
Bala
nce
Earm
ark
ed
Reserv
es
Cap
ital
Receip
ts
Reserv
es
Cap
ital
Gra
nts
Un
ap
pli
ed
Reserv
e
Mo
vem
en
t in
Un
usab
le
Reserv
es
£'0
00
£'0
00
£'0
00
£'0
00
£'0
00
ADJUSTMENTS PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE CAPITAL ADJUSTMENT ACCOUNT
Reversal of items debited or credited to the
Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement
Charges for depreciation, impairment and
revaluation losses on non-current assets 524 0 0 0 -524
Capital grants and contributions applied -30 0 0 0 30
Revenue Expenditure funded from capital under
statute 184 0 0 0 -184Amounts of non-current assets written off on
disposal or sale as part of the gain/loss on disposal
to the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement 210 0 0 0 -210
Insertion of items not debited or credited to the
Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement
Capital expenditure charges against the General
Fund -167 0 0 0 167
ADJUSTMENT PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE CAPITAL GRANTS UNAPPLIED ACCOUNT
Capital Grants and Contributions Unapplied credited
to the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement -94 94 0
ADJUSTMENT PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE CAPITAL RECEIPTS RESERVE
Transfer of cash sale proceeds credited as part of
the gain/loss on disposal to the CIES -205 205 0
Use of the Capital Receipts reserve to finance new
capital expenditure 0 0 -110 0 110
ADJUSTMENTS PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE PENSION RESERVE
Reversal of items relating to retirement benefits
debited or credited to the Comprehensive Income
and Expenditure Statement 1069 0 0 0 -1069
Employers Pension contributions and direct
payments to pensioners payable in the year. -756 0 0 0 756
ADJUSTMENT PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE ACCUMULATED ABSENCES ACCOUNT
Amount by which officer remuneration charged to
the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement on an accruals basis is different from
remuneration chargeable in the year in accordance
with statutory requirements 1 0 0 0 -1
TOTAL ADJUSTMENTS 736 0 95 94 -925
Usable Reserves
2014/15
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 29 of 76
Gen
era
l F
un
d
Bala
nce
Earm
ark
ed
Reserv
es
Cap
ital
Receip
ts
Reserv
es
Cap
ital
Gra
nts
Un
ap
pli
ed
Reserv
e
Mo
vem
en
t in
Un
usab
le
Reserv
es
£'0
00
£'0
00
£'0
00
£'0
00
£'0
00
ADJUSTMENTS PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE CAPITAL ADJUSTMENT ACCOUNT
Reversal of items debited or credited to the
Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement
Charges for depreciation, impairment and
revaluation losses on non-current assets 491 0 0 0 -491
Capital grants and contributions applied -468 0 0 0 468
Revenue Expenditure funded from capital under
statute 346 0 0 0 -346Amounts of non-current assets written off on
disposal or sale as part of the gain/loss on disposal
to the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement 49 0 0 0 -49
Insertion of items not debited or credited to the
Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement
Capital grant received in 2014/15 and used in
2015/16 -94 94
Capital expenditure charges against the General
Fund -337 0 0 0 337
ADJUSTMENT PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE CAPITAL GRANTS UNAPPLIED ACCOUNT
Capital Grants and Contributions Unapplied credited
to the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement -110 110 0
ADJUSTMENT PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE CAPITAL RECEIPTS RESERVE
Transfer of cash sale proceeds credited as part of
the gain/loss on disposal to the CIES -75 75 0
ADJUSTMENTS PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE PENSION RESERVE
Reversal of items relating to retirement benefits
debited or credited to the Comprehensive Income
and Expenditure Statement 1205 0 0 0 -1205
Employers Pension contributions and direct
payments to pensioners payable in the year. -704 0 0 0 704
ADJUSTMENT PRIMARILY INVOLVING THE ACCUMULATED ABSENCES ACCOUNT
Amount by which officer remuneration charged to
the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement on an accruals basis is different from
remuneration chargeable in the year in accordance
with statutory requirements 26 0 0 0 -26
TOTAL ADJUSTMENTS 423 0 75 16 -514
Usable Reserves
2015/16
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 30 of 76
7. TRANSFERS TO/FROM EARMARKED RESERVES
Bala
nce a
t
31 M
arc
h
2015
Tra
nsfe
rs o
ut
2015/1
6
Tra
nsfe
rs in
2015/1
6
Bala
nce a
t
31 M
arc
h
2016
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Earmarked reserve 359 -359 516 516
Specific Risks reserve 401 -122 114 393
Capital projects reserve 168 -35 0 133
Self-Insurance reserve 13 -13 0 0
Planning reserve 200 0 0 200
Match funding reserve 450 -76 45 419
Match funding reserve (NRW) 9 0 0 9
Revenue Grants reserve 9 0 68 77
Bequest reserve 30 0 0 30
Pen y Pass Income reserve 126 0 5 131
Section 106 reserve 115 0 40 155
Car Park income reserve 28 0 0 28
Green Key reserve 36 0 0 36
1,944 -605 788 2,127
8. OTHER OPERATING EXPENDITURE
2014/15 2015/16
£’000 £’000
-1 Gains/losses on disposal of non-current assets
-44
9. FINANCING AND INVESTMENT INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
2014/15 2015/16
£’000 £’000
233 Net interest on the net defined benefit liability (asset)
286
-14 Interest receivable and similar income -17
5 Disposal costs on Porth Gwyn 0
224 Total 269
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 31 of 76
10. NON-SPECIFIC GRANT INCOME
2014/15 2015/16
£’000 £’000
-4,110 National Park Grant -3,952
-1,365 Levies on Constituent Authorities
-1,318
-30 Capital Grants and Contributions
-578
-5,505 Total -5,848
11. PROPERTY PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Movement on Balances
2014/15
La
nd
an
d
Bu
ild
ing
s
Ve
hic
les,
Pla
nt
& E
qu
ipm
en
t
Co
mm
un
ity
Su
rplu
s A
sse
ts
Ass
ets
un
de
r
Co
nst
ruct
ion
To
tal
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2014 17,309 1,794 142 67 0 19,312
Additions 48 75 0 0 0 123
Disposals 0 -42 0 0 0 -42Revaluation to CIES 0 0 0 1 0 1Revaluation to Rev.
Reserve 0 0 0 39 0 39Other movements 0 -53 0 -40 0 -93
At 31 March 2015 17,357 1,774 142 67 0 19,340`
Accumulated Depreciation and Impairments
At 1 April 2014 -1,359 -1,424 -34 -1 0 -2,818
Depreciation Charge -365 -130 0 0 0 -495
Derecognition - Disposals 0 42 0 0 0 42Other movements in
Depreciation and
Impairment 0 44 0 0 0 44write back on revaluation
- to revaluation reserve -30 0 0 0 0 -30- to surplus/deficit on
provision of services -18 0 0 0 0 -18
At 31 March 2015 -1,772 -1,468 -34 -1 0 -3,275
Net BookValue at March
2015 15,585 306 108 66 0 16,065
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 32 of 76
2015/16
La
nd
an
d
Bu
ild
ing
s
Ve
hic
les,
Pla
nt
& E
qu
ipm
en
t
Co
mm
un
ity
Su
rplu
s A
sse
ts
Ass
ets
un
de
r
Co
nst
ruct
ion
To
tal
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2015 17,357 1,774 142 67 0 19,340
Additions 0 85 0 0 468 553
Disposals 0 -30 0 0 0 -30Revaluation to CIES 0 0 0 -9 0 -9Revaluation to Rev.
Reserve 0 0 0 -57 0 -57Other movements 0 0 0 0 0 0
At 31 March 2016 17,357 1,829 142 1 468 19,797`
Accumulated Depreciation and Impairments
At 1 April 2015 -1,772 -1,468 -34 -1 0 -3,275
Depreciation Charge -366 -122 0 0 0 -488
Derecognition - Disposals 0 30 0 0 0 30Other movements in
Depreciation and
Impairment 0 0 0 0 0 0write back on revaluation
- to revaluation reserve 0 0 0 0 0 0- to surplus/deficit on
provision of services 0 0 0 0 0 0
At 31 March 2016 -2,138 -1,560 -34 -1 0 -3,733
Net BookValue at March
2016 15,219 269 108 0 468 16,064
Depreciation Depreciation of fixed assets is charged on a straight line basis to write off their cost less any projected residual value in equal instalments over the expected useful life of the asset using the following bases:- Operational Land & Property : between 10 – 60 years Community Assets : nil Information Systems Equipment : 3 years Vehicles : over 5 years to 30% of original value
over 7 years to nil value. Furniture & Other Equipment : estimated operational life
Revaluations
The Authority’s land and buildings are valued every 5 years. The previous overall valuation was undertaken in 2011/12 with specific additions in subsequent years revalued by an independent qualified valuer. In 2015/16 the Parc Lead Mine land was revalued in accordance with the new Code of Practice requirement. This resulted in
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 33 of 76
deleting a book value of £66,500, with £9,250 of that cost going to Visitor Facilities and £57,250 showing against “Net deficit on revaluation of fixed assets and impairment losses charged to the revaluation reserve” in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement. The Authority has the following capital commitments on tendered contracts as at 31/3/2016 budgeted to cost £1,813k (corresponding commitments at 31/3/2015 were worth £377k) :
Management Fee re Ysgwrn HLF scheme £146k Main contractor on Phase I works – Ysgwrn HLF scheme £302k
(including retention of £8,454) Main contractor on Phase 2 works – Ysgwrn HLF scheme £1,366k
(There was a reduction in the value of £150k on the contract with the main contractor on phase 2 works of the Ysgwrn scheme after 31/3/16 to come to the figure £1,366k)
12. HERITAGE ASSETS The Authority’s classification of tangible heritage assets relates to :
Ynys y Pandy Slate Mill - a listed building with no operational use, and removed from the land and buildings valuation in 2011/12 due to being below the de-minimis level.
