Annual Report



Swanley Town Council 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Annual Report 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

2009/2010                    Introduction                                  Under new accounting regulations, Swanley Town Council is required to produce an annual report each year  as part of its financial accounts.  This is the first such report.                              The report provides an explanation in overall terms of the Council's financial position and assists in the    interpretation of the financial statements.  It also describes the principal activities of the Council.                        The population of Swanley at the last census was 16,588 and the number of electors at 1 December 2009   was 12,319.                                  The Council has 16 councillors who are elected for a four-year term.  The next elections will be held in 2011.  The present councillors are:                                      Mayor                  Cllr Mrs J Sargeant                                    Deputy Mayor                  Cllr Mrs C Theobald                                    Councillors                  Cllr L Ayres                  Cllr J Barnes                  Cllr D Coates                  Cllr Mrs K Coates                  Cllr M Fittock                  Cllr T Henley                  Cllr Dr S King                  Cllr Mrs C Lee                  Cllr M Mahy                  Cllr R Morris                  Cllr I Rashbrook                  Cllr T Searles                  Cllr R Woodbridge                  Cllr Mrs T Woodbridge                              Swanley Town Council is a Quality Parish Council and an accredited member of the Investors in People scheme                    The Chief Executive and Town Clerk is Brian Daley and the Chief Financial Officer is Veronica Brazier                      The Council may be contacted on 01322 665855 or by email to: towncouncil@swanley.org.uk or in person  at Civic Centre, St Marys Road, Swanley, Kent BR8 7BU            The Council's website can be accessed at: www.swanleytowncouncil.gov.uk                            The Council's auditors for the year 2009/10 are Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP, Lancaster House, 7 Elmfield Road,  Bromley, Kent BR1 1LT                                                                                              Principal Activities                                Parks and Open Spaces              The Council provides open spaces at St Mary's Road Recreaton Ground and at Swanley Park as well as smaller  spaces within or close to housing developments.  At St Mary's Road there are 6 floodlit tennis/netball courts and   2 football pitches for hire, child play equipment and a skateboard area.  At Swanley Park there is a boating lake,   café, miniature railway and play equipment with additional rides and activities for children in the summer.                      Grounds Maintenance              As well as maintaining its own open spaces, the Council undertakes grasscutting and general grounds maintenance   for Kent County Council and Sevenoaks District Council within the town.  For many years Swanley entered the   annual South East In Bloom competition and, although it has not entered for the past two years, it still maintains its   floral displays within the town.                                Library and Information Centre              The Town Council leases the Library building from the County Council and operates a café and local information   service on the ground floor. On the first floor the Council has rooms available to rent to local bodies and small   businesses.  As well as tourist information, the Council provides local information on behalf of Sevenoaks    District Council.                                  Swanley Banqueting              Swanley Banqueting is the Council's catering business which operates the Alexandra Suite, The Olympic     The Woodlands and the café in Swanley Park.  As well as weddings, dinners and parties, it offers facilities   for conferences, golf, snooker and bowls.  At the end of each year it pays a lump sum to the Council which   enables the Council to carry out its community programme and run its parks and leisure facilities.                                          The Past Year                                  Outlined below are some of the projects and initiatives undertaken by Swanley Town Council during the    year from 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010:                              Allotments    At the start of the year the Council had 21 allotment plots available for         residents' use and this was increased during the early summer to 33 plots         by dividing some plots into two smaller plots and by releasing agriculutral         land to form new plots.                                Civic Expenses    The Mayor decided to charge guests for the annual civic reception,        reducing the cost of the reception by £1,563.  Use of a mayoral car for        attendance at functions was reduced and replaced by self-drive or a        local taxi company.                                                                                                                                Community Programme  Despite the recession the Council maintained the whole of its community        programme, the main events of which were:                              *  Party in the Park - a summer funday in partnership with Churches Together      *  Mayoral At Home for senior citizens at the Alexandra Suite        *  A firework display on 5 November              *  1812 Night - musical entertainment and a firework display over the lake         in Swanley Park                *  Christmas lights in the town centre              *  Christmas party at The Woodlands for senior citizens who would otherwise         have been on their own on Christmas Day            *  Grant Aid to local groups                              Highways    The Council continued to cut the grassed highways for the County Council.        