Craig Yr Aderyn - a Site of Special Scientific Interest and retained for its environmental qualities.
Yr Ysgwrn - home of the poet Hedd Wyn having been purchased to protect its cultural heritage. (Although there has been building work on the site during 2015/16, no building has been demolished and none completed by 31/3/2016).
All Heritage Assets have been valued at existing use value.
There have been no revaluations during 2015/16.
Ynys y Pandy
Slate Mill
Craig yr
Aderyn Ysgwrn Total
(£'000) (£'000) (£'000) (£'000)
Cost or valuation
31 March 2014 0 13 646 659
Depreciation charge 0 0 -3 -3
31 March 2015 0 13 643 656
Depreciation charge 0 0 -3 -3
31 March 2016 0 13 640 653
13. INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Purchased intangible assets in the form of software licences are accounted for as part of the Information Technology replacement programme, and are written off to revenue in line with depreciation charges. The value of these intangible assets is
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 34 of 76
deemed such that a disclosure separate from Vehicles, Plant and Equipment is unwarranted.
14. ASSETS HELD FOR SALE
As at 31/3/2016 there are no assets held for sale. (On 31/3/2015 Aberangell amenity site was held for sale).
15. SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS
As at 31/3/2016 all of the Authority’s deposits are repayable on demand and without loss of interest apart from £501k on a 95 day deposit with Santander UK. (£410k as at 31/3/2015).
16. INVENTORIES Stocks are brought into account at cost price. Stocks held on 31st March 2016
consisted of :-
Inform.
Centres Access Access Admin. Total
Goods for
resale
Snowdon
Maps Bar
Goods
for
resale
Catering
&
Cleaning
Stones &
heli-bags
Protective
Clothing
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Balance as at
31/3/2015 64 0 4 2 4 23 5 102
Purchases 87 12 12 9 88 0 9 217
Recognised as
an expense in
the year -72 -4 -13 -2 -89 -10 -10 -200
Balance as at
31/3/2016 79 8 3 9 3 13 4 119
Plas Tan y Bwlch
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 35 of 76
17. DEBTORS
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
Amounts falling due within one year :413 Central Government Bodies 289
16 Other local authorities 402 Public corporations & trading funds 0
298 Other entities and individuals 281729 610
LONG TERM DEBTORS (amounts falling due after one year)
26 Car Loans to Employees 5826 58
18. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS The balance of Cash and Cash Equivalents is made up of the following elements :
31 March 2015
31 March 2016
£’000 £’000
8 Cash held by the Authority 12
893 Bank current accounts 652
1,222 Short-term deposits with banks 1,755
2,123 Total Cash and Cash Equivalents 2,419
19. CREDITORS
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
-108 Central Govt. Bodies -99
-145 Other local authorities -155
-692 Other entities & individuals -760
-945 -1,014 20. PROVISIONS
The Authority has no such items as at 31/3/2016.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 36 of 76
21. USABLE RESERVES Movements in the Authority’s usable reserves are as noted in the Movement in Reserves Statement.
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
Revenue
359
Earmarked Revenue & Capital reserves
(Amount approved as earmarked revenue and
capital expenditure)
516
401 Specific Risks Reserve (to meet probable
budget pressures )393
168 Capital projects reserve (to fund one -off capital
committments)133
200 Planning Reserve
(To meet costs of Public Inquiry)200
450 Match Funding Revenue Reserve
(For Convergence Fund Purposes)419
9 Match Funding Reserve - NRW
(For Convergence Fund purposes)9
13 Insurance Reserve
(To meet self-insured liabilities)0
115 Section 106 Reserve 155
30 Bequest 30
126 Pen y Pass Income Reserve 131
28 Car Park Income Reserve 28
36 Green Key Reserve 36
9 Revenue grants (rec'd in advance) Reserve 77
1944 2127
400 General reserve 400
2,344 2,527
Capital
94 Capital Grants Unapplied 110
120 Usable Capital Receipts Reserves : 195
2,558 2,832
22. UNUSABLE RESERVES
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
7,943 Revaluation Reserve 7,713
8,826 Capital Adjustments Account 9,012
-8,850 Pensions Reserve -5,753
-121 Accumulated Absences Account -147
7,798 10,825
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 37 of 76
THE REVALUATION RESERVE
The Revaluation Reserve contains the gains made by the Authority arising from increases in the value of its Property, Plant and Equipment (and Intangible Assets). The balance is reduced when assets with accumulated gains are:
Revalued downwards or impaired and the gains are lost,
Used in the provision of services and the gains are consumed through depreciation, or
Disposed of and the gains are realised The reserve contains only revaluation gains accumulated since 1 April 2007, the date that the Reserve was created. Accumulated gains arising before that date are consolidated into the balance on the Capital Adjustment Account.
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
8,080 Balance at 1st April 7,943
39 Upward revaluation of assets 0
-30
Downward revaluation of assets and
impairment losses not charged to the
Surplus / Deficit on the Provision of
Services
-57
9 Surplus or deficit on revaluation of non-
current assets not posted to the
Surplus or Deficit on the Provision of
Services
-57
-13 Revaluation losses written off to the
Capital Adjustment Account
-39
-133 Depreciation on revaluation gains
written off to the Capital Adjustment
-134
7,943 Balance at 31st March 7,713
CAPITAL ADJUSTMENT ACCOUNT
The Capital Adjustment Account absorbs the timing differences arising from the different arrangements for accounting for the consumption of non-current assets and for financing the acquisition, construction or enhancement of those assets under statutory provisions. The Account is debited with the cost of acquisition, construction or enhancement as depreciation, impairment losses and amortisations are charged to the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement (with reconciling postings from the Revaluation Reserve to convert fair value figures to a historical cost basis). The Account is credited with the amounts set aside by the Authority as finance for the costs of acquisition, construction and enhancement. The Account contains accumulated gains and losses on Investment Properties and gains recognised on donated assets that have yet to be consumed by the Authority.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 38 of 76
The Account also contains revaluation gains accumulated on Property, Plant and Equipment before 1 April 2007, the date that the Revaluation reserve was created to hold such gains. Note 6 provides details of the source of all the transactions posted to the Account, apart from those involving the Revaluation reserve.
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
9,291 Balance at 1st April 8,826
Reversal of items relating to capital
expenditure debited or credited to the
Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement :-515 Charges for depreciation and impairment of
non-current assets
-491
13 Revaluation gains / losses on Property, Plant
and Equipment
0
-184 Revenue Expenditure Funded from capital
under statute -346
-210 Amount of investment property value written
off on disposal 0
-9 Amounts of non-current assets written off on
disposal or sale as part of the gain/loss on
disposal to the Comprehensive Income and
Expenditure Statement
-49
8,386 7,940
Adjusting amounts written out of the
Revaluation Reserve
0 remaining value of Aberangell amenity land 39
133 Depreciation adjustment 134
8,519 Net written out amount of the cost of non-
current assets consumed in the year
8,113
Capital financing applied in the year :
110 Use of 2014/15 capital receipts to finance
new capital expenditure
0
30 Capital grants and contributions credited to
the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement that have been applied to capital
financing
468
0 Application of grants to capital financing from
the Capital Grants Unapplied Account
94
167 Capital expenditure charged against the
General Fund balances
337
8,826 Balance at 31st March 9,012
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 39 of 76
PENSIONS RESERVE
The Pensions Reserve absorbs the timing differences arising from the different arrangements for accounting for post employment benefits and for funding benefits in accordance with statutory provisions. The Authority accounts for post employment benefits in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement as the benefits earned by employees accruing years of service, updating the liabilities recognised to reflect inflation, changing assumptions and investment returns on any resources set aside to meet the costs. However, statutory arrangements require benefits earned to be financed as the Authority makes employer’s contributions to pension funds or eventually pays any pensions for which it is directly responsible. The debit balance on the Pensions Reserve therefore shows a substantial shortfall in the benefits earned by past and current employees and the resources the Authority has set aside to meet them. The statutory arrangements will ensure that funding will have been set aside by the time the benefits come to be paid.
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
-5,384 Balance at 1 April -8,850
-3,153 Actuarial gains / losses on pensions assets and liabilities 3,598
-1,069
Reversal of items relating to retirement benefits debited or
credited to the Surplus or Deficit on the Provision of
Services in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement -1,205
756
Employer's pension contributions and direct payments to
pensioners payable in the year. 704
-8,850 Balance at 31 March -5,753 ACCUMULATED ABSENCES ACCOUNT
The Accumulated Absences Account absorbs the differences that would otherwise arise on the General Fund Balance from accruing for compensated absences earned but not taken in the year e.g. annual leave entitlement carried forward at 31 March. Statutory arrangements require that the impact on the General Fund Balance is neutralised by transfers to or from the Account.
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
-120 Balance at 1 April -121
120
Settlement or cancellation of accrual made at the end of the
preceding year. 121
-121 Amounts accrued at the end of the current year -147
-1
Amount by which officer remuneration charged to the
Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement on an
accruals basis is different from remuneration chargeable in
the year in accordance with statutory requirements -26
-121 Balance at 31 March -147
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 40 of 76
23. CASH FLOW STATEMENT – OPERATING ACTIVITIES
The “adjustments to net surplus or deficit on the provision of services for non cash movements” comprises of :
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
-498 Depreciation -491
-18 Impairment 0
-218 Other movements related to asset values -49
305 Movement in creditors 2
1 Movement in short term investments 0
-65 Movement in debtors -211
10 Movement in stock 17
-313 Provision of Services costs for post employment benefits -501
-796 -1,233
The cash flows for operating activities includes bank interest received of £14k (£13k in 2014/15).
24. CASH FLOW STATEMENT – INVESTING ACTIVITIES
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
103
Purchase of property,plant and Equipment,
investment property and intangible assets 94
409
Purchase of short term and long term
investments 500
107 Other payments for investing activities 405
-220
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and
equipment, investment property and intangible
assets -84
0
Proceeds from short term and long term
investments -411
-148 Other receipts from investing activities -471
251 Net cash flows from investing activities 33 25. CASH FLOW STATEMENT – FINANCING ACTIVITIES
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
-12
Car loan repayments and related interest
together with finance lease interest -20
11 New car loans advanced 50
-1 Net cash flows from investing activities 30
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 41 of 76
26. AMOUNTS REPORTED FOR RESOURCE ALLOCATION DECISIONS The analysis of income and expenditure by service on the face of the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement is that specified by the Best Value Accounting Code of Practice. Decisions about resource allocations, however, are taken by the Authority on the basis of budget reports analysed across directorates. These reports are prepared on a different basis from the accounting policies used in the financial statements. In particular :
No charges are made in relation to capital expenditure (whereas depreciation, revaluation and impairment losses in excess of the balance on the Revaluation Reserve and amortisations are charged to services in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement). SNPA budget reports include the budgeted capital charges within the service expenditure lines and are then reversed out in the reconciliation to grant and levy funding.
The cost of retirement benefits is based on cash flows (payment of employer’s pensions contributions) rather than current service cost of benefits accrued in the year
SNPA budget reports do include the budgeted support services recharges with actual recharged cost / income taken as per budget.
Directorate Income and Expenditure
2014/15
Planning &
Land
Management Corporate Total
£'000 £'000 £'000
Fees, charges and other service income -247 -1,399 -1,646
Government Grants -479 -42 -521
Internal Recharge Income (as budgeted) -1,730 -1,730
Total Income -726 -3,171 -3,897
Employee expenses 2,027 2,182 4,209
Other service expenses 1,482 1,675 3,157
Capital charges (as budgeted) 81 432 513
Support service recharges (as budgeted) 873 857 1,730
Total Expenditure 4,463 5,146 9,609
less: post outturn adjustments 1 -3 -2
Net Services Expenditure (as reported 3
June 2015) 3,738 1,972 5,710
interest earned -14
capital expenditure financed from revenue 34
Capital charges adjustment -514
Net Expenditure per Outturn 5,216
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 42 of 76
Directorate Income and Expenditure
2015/16
Planning &
Land
Management Corporate Total
£'000 £'000 £'000
Fees, charges and other service income -291 -1,677 -1,968
Government Grants -194 -141 -335
Internal Recharge Income (as budgeted) -1,724 -1,724
Total Income -485 -3,542 -4,027
Employee expenses 1,903 2,265 4,168
Other service expenses 1,072 1,834 2,906
Capital charges (as budgeted) 76 427 503
Support service recharges (as budgeted) 839 886 1,725
Total Expenditure 3,890 5,412 9,302
add: accrual for redundancy cost 10 10
less: post outturn adjustment to Plas Tan y Bwlch
fee income -13 -13
Net Services Expenditure (as reported 8
June 2016) 3,405 1,867 5,272
interest earned -17
capital expenditure financed from revenue 244
Capital charges adjustment -503
Net Expenditure per Outturn 4,996 Reconciliation of the Directorate Income and Expenditure to the Cost of Services in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement. This reconciliation shows how the figures in the analysis of directorate income and expenditure relate to the amounts included in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement.
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
5,216 Net expenditure in the Directorate Analysis 4,996
494
Net expenditure of services and support services
not included in the Analysis 275
238
Amounts in the Comprehensive Income and
Expenditure Statement not reported to
management in the Analysis 582
10
Amounts included in the Analysis not included in
the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure
Statement 10
5,958
Cost of Services in Comprehensive Income
and Expenditure Statement 5,863
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 43 of 76
27. ACQUIRED AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS The Authority had no such operations during the year, other than the closure of
Dolgellau Information Centre. 28. TRADING OPERATIONS The Authority does generate income in a number of ways such as car parks,
information centres and the study centre, but none of these are regarded as separate commercial ventures for the purpose of this note. The activities are principally undertaken to support the aims of the Authority such as access and education. The respective budgets are set prudently such that the Authority is not exposed to any unreasonable risk.
29. AGENCY SERVICES
The Authority acts on behalf of Conwy Borough Council in the maintenance of certain footpaths. Relevant materials and equipment costs are reimbursed up to an annual limit of £15,000.
30. POOLED BUDGETS The Authority has no such arrangement. 31. MEMBERS ALLOWANCES The Authority paid the following amounts to members of the Authority during the year.
The allowances paid to members were:-
2014/15 2015/16 £’000 £’000
77 Members Allowances 78 11 Travel & Subsistence 14
88 92
Further information on the sums paid to individual members was published in the Caernarfon & Denbigh Herald, Cambrian News and the North Wales Weekly News dated 23 June 2016.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 44 of 76
32. STAFF REMUNERATION
Regulation 7A of The Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2010 requires disclosures of employees’ remuneration.
The Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2014 require the Authority to disclose a remuneration ratio between the median remuneration of all the authority’s employees during the year and that of the authority’s chief executive.
2014/15 2015/16
(£’000) (£’000)
79 Chief Executive Officer 77
23 SNPA Median Salary 23
3.4 Ratio 3.4
The senior employees, as defined in the Regulations, whose remuneration excluding employers pension contributions exceeded £60,000 in 2015/16 are as disclosed below:
2014/15 2015/16
Chief Executive officer (previous)
Chief Executive officer (new)
Chief Finance Officer
(Section 151)*
Chief Executive officer
Chief Finance Officer
(Section 151)*
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
7 72 6 Salary (including fees and allowances)
77 6
0 0 0 Benefits in Kind 0 0
7 72 6 Total remuneration (excluding employers pension contributions)
77 6
1 16 1 Employers Pension Contribution
17 1
8 88 7 Total remuneration (including employers pension contributions)
94 7
* Part time post at a rate that would equate to remuneration in excess of £60,000
for the full time equivalent.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 45 of 76
In 2015/16 one other officer received a sum of over £60,000 consisting of salary and accrual of pension cost on early retirement.
Number of other officers who received over £60,000 inclusive of salary and redundancy costs.
2014/15 2015/16
0 £60,000 - £64,999 1
0 £65,000 - £69,999 0
0 £70,000 - £74,999 0
0 £75,000 - £79,999 0
0 Total 1
The number of exit packages with total cost per band and total cost of the compulsory and other redundancies are set out in the table below:
exit package cost
band
2014/15 2015/16 2014/15 2015/16 2014/15 2015/16 2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000 £'000
0-40 3 0 3 4 6 4 121 49
40- 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
60 - 80 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
80 - 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
100 - 150 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 3 0 3 4 6 4 121 49
number of
compulsory
redundancies
number of other
departures
agreed
Total number of
exit packages by
cost band
Total cost of exit
packages in each
band
The total cost of exit packages for 2014/15 has been restated to include pension costs relating to 2 officers reported on in 2014/15 but incurred in 2015/16 . 33. EXTERNAL AUDIT COSTS The Wales Audit Office audit plan stipulates the following costs in relation to the audit
of the Statement of Accounts, certification of grant claims and statutory inspections and to non-audit services provided by the Authority’s external auditors :-
2014/15 £’000
Regulatory area 2015/16 £’000
34 Fees payable to the Wales Audit Office with regard to external audit services carried out by the appointed auditor
30
17 Fees payable to the Auditor General for Wales in respect of statutory inspections and the LG Measure 2009
17
51 Total 47
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 46 of 76
34. GRANT INCOME The Authority credited the following grants, contributions and donations to the
Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement in 2015/16
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
REVENUE GRANTS (significant only)
Credited to Services
64 NRW - Rhododendron Control 45
10 NRW - hedges/ flood defence - Dolgellau 0
112 NRW - Resilient Eco-systems 0
22 NRW - Plas Tan y Bwlch 0
0 NRW - Access related works 15
12 SITA Trust - ecosystem works 27
50 WG - Invasive Species (INNS) 0
67 WG - Nature Fund 65
10 NT - Rhododendron Control 0
40
WG (Visit Wales) - Environmental
Management & Tourism Project 0
0 WG - Frongoch project 18
10 CADW - Archaeological projects 0
47 HLF - Dolgellau THI 0
0
HLF - contribution towards the cost of
preparing the bid for a further scheme
on historic buildings in Dolgellau 29
6 HLF - Ysgwrn (part 1) 0
19 HLF - Ysgwrn (part 2) 132
36 Gwynedd - Green Key 0
12 Conwy - Access projects 30
517 Total Revenue Grants 361
NRW – Natural Resources Wales WG – Welsh Government HLF – Heritage Lottery Fund NT – National Trust
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 47 of 76
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
CAPITAL GRANTS
Credited to Non-specific grant income
30 WG - Access works 0
0 Heritage Lottery Fund - Ysgwrn 393
0 WG - Ysgwrn - HLF scheme 185
30 Sub-total 578
Credited to Services
77 WG - Access works 0
33 Gwynedd Council - Dolgellau THI 0
83 Heritage Lottery Fund - Dolgellau THI 0
193 Sub-total 0
Capital Grants received in advance -
applied
0 WG - Access 94
0 Sub-total 94
223 Total Capital Grants 672 A total grant of £107k (£148k in 2014/15) for access works was allocated by the Welsh
Government in the last quarter of the 2015/16 financial year. There were no related works in 2015/16 and the actual grant was received on 1 April so the total grant is being accounted for in 2016/17.
35. RELATED PARTIES
The Authority is required to disclose material transactions with related parties – bodies or individuals that have the potential to control or influence the Authority or to be controlled or influenced by the Authority. Disclosure of these transactions allows readers to assess the extent to which the Authority might have been constrained in its ability to operate independently or might have secured the ability to limit another party’s ability to bargain freely with the Authority. The Authority has adopted a materiality level of £5,000 for disclosure of Related Party Transactions relevant to Members and Staff. Welsh Government The Welsh Government exerts significant influence through legislation and grant funding. The relevant sums are disclosed in notes 10 (“non-specific grant income”) and 34 (“grant income”).
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 48 of 76
Members Members of the Authority have direct control over the Authority’s financial and operating policies. The total of members’ allowances paid in 2015/16 is shown in note 32. Officers The Authority’s Chief Finance Officer has declared an interest as he is Gwynedd Council’s Head of Finance. The Authority received circa £1.1m (including the levy) from Gwynedd Council in 2015/16 (£1.1m in 2014/15)
One officer has declared that he is a director/trustee with the North Wales Open Air Partnership which received a £10,000 grant from CAE during 2015/16.
Entities controlled or significantly influenced by the Authority The Authority is responsible for administering the Cronfa Arbrofol Eryri (C.A.E.) grant monies on behalf of the Welsh Government. In awarding grants to organisations, the C.A.E. panel imposes special grant conditions, which include linking financial performance to achieving agreed milestones. During the 2015/16 financial year 1 new project requiring £10,000 or more grant contribution was approved. The Authority had contracts with Gwynedd Council to provide the following services during 2015/16:
Pension Fund administration & Payroll Support Service (£4,645)
Internal audit Service (£7,690) The Authority has an interest in a Limited Liability Partnership set up jointly by the 15 UK National Park Authorities for the purpose of generating income mainly from sponsorship.
36. CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AND CAPITAL FINANCING
The total amount of capital expenditure incurred in the year is shown in the table below, together with the resources that have been used to finance it.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 49 of 76
2014/15 2015/16
£'000 £'000
0 Opening Capital Financing Requirement 0
Capital Investment
Property, plant & equipment
Conservation and the Natural Environment
0 Ysgwrn 468
Understanding
18 Plas Tan y Bwlch - various 0
Recreation Management
16 Public toilets upgrade 0
14 Pen y Pass upgrade 0
Wardens & Estate Workers
10 Vehicles for wardens 38
30 Heavy machinery for Access works 0
Support Services
35 I.T. General Replacement programme 47
123 553
Revenue expenditure funded from capital under Statute
Conservation & Cultural Heritage
105 Built Environment schemes 179
194 Dolgellau THI 0
Recreation Management
25 Access Improvements 169
324 348
447 Total Expenditure 901
Sources of Finance
170 Government Grants and other Contributions 470
0 Grant received in advance in 2014/15 94
110 Capital Receipt applied 0
167 Sums set aside from revenue: Direct revenue contributions 337
447 901
0 Closing capital financing requirement 0
0 Increase/decrease in Capital Financing Requirement 0
From the total spend of £901k (£447k in 2014/15), £348k (£324k in 2014/15) relates to expenditure on fixed assets not owned by the Authority namely Built Environment schemes (£179k) and Access grant works (£169k). The related grants and contributions finance amounts to £2k (£140k in 2014/15). The net revenue expenditure funded from capital under statute is therefore £346k (£184k in 2014/15).
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 50 of 76
37. LEASES Authority as Lessee Finance Leases The Authority as lessee has no finance leases.
Operating Leases
The Authority has operating leases relating to vehicles, photocopiers and franking machines. The future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable leases in future years are :
31 March 2015 31 March 2016
£’000 £’000
66 Not later than 1 year 64
145 Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years
156
1,254 Later than 5 years 8,860
1,465 Total 9,080
Lease costs of £7,810 (£7,810 in 2014/15) on equipment were charged to the Administration & Customer Care (subsequently included in the support services apportionment), and Understanding (Plas Tan y Bwlch ) services in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement during the year. Lease costs of £8,702 (£21,739 in 2014/15) on Authority vehicles were charged to the Understanding and Corporate & Democratic services in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement during the year. Those costs charged against support services were subsequently reallocated. Lease costs of £66,093 (£74,595 in 2014/15) on properties were charged to the Understanding, Wardens, Estate Workers & Volunteers and Recreation Management & Traffic and Transport services in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement during the year. Those costs charged against support services were subsequently reallocated. The increase in the commitment is due to the requirement to pay a percentage of the annual income from Cae Llan car park in Betws y Coed to the owner for the remaining period of the lease agreement (£7,487 cost in 2015/16). The terms of the lease agreement for Cae Llan change in 2021, however, the effect is not quantifiable as the terms will be determined at that time. For the purposes of this Statement it is assumed that there is no significant change in annual cost.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 51 of 76
Authority as Lessor Finance Leases As at 31/3/2016 the Authority has no finance lease as lessor.
Operating Leases
The Authority leases out property under operating leases for the following purposes:
commercial, ground rents on chalets at Plas Tan y Bwlch, office accommodation, grazing and recreational/access.
The income receivable for 2015/16 was £195,034 (2014/15 £197,909).
The estimated minimum lease payments receivable under non-cancellable leases in future years are :
31 March 2015 31 March 2016
£’000 £’000
185 Not later than 1 year 139
410 Later than 1 year and not later than 5 years
297
43,352 Later than 5 years 48,886
43,947 Total 49,322
(Figures are subject to the effect of rent reviews, and income generated for Hafod Eryri. The Hafod Eryri rental has been projected on the basis of the 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 figures (taking into account that an additional sum is receivable over 5 years from 1/4/2013) – the lease period ending 30th September 2981). The associated depreciation charge on the assets relevant to operating leases is £28,372 (2014/15 £28,372).
38. PFI AND SIMILAR CONTRACTS The Authority does not have any such contracts. 39. IMPAIRMENT LOSSES
There were no impairment losses arising on property, plant and equipment during 2015/16.
40. TERMINATION BENEFITS
Termination benefits costing £49k relating to 4 officers were incurred in the 2015/16 financial year .
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 52 of 76
41. CONTINGENT LIABILITIES
At 31 March 2016 the Authority had no material contingent liabilities.
42. CONTINGENT ASSETS
At 31 March 2016 the Authority had no material contingent assets. 43. NATURE AND EXTENT OF RISKS ARISING FROM FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS The Authority’s activities can expose it to a variety of financial risks:
Credit risk – the possibility that other parties might fail to pay amounts due to the Authority,
Liquidity risk – the possibility that the Authority might not have funds available to meet its commitments to make payments,
Market risk – the possibility that financial loss might arise for the Authority as a result of changes in such measures as interest rates.
The above risks were managed through the Authority’s debt recovery arrangements and Annual Treasury Management Strategy, with no significant negative impacts in 2015/16.
44. PENSION FUND
Participation in Pension Schemes As part of the terms and conditions of employment of its officers, the Authority makes contributions towards the cost of post employment benefits. Although these benefits will not actually be payable until employees retire, the Authority has a commitment to make the payments that needs to be disclosed at the time that employees earn their future entitlement. The Authority participates in two post employment schemes :
The Local Government Pension Scheme, administered locally by Gwynedd Council – this is a funded defined benefit final salary scheme, meaning that the Authority and employees pay contributions into a fund, calculated at a level intended to balance the pensions liabilities with investment assets.
Discretionary post retirement benefits upon early retirement. This is an unfunded defined benefit arrangement under which liabilities are recognised when awards have been made. No investment assets were built up to meet these pensions liabilities, and cash has to be generated to meet the actual pensions payments as they fall due. The Authority has an annual liability based on past awards made under these arrangements, but has not added to that liability in recent years. Rather, any extra pension liability ensuing from granting early retirement is recognised and paid off in that specific year.
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
Page 53 of 76
Transactions Relating to Post-employment Benefits
We recognise the cost of retirement benefits in the reported cost of services when they are earned by employees, rather than when the benefits are eventually paid as pensions. However, the charge we are required to make against the General Fund is based on cash payable in the year, so the real cost of post employment/retirement benefits is reversed out of the General Fund via the Movement in Reserves Statement. The following transactions have been made in the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement and the General Fund Balance via the Movement in Reserves Statement during the year. Change in the Fair Value of Plan Assets, Defined Benefit Obligations and Net Liability for year end 31 March 2016.
Period ended 31 March 2016
Assets Obligations Net (liability) / asset
£’000 £’000 £’000
Fair Value of employer assets
25,086 25,086
Present value of funded liabilities
33,469 (33,469)
Present value of unfunded liabilities
467 (467)
Opening position as at 31 March 2015
25,086 33,936 (8,850)
Service cost
- Current service cost * 903 (903)
- Past Service Cost (including curtailments)
16 (16)
Total Service Cost 919 (919)
Net interest
- Interest income on plan assets
808 808
- Interest cost on defined benefit obligation
1,094 (1,094)
Total Net Interest 808 1,094 (286)
Total defined benefit cost recognised in Profit or (Loss)
808 2,013 (1,205)
Cashflows
- Plan participants’ contributions
193 193 0
- Employer contributions 676 676
- Contributions in respect of unfunded benefits
28 28
- Benefits paid (569) (569) 0
- Unfunded benefits paid (28) (28) 0
Expected closing position 26,194 35,545 (9,351)
Snowdonia National Park Authority Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st of March 2016
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Remeasurements
- Change in demographic assumptions
0 0
- Change in financial assumptions
(3,484) 3,484
- Other experience (286) 286
- Return on assets excluding amounts included in net interest
(172) (172)
Total remeasurements recoignised in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI)
(172) (3,770) 3,598
Fair value of employer assets
26,022 26,022
Present value of funded liabilities
31,367 (31,367)
Present value of unfunded liabilities
408 (408)
Closing position as at 31 March 2016
26,022 31,775 (5,753)
The current service cost includes an allowance for administration expenses of 0.5% of payroll
Change in the Fair Value of Plan Assets, Defined Benefit Obligations and Net Liability for year end 31 March 2015.
Period ended 31 March 2015
Assets Obligations Net (liability) / asset
£’000 £’000 £’000
Fair Value of employer assets
22,168 22,168
Present value of funded liabilities
27,072 (27,072)
Present value of unfunded liabilities
480 (480)
Opening position as at 31 March 2014
22,168 27,552 (5,384)
Service cost
- Current service cost * 0 754 (754)
- Past Serrvice Cost (including curtailments)
0 82 (82)
Total Service Cost 0 836 (836)
Net interest
- Interest income on plan assets
957 957
- Interest cost on defined benefit obligation
1,190 (1,190)
Total Net Interest 957 1,190 (233)
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Total defined benefit cost recognised in Profit or (Loss)
957 2,026 (1,069)
Cashflows
- Plan participants’ contributions
200 200 0
- Employer contributions 727 727
- Contributions in respect of unfunded benefits
29 29
- Benefits paid (751) (751) 0
- Unfunded benefits paid (29) (29) 0
Expected closing position 23,301 28,998 (5,697)
Remeasurements
- Change in demographic assumptions
0 0
- Change in financial assumptions
5,106 (5,106)
- Other experience (168) 168
- Return on assets excluding amounts included in net interest
1,785 1,785
Total remeasurements recoignised in Other Comprehensive Income (OCI)
1,785 4,938 (3,153)
Fair value of employer assets
25,086 25,086
Present value of funded liabilities
33,469 (33,469)
Present value of unfunded liabilities
467 (467)
Closing position as at 31 March 2015
25,086 33,936 (8,850)
The current service cost includes an allowance for administration expenses of 0.5% of payroll
Information about the Defined Benefit Obligation
Liability split Weighted Average Duration at Previous Valuation
£’000 Percentage (%)
Active members 21,824 69.6 23.3
Deferred members
3,174 10.1 24.3
Pensioner members
6,369 20.3 12.2
Total 31,367 100 20.3
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(Figures are for funded obligations only and do not include the unfunded pensioner liabilities. The durations are effective as at the previous formal valuation as at 31 March 2013).
Scheme History
2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Present value of liabilities in the Local Government Pension Scheme
(21,153) (25,642) (27,552) (33,936) (31,775)
Fair Value of Assets in the Local Government Pension Scheme
17,430 20,013 22,168 25,086 26,022
Surplus / (deficit) in the scheme : (3,723)
(5,629)
(5,384)
(8,850)
(5,753)
The liabilities show the underlying commitments that the Authority has in the long run to pay post employment (retirement) benefits. The total liability of £31.8m has a substantial impact on the net worth of the Authority as recorded in the Balance Sheet i.e. reducing it by £5.8m. Statutory provisions for funding the deficit mean that the financial position of the Authority remains healthy :
the deficit on the local government scheme will be made good by increased contributions over the remaining working life of employees (i.e. before payments fall due), as assessed by the scheme actuary,
finance is only required to be raised to cover discretionary benefits when the pensions are actually paid.
The total contributions by the Authority, as estimated by the Actuary, for the year to 31 March 2016 is £704k. The Actuary estimates employers contributions for the period to 31 March 2017 at £646k.
The Discretionary Benefits arrangements have no assets to cover its liabilities. The Local Government Pension Scheme’s assets consist of the following categories, by proportion of the total assets held :
31 March 2015 31 March 2016
(%) (%)
74 Equity investments 74
14 Debt investments (bonds) 13
10 Property 10
2 Cash 3
100 100
The Major Categories of Plan Assets as a Percentage of Total Plan Assets The actuary has provided a detailed breakdown of Fund assets in accordance with the requirements of IAS19. This analysis distinguishes between the nature and risk of those assets and to further break them down between those with a quoted price in an active market and those that do not. The asset split for Snowdonia National Park Authority is assumed to be in the same proportion to the Fund’s asset allocation as at 31 December
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2015. The split is shown in the following table. The actuary estimates the bid value of the Fund’s assets as at 31 March 2016 to be £1,536,000 based on information provided by the Administering Authority and allowing for index returns where necessary. Fair Value of Employer Assets The asset values below are at bid value as required under IAS19.
Asset category
31 Mar 2016 31 Mar 2015
Quoted prices in
active markets
Prices not quoted in
active markets
Total % Quoted prices in
active markets
Prices not quoted in
active markets
Total %
(£’000) (£’000) (£’000) (£’000) (£’000) (£’000)
Equity Securities :
Consumer 827.6 0 827.6 3 695 0 695 3
Energy & Utilities
142.6 0 142.6 1 517 0 517 2
Financial Institutions
424.2 0 424.2 2 391 0 391 2
Health & Care 1,500.3 0 1,500.3 6 1,044 0 1,044 4
Information Technology
861.2 0 861.2 3 729 0 729 3
Other 1,036.7 0 1,036.7 4 1,272 0 1,272 5
Debt Securities :
Other 0 3,477.7 3,477.7 13 0 0 0 0
Private Equity :
All 0 1,057.4 1,057.4 4 0 1,061 1,061 4
Real Estate:
UK Property 496.6 2,190.9 2,687.5 10 0 2,406 2,406 10
Overseas Property
0 49.1 49.1 0 0 73 73 0
Investment funds and unit trusts :
Equities 5,281.9 7,657.9 12,939.8 50 5,727 7,127 12,853 51
Bonds 0 0 0 0 0 3,474 3,474 14
Infrastructure 0 216.5 216.5 1 0 118 118 0
Cash and cash equivalents :
All 801.4 0 801.4 3 453 0 453 2
Totals 11,373 14,650 26,022 100 10,827 14,259 25,086 100
Basis for Estimating Assets and Liabilities Liabilities have been assessed on an actuarial basis using the projected unit credit method, an estimate of the pensions that will be payable in future years dependent on assumptions about mortality rates, salary levels etc., Both the Local Government Pension Scheme and Discretionary Benefits liabilities have been assessed by Hymans Robertson, an independent firm of actuaries, estimates for the Authority Fund being based on the latest full valuation of the scheme as at 31 March 2013.
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The principal assumptions used by the actuary have been :
*Salary increases are assumed to be 1% p.a. until 31 March 2016 reverting to the long term
assumption shown thereafter.
The estimation of the defined benefit obligations is sensitive to the actuarial assumptions set out in the table above. In order to quantify the impact of a change in the financial assumptions used, the actuary has calculated and compared the value of the scheme liabilities as at 31 March 2016 on varying bases. The approach taken is consistent with that adopted to derive the IAS19 figures provided in this note. To quantify the uncertainty around life expectancy, the actuary has calculated the difference in cost to the Council of a one year increase in life expectancy. For sensitivity purposes this is assumed to be an increase in the cost of benefits of broadly 3%. In practice the actual cost of one year increase in life expectancy will depend on the structure of the revised assumption (i.e. if improvements to survival rates predominantly apply at younger or older ages). The figures in the table below have been derived based on membership profile of the Authority as at 31 March 2013, the date of the most recent actuarial valuation. The approach taken in preparing the sensitivity analysis shown is consistent with that adopted in the previous year.
Local Government Pension Scheme (£’000)
2014/15 2015/16
Long term expected rate of return on assets in the scheme :
Equity 3.2% 3.5%
Bonds 3.2% 3.5%
Property 3.2% 3.5%
Cash 3.2% 3.5%
Mortality Assumptions :
Longevity at 65 for current pensioners :
Men 22 years 22 years
Women 24 years 24 years
Longevity at 65 for future pensioners :
Men 24.4 years 24.4 years
Women 26.6 years 26.6 years
Rate of inflation (CPI) 2.4% 2.2%
Rate of increase in salaries* 4.3% 4.2%
Rate of increase in pensions 2.4% 2.2%
Rate for discounting scheme liabilities
3.2% 3.5%
Take up of option to convert annual pension into retirement lump sum
50% pre 1/4/2008 service and 75% post 1/4/2008 service.
50% pre 1/4/2008 service and 75% post 1/4/2008 service.
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Impact on the Defined Benefit Obligation in the Scheme
Change in assumption Approximate increase to Employer 31 March 2016
Approximate monetary amount 31 March 2016
(%) (£‘000)
0.5% decrease in real discount rate 12% 3,757
1 year increase in life expectancy 3% 953
0.5% increase in salary increase rate 4% 1,326
0.5% increase in the pension increase rate 7% 2,345
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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY
Independent auditor’s report to the Members of Snowdonia National Park Authority I have audited the accounting statements and related notes of:
Snowdonia National Park Authority
for the year ended 31 March 2016 under the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004. Snowdonia National Park Authority’s accounting statements comprise the Movement in Reserves Statement, the Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement, the Balance Sheet and the Cash Flow Statement. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom 2015/16 based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).
Respective responsibilities of the responsible financial officer and the independent auditor
As explained more fully in the Statement of Responsibilities for the Statement of Accounts [as set out on page 9], the responsible financial officer is responsible for the preparation of the statement of accounts which gives a true and fair view. My responsibility is to audit the accounting statements and related notes in accordance with applicable law and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards require me to comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.
Scope of the audit of the accounting statements
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the accounting statements and related notes sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the accounting statements and related notes are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. This includes an assessment of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to Snowdonia National Park Authority’s circumstances and have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the responsible financial officer and the overall presentation of the accounting statements and related notes. In addition, I read all the financial and non-financial information in the Narrative Report to identify material inconsistencies with the audited accounting statements and related notes. If I become aware of any apparent material misstatements or inconsistencies, I consider the implications for my report.
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Opinion on the accounting statements of Snowdonia National Park Authority
In my opinion the accounting statements and related notes:
give a true and fair view of the financial position of Snowdonia National Park Authority as at 31 March 2016 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended; and
have been properly prepared in accordance with the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom 2015/16.
Opinion on other matters
In my opinion, the information contained in the Narrative Report for the financial year for which the accounting statements and related notes are prepared is consistent with the accounting statements and related notes.
Matters on which I report by exception
I have nothing to report in respect of the Governance Statement on which I report to you if, in my opinion, it does not reflect compliance with ‘Delivering Good Governance in Local Government: Framework’ published by CIPFA/SOLACE in June 2007, or if the statement is misleading or inconsistent with other information I am aware of from my audit.
Certificate of completion of audit
I certify that I have completed the audit of the accounts of Snowdonia National Park Authority in accordance with the requirements of the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 and the Code of Audit Practice issued by the Auditor General for Wales.
Anthony J. Barrett
(for and on behalf of)
Huw Vaughan Thomas – Auditor General for Wales 24 Cathedral Road Cardiff CF11 9LJ Date: 28 September 2016
(The maintenance and integrity of the Snowdonia National Park Authority web site is the responsibility of the Authority; the work carried out by the auditors does not involve consideration of these matters and, accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the statement of accounts since it was initially presented on the web site).
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Annual Governance Statement 2015-16
This statement meets the requirement to produce a Statement of Internal Control pursuant to Regulation 4 of the
Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulation 2005 (as amended in 2010)
1. Introduction
Snowdonia National Park Authority is responsible for ensuring that its business is conducted in accordance with the law and proper standards, and that public money is safeguarded and properly accounted for, and used economically, efficiently and effectively. Snowdonia National Park Authority is a Welsh Improvement Authority under Section 1 of the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2009 and as such has a general duty under section 2 to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised. In discharging this overall responsibility, Snowdonia National Park Authority is also responsible for putting in place proper arrangements for the governance of its affairs, facilitating the effective exercise of its functions, which includes arrangements for the management of risk and adequate and effective financial management. Snowdonia National Park Authority has approved and adopted a code of corporate governance, which is consistent with the principles of the CIPFA/Solace Framework Delivering Good Governance in Local Government. This statement explains how the Authority has complied with the code and also meets the requirements of regulation 4(2) of the Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2005 in relation to the publication of a statement on internal control.
2. The Purpose of the Governance Framework
The governance framework comprises the systems and processes, and culture and values, by which the authority is directed and controlled and its activities through which it accounts to, engages with and leads the community. It enables the authority to monitor the achievement of its strategic objectives and to consider whether those objectives have led to the delivery of appropriate, cost effective services. The system of internal control is a significant part of that framework and is designed to manage risk to a reasonable level rather than to eliminate all risk of failure to achieve policies, aims and objectives; it can therefore only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance of effectiveness. The system of internal control is based on an ongoing process designed to identify and prioritise the risks to the achievement of Snowdonia National Park Authority’s policies, aims and objectives, to evaluate the likelihood of those risks being realised and the impact should they be realised, and to manage them efficiently, effectively and economically.
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3. The Governance Framework
The Governance Framework comprises the six principles of good governance:
Principle 1: Focusing on the Authority’s purpose, on outcomes for the
community including citizens and service uses and creating and implementing a
vision for the local area
Principle 2: Members and Officers working together to achieve a common
purpose, with clearly defined functions and roles
Principle 3: Promoting values for the Authority and demonstrating the values of
good governance through upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour
Principle 4: Taking informed and transparent decisions which are subject to
effective scrutiny and managing risk
Principle 5: Developing the capacity and capability of Members and Officers to
be effective
Principle 6: Engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust
public accountability
Snowdonia National Park Authority develops and implements its strategic corporate planning through the adoption of the:
Snowdonia National Park Management Plan;
Eryri Local Development Plan;
Business and Improvement Plan; and
Corporate Work Programme.
These 4 documents represent the cornerstone for the Authority’s work in fulfilling its primary purposes as defined in the Environment Act 1995 and in implementing its vision. Governance Structure The Authority’s governance structure comprises of 4 main committees:
Snowdonia National Park Authority has 18 appointed Members and during
2015/16 had 6 scheduled meetings.
The Performance and Resources Committee was held 3 times during 2015/16.
As part of its remit it undertakes audit committee functions in accordance with
CIPFA requirements.
The Planning and Access Committee was held 9 times during 2015/16. This
committee is responsible for carrying out the Authority’s statutory planning
functions.
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The Authority’s Standards Committee was held twice during 2015/16.
Membership of the committee, whose remit it is to promote and maintain high
standards of conduct by Members, comprises of 3 Authority Members and 3
independent members.
The Authority’s Standing Orders (published on the website) gives a detailed account of the arrangements for each committee. For every committee, the agenda, minutes and associated reports and background papers are all published on the Authority’s website. Management Team The Authority’s management structure includes the Chief Executive (who is also the ‘National Park Officer’ and the Head of Paid Service) and two Directors. The Authority’s Management Team meet fortnightly, with the Head of Finance and the Head of Personnel in attendance. Standards The Authority has an established Code of Conduct for Members, which includes a section that specifically refers to interests and a Members’ Register of Interest. The Code of Conduct for staff is the national standard code of conduct for public authority employees. The Authority has adopted the following policies and procedures for maintaining high standards of conduct for both staff and Members, and to ensure accountability to the public:
Complaints Procedure – based on the best practice model complaints
procedure produced by the Public Service Ombudsman;
Whistle Blowing Policy – to enable staff to raise serious concerns with the
confidence in knowing that they will be thoroughly and fairly investigated,
without fear of reprisals;
Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy – contains measures designed to
frustrate any attempted fraudulent or corrupt act, and the steps to be taken if
such an act occurs; and a
Scheme of Delegation – outlines how the full Authority’s functions are carried
out through delegation to its committees and sub-committees.
Risk Management A Risk Management Policy and Strategy is in place. The risk identification process is co-ordinated by the Head of Finance, with input from the Management Team and Heads of Service. The Risk Register and mitigation measures is reviewed and updated quarterly. Internal Audit The review of the effectiveness of the system of internal control and governance arrangements is informed by the work of the Internal Auditors, undertaken by Gwynedd Council. The Internal Audit service is provided in accordance with CIPFA’s Code of Practice for Internal Audit in Local Government in the UK. The Internal Audit Manager
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prepares an annual report that summarises the results of internal audit work during the year. External Audit Wales Audit Office act as the Authority’s external auditor, and accordingly report on the Authority’s financial management and performance, as well as issuing an Annual Improvement Report. In addition, Wales Audit Office gives an opinion on the adequacy of internal audit work. Monitoring Officer The Director of Corporate Services has been nominated as the Monitoring Officer. The Monitoring Officer has the specific duty to ensure that the Authority’s Officers and appointed Members maintain the highest standard of conduct in all they do. The Monitoring Officer advises on constitutional procedure and the legality of the Authority’s actions. Financial Management The Authority’s financial management arrangements conform to the governance requirement of the CIPFA Statement on the Role of the Chief Financial Officer in Local Government (2010). The Chief Finance Officer (Gwynedd Council’s Head of Finance) is the officer responsible for the administration of financial affairs as required under Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972.
4. Significant Governance Issues and Actions Undertaken During the Year
In September 2014 the Authority began the process of reviewing its priorities and identifying new improvement objectives. The process commenced with an initial consultation with staff and the formation of a special Working Group of Members to scope potential Improvement Objectives. Stakeholder engagement was undertaken in October 2014 enabled by an external facilitator. On the 3rd of December 2014, the Authority considered the consultation responses and adopted the resulting Improvement Areas. The Directors and Heads of Service identified potential Improvement Objectives from the Improvement Areas, and these went out for formal consultation. On the 18th of March 2015 the Performance and Resources Committee adopted the following Improvement Objectives: 1. Communication The public and our stakeholders have a good understanding of the special qualities of Snowdonia as defined in the Snowdonia National Park Management Plan, are aware of the opportunities available for their enjoyment and understand the contribution that the Authority makes in such matters. 2. Plans and Policies Review the National Park Management Plan engaging with our partners in its preparation and empowering our partners in its implementation.
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3. Health and Wellbeing The National Park is recognised as an area which contributes to people’s physical and mental wellbeing. 4. Partnership and Volunteer Engagement By empowering our communities, partners and volunteers there is greater understanding and ownership of what makes Snowdonia National Park special. 5. Financial Challenge and Performance Management The Authority continues to deliver on its priorities providing a service for all within the reduced resources available.
This allowed for the Business and Improvement Plan for 2015/16 to be prepared for adoption by the Authority meeting on the 29th of April 2015. At the same meeting, the corresponding action plan for fulfilling the Improvement Objectives were incorporated into the Corporate Work Programme for 2015/16. Progress against the Programme has been reported to the Performance and Resources Committee on the 11th of November 2015 and 16th of March 2016. The full annual report on the Corporate Work Programme for 2015/16 will be presented to the Performance and Resource Committee on the 6th of July 2016.
5. Effectiveness of the Governance Framework
Snowdonia National Park Authority has responsibility for conducting, at least annually, a review of the effectiveness of its governance framework including the system of internal control. The review of the effectiveness of the system of internal control is informed by the work of the internal auditors and the senior managers within the Authority, who have responsibility for the development and maintenance of the governance environment, and also by comments made by the external auditors and other review agencies and inspectorates. The review is based on the six principles from the Code of Corporate Governance. Principle 1: Focusing on the Authority’s purpose, on outcomes for the community including citizens and service uses and creating and implementing a vision for the local area
Snowdonia National Park Management Plan 5 year plan 2010-15
One of the Authority’s Improvement Objectives is to review the National Park Management Plan through engagement with partners in its preparation, and to then empower partners in its implementation. A key action identified for 2015/16 was establishing an active Partnership Group with the remit for its preparation and successful implementation. The Partnership Group has been established. However, at the end of the financial year they had yet to meet therefore, no progress
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has been made on agreeing terms of reference. The first meeting of the group will take place in June 2016.
Eryri Local Development Plan Adopted July 2011
The Annual Monitoring Report was presented to the Planning and Access Committee on the 21st of October 2015 before being submitted to the Welsh Government. This was the third full review since the Plan was adopted, the results of which will inform a full review of the Plan, which is required every 4 years. Early indications from the Annual Monitoring Reports do identify that some limited changes are necessary, but the changes do not go to the heart of the Plan and are therefore not considered significant. The process of reviewing the Eryri Local Development Plan has commenced, and will continue over the forthcoming year.
Business and Improvement Plan
The Authority will be provided with the results of the Business and Improvement Plan for 2015/16 through the Annual Report and Improvement Plan 2015/16 which will be presented to Members in September 2016. The results for the 2014/15 Business and Improvement Plan were presented to the Authority on the 30th of September 2015. Out of the 5 improvement areas, the Authority had been successful in the progress that had been made on 2 objectives, had made good progress on 1 objective and had only been partially successful in the remaining 2 objectives. Of the 12 core performance indicators, 6 were rated green (success / improvement) and 4 rated amber (performance maintained).
Standards Committee
One appeal hearing was held relating to personnel matters under Section 10 of the Authority’s Disciplinary Procedure. The Standards Committee unanimously upheld the appeal. Accordingly the disciplinary penalty was reviewed and the dismissal was rescinded, allowing for immediate reinstatement of the appellant, on the basis of the appellant receiving a Final Written Formal warning applicable from the date of the meeting and in accordance with paragraph 6.2 of the Disciplinary Policy.
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Performance Management
The Authority extended its contract for the Ffynnon performance management system for 1 year during 2015/16. Due to the high cost of the system, Excel spreadsheets have been developed and used internally during the year to record and monitor progress of performance indicators and service data alongside Ffynnon. The internal solution has proven to be an effective alternative, and accordingly the contract for Ffynnon will not be renewed when it comes to an end in June 2016.
Quality of Service In July 2015, the Authority undertook the annual re-assessment and was successful in retaining the Customer Service Excellence accreditation.
Financial Statements
The Wales Audit Office presented its annual ISA260 report to the Authority meeting on the 30th of September 2015, which included an unqualified audit opinion on the Authority’s financial statements and related notes.
The Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015
The Authority has worked with WLGA as an Early Adopter and undertaken Member and Officer training with Brecon Beacons and Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authorities. The Corporate Plan for 2016/17 has been prepared to deliver against the 7 Well-being Goals set out in the Act, whilst still conforming to the requirements of the Local Government (Wales) Measure.
Principle 2: Members and Officers working together to achieve a common purpose, with clearly defined functions and roles
Budget Strategy 2015/16
The prolonged period of public sector cuts which is set to continue for the forthcoming future, has been a primary focus for Members and Officers. Implementation of the Strategy was under constant review and reports on progress were given to Members in a timely manner. During the year identified savings were realised through:
Voluntary redundancies; and
Additional income streams being developed and some fees increased.
In addition, progress on implementing a new business model for the Information Centres was monitored carefully through the Member Working Groups as well as reports to the Performance and Resources Committee.
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Progress made on implementing the Business Plan for the Authority’s Environmental Study Centre at Plas Tan y Bwlch was also scrutinised carefully through the Plas Tan y Bwlch Board.
Mid Term Financial Plan 2016 – 2020
During the year a Mid Term Financial Plan for 2016 – 2020 was developed and adopted by the Authority. The Plan provides a strategic framework to enable Members and Officers to develop detailed annual budgets. The Plan ensures that the Authority’s mid to long term priorities and objectives are considered in a sustainable way, and will therefore be used as the basis for the annual budget setting process. The Plan is a key tool for proactive financial management that ensures the Authority aligns its resources in a sustainable way in the mid to long term.
Governance Arrangements
The Authority continuously reviews its governance arrangements. Following a recommendation by the Standards Committee, to review changes previously agreed by the Authority after a two year period, a report was considered by the Authority on the 29th of April 2015. The changes previously agreed entailed making training compulsory for new Members, and that until such time that the training had been undertaken, new Members would only have a very limited role in committees. The Authority concluded that arrangements were working satisfactorily and that no further changes were required. The Authority’s Pay Policy Statement for 2015/16 was presented to the Performance and Resources Committee on the 16th of March 2016, ensuring transparency in staff remuneration at the Authority. The annual survey sent out to Members showed that of the Members who responded, all (100%) agreed that the reports they received on the progress of Improvement Objectives were timely and effective.
Members’ Attendance
Members’ attendance at meetings during 2015/16 was 74.5%, compared to 80% in 2014/15 and 78% in 2013/14.
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Welsh Government Consultations
The main Welsh Government consultations affecting the Authority were the Technical Advice Note 20: Planning and the Welsh Language and the Green Paper on Access and Recreation in the Countryside. The Authority’s consultation response on TAN 20 included input from Members through a report to the Planning and Access Committee on the 2nd of March 2016, and the consultation response on Access and Recreation was discussed in great detail by both the North and South Access Forum Members.
Principle 3: Promoting values for the Authority and demonstrating the values of good governance through upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour
Whistle Blowing Policy
The Standards Committee discussed conducting a review of the Authority’s Whistle Blowing Policy on the 2nd of October 2015. The review was postponed to allow 2 Members of the Committee to attend a workshop titled “Whistle Blowing – Adapting to deal with new operating models for public service”, which would allow a review of current best practice. The Members’ learning from the workshop will now inform the review of the policy, which is scheduled to take place at the next Standards Committee meeting.
Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy
During 2015/16 no complaints of alleged fraud or corruption were made regarding any Member or Officer of the Authority, and Internal Auditors did not identify any areas of concern through their auditing work.
Complaints – Officers
The Annual Complaints Monitoring Report presented to the Performance and Resources Committee on the 11th of November 2015 noted that all complaints had been responded to within the target period of 15 days and that no patterns of deficient service were identified. The Authority was not subject to a formal investigation of alleged maladministration by the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales in 2015/16.
Complaints - Members
During 2015/16 no complaints were made to the Authority’s Monitoring Officer or directly to the Public
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Service Ombudsman for Wales regarding an alleged breach to the Members’ Code of Conduct.
Principle 4: Taking informed and transparent decisions which are subject to effective scrutiny and managing risk
Joint Scrutiny Group
A Joint Scrutiny Committee was established by Members of Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority (PCNPA) and Snowdonia National Park Authority (SNPA) in 2014, with the aim of assessing whether National Park Authority policies are successful in supporting economic activity. The work of the Committee concluded in 2015 and a final outcome report was presented to the Performance and Resources Committee on the 11th of November 2015.
Risk Management The Risk Register is reviewed as a standing item on the quarterly Heads of Service and Management Team meetings, and the revised Risk Register then reviewed in the following Management Team meeting. Identified risks as noted in the Risk Register are allocated as a responsibility to named officers and target dates are set for mitigation. The Risk Register is reviewed by Members in the Performance and Resources Committee as well as the Authority meeting.
External Audit At the time of writing, the Wales Audit Office Annual Improvement Report had not been received. This Statement had to be prepared without the annual improvement report due to the time restraints to comply with the relevant rules.
Planning Services Audit
A review of the Planning Service was carried out by Wales Audit Office, with the final report “Delivering More With Less” published in October 2015. The audit report is positive and points to a good and improving planning service. The report recommended reviewing priorities and targets for the Authority’s planning service, working in partnership with other planning authorities in Wales to develop consistent, robust comparative cost and volume data and use this to demonstrate whether or not it is providing value for money; and develop relevant outcomes to help measure
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the contribution towards meeting the goal of sustainable development.
Internal Audit The Internal Audit Manager reports on the previous financial year’s work to the Performance and Resources Committee in July. Two internal audits undertaken in 2015/16, namely Taxation Arrangements and Savings and Income Increase Plans were given an “A” opinion – giving assurance of the appropriateness of the Authority’s arrangements. Another two internal audits undertaken in 2015/16, namely Information Security and Managing and Writing Off Debts were given a “B” opinion – giving partial assurance of the appropriateness of the Authority’s arrangements.
Principle 5: Developing the capacity and capability of Members and Officers to be effective
Member Training In 2015/16, member attendance at training events was 59% (49.3% in 2014/15). Training needs for Members is discussed at a number of working groups along with receiving feedback on training undertaken. The annual survey sent out to Members showed that of the Members who responded, 90% rated the frequency and standard of training opportunities as excellent or good.
Wales Charter for Member Support and Development
Current Member role descriptions were reviewed (Member of the Authority, Chair/Vice Chair of Authority, Chair/Vice Chair of Committee) and 3 new role descriptions were introduced (Member Champion, Member of Standards Committee and Chair of Standards Committee) through the Member Working Group on the 21st of October 2015 and formally adopted at the Performance and Resources Committee on the 11th of November 2015. Successful re-assessment of the Member Charter has taken place in early 2016.
Staff Training As part of the Authority’s Budget Strategy, the staff training budget was reduced by £5,000 in 2015/16, representing a 15% cut.
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Despite this, the Authority continues to ensure that qualifications are kept up to date e.g. first aid, IOSH Managing Safely, use of machinery etc. Learning and development needs are identified in annual performance appraisal reviews and a training plan is produced by the Head of Personnel which outlines training priorities for the year ahead.
Health and Safety A comprehensive health and safety audit was undertaken in 2015/16 by an external consultant who provided substantial assurance. The report was discussed and the Management Team and Heads of Service meeting on the 4th of February 2016 and all recommendations have been allocated a responsible officer. The Health and Safety Group which meets quarterly will now monitor the progress on implementing the recommendations.
Principle 6: Engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust public accountability
Strategic Equality Plan
On the 2nd of October 2015 a joint consultation event was undertaken between 14 North Wales public authorities (working together under the banner of North Wales Public Sector Equality Network) to review the joint North Wales Equality Objectives as required by the Equality Act 2010. Over 60 people attended the event representing various groups with protected characteristics, third sector organisations and public sector support services. Snowdonia National Park Authority undertook all the practical and administrative arrangements for the event, which took place at Conwy Business Centre in Llandudno Junction.
Direct Consultation
During 2015/16 the Authority has sought to engage with local people and stakeholders through a range of consultations.
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Forums such as the Equality Forum and the Access Forums continue to ensure a consistent mechanism for consulting directly on specific work areas. In addition, open evenings for Town and Community Councils held across the National Park and the annual meeting for agents, as well as the annual meeting for landowners have also taken place. As part of the Snowdon Partnership the Authority has taken the lead with consulting the public and stakeholders on developing a Management Plan for Snowdon. Work is ongoing, and the consultation continues to ensure that all stakeholders have the opportunity to contribute to this important Plan.
Formal Partnerships
Each significant partnership arrangement is governed through a formal agreement and clear lines of accountability. The Partnerships are achieving their stated aims and objectives.
Snowdonia Green Key (Gwynedd and Conwy County Borough Councils, NRW)
Ogwen Visitor Centre (The National Trust, NRW, Communities and Nature Fund)
Rhododendron Management (NRW, The National Trust)
Yr Ysgwrn (Welsh Government, Heritage Lottery Fund, Friends of Yr Ysgwrn)
6. Significant Governance Issues and Actions Proposed for 2016/17
The improvement areas identified are set out in the Corporate Plan for 2016/17 which was approved and adopted by the Authority on the 27th of April 2016. The Corporate Plan duly feeds the Corporate Work Programme for 2016/17, which sets out the actions on improvement for the forthcoming year. The Annual Improvement Assessment 2014/15 by the Wales Audit Office (30 September 2015) did not make any recommendations as such, but noted that:
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Recommendation Action to be taken
Develop a more detailed, but proportionate approach to medium-term financial planning that can help the Authority respond effectively to a range of possible reduced-funding scenarios.
The development of a Medium Term Financial Plan has been underway since the summer of 2015, and Members have had several opportunities to consider and contribute to the draft Plan before approving the final Plan on the 9th of December 2015. The Plan will be used as the basis of the annual budget setting process, and as such will be reviewed and updated during the next few years as external factors, such as Welsh Government new priorities and likely settlements become known.
7. Opinion
We propose over the coming year to take steps to address the matters referred to in part 6 to further enhance our governance arrangements. We are satisfied that these steps will address the need for improvements that were identified in our review of effectiveness and will monitor their implementation and operation as part of our next annual review.
EMYR WILLIAMS
CHIEF EXECUTIVE CHAIR
SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK
AUTHORITY AUTHORITY
DATE 8 JUNE 2016 DATE 8 JUNE 2016
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS ACCRUALS The concept that income and expenditure are recognised as they are earned or incurred, not as money is
received or paid. CAPITAL CHARGE A charge to service revenue accounts to reflect the cost of fixed assets used in the provision of service. CAPITAL EXPENDITURE Expenditure on the acquisition of a fixed asset or expenditure which adds to and not merely maintains the
value of an existing fixed asset. CAPITAL RECEIPTS
Proceeds of not less £10,000 from the sale of fixed assets. They may be used to finance new capital expenditure or repay debt. They cannot be used to finance normal day to day revenue spending.
COMMUNITY ASSETS Assets that the authority intends to hold in perpetuity, that have no determinable useful life, and that may
have restrictions on their disposal.
CONTINGENT LIABILITIES/ASSETS
These arise from a past event which is dependent upon future uncertain events and timing prior to being recognised in the accounts.
REVENUE EXPENDITURE FUNDED FROM CAPITAL UNDER STATUTE Expenditure classified as capital for funding purposes but which does not result in the expenditure being
carried on the balance sheet as a fixed asset. These items are generally grants and expenditure on property not owned by the Authority.
DEFINED BENEFIT SCHEME
A pension scheme where the scheme rules define the benefits independently of the contributions payable, and the benefits are not directly related to the investments of the scheme.
FINANCE LEASE A lease that transfers all of the risk and rewards of ownership of a fixed asset to the lessee. OPERATING LEASE A lease other than a finance lease. FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets that yield benefits to the authority and the services it provides for a period of more than
one year. USEFUL LIFE The period over which the authority will derive benefits from the use of a fixed asset. ABBREVIATIONS CIPFA Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy LASAAC Local Authority (Scotland) Accounts Advisory Committee IFRS International Financial Reporting Standard IAS International Accounting Standard