Swanley Town did not enter the South East in Bloom competition this year         but Swanley Village entered and won a gold award                        Leisure      The Council continued to offer football, netball and tennis facilities at         St Mary's Road Recreation Ground.  The Youth and Senior Passport to         Leisure Schemes were both oversubscribed for the many events and outings         that were offered throughout the year                            Library & Information Centre  A local information service was offered on behalf of the Sevenoaks District        Council as well as sales of their garden waste, recycling and black bags.          Sales of greetings cards proved very popular and the café increased its profits.        Two new offices were created on the first floor and remain fully let                    Parks      Extra toddler play was installed following the main installation in 2008/09 at        Petham play park.  In Swanley Park the old wooden boat jetty was replaced         and a new platform was built for the miniature railway                         Swanley Banqueting  This was a very difficult trading year because of the recession.  Wedding         and dinner bookings decreased and some regular hirers were unable to         continue.  Swanley Banqueting reduced staff hours where possible and was        able to pay the full agreed contract fee to the Council. However, the contract         fee for 2011/2012 is expected to be £90,000 lower which could impact upon        the Council's services.                                                Financial Statements              The Council's Statements of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2010 consist of the following tables:                      Income and Expenditure Account                This is the Council's revenue account which sets out income and expenditure on all services, interest payable     and receivable, profits/losses on disposal of fixed assets and sources of the Council's income from revenue     grants and taxation (precept).  The statement also incorporates the additional amounts required to be                                                              accounted for in respect of the Council's pension arrangements.                            Balance Sheet                  This sets out the financial position of the Council at 31 March 2010 i.e its assets and liabilities at that date.                    Cash Flow Statement                This summarises inflows and outflows of cash arising from revenue and capital transactions with third parties.                                      Budget Comparison                                The table below shows  the original and revised budgets for the year compared to the actual net expenditure, followed  by a brief description of any major overspends or underspends compared to the original budget.                        There was a saving across all departments because the national employee pay award was lower than had been allowed in  the original budget.  Any improvements to the outturn solely due to a decrease in salaries and wages will not be included   in the notes.                                          Original    Revised    Actual          Budget    Budget      NET EXPENDITURE    £    £    £                      Alexandra Suite    (51,300)    (52,100)    (52,671)    Allotments    2,900    2,700    2,533    Civic and General Expenses    20,900    18,900    17,485    Clinic      (29,300)    (28,800)    (28,965)    Community Programme    112,600    110,800    103,922    Corporate Management    181,600    185,400    192,349    Highways and Lighting    64,100    54,900    55,979    Leisure Services    83,800    80,600    79,299    Library and Information Centre    50,800    43,100    38,954    Miscellaneous Democratic Services  46,900    46,200    45,090    Olympic      (2,400)    (2,900)    (3,286)    Parks      114,200    124,200    119,099    Strategic Corporate Planning    33,200    32,400    31,808    Woodlands    (87,500)    (88,400)    (88,964)          540,500    527,000    512,632                      Swanley Banqueting    27,200    31,700    (9,993)          567,700    558,700    502,639                                      Civic and General Expenses                The improved position at year end is due to savings made on use of the mayoral car and to the decision       to charge guests for attendance at the civic reception.                              Community Programme                  The main savings were on grants where lower awards were given than in previous years.  Some savings      were also made on Fireworks Night and on the 1812 Night.                            Corporate Management                There was an overspend of £8,871 on the computer budget of which  £4,470 was authorised by the       Council as a reserve for upgrade of the server.  The server was upgraded during the year but further       expenditure was needed to upgrade the back-up drive and three computers as a direct result of      the server upgrade.  In addition, new BACS software, installation and training were purchased as the       previous system was old and could no longer be supported.                            Highways and Lighting                  Additional income was received from Kent County Council for extra works on the grasscutting contract.      Savings were made on the equipment budget and a new, cheaper contract was negotiated for street       lighting.  A saving was made on the Swanley In Bloom budget as a direct result of not entering the      national competition.                                Leisure Services                  The bulk of the savings were on wages and salaries but there were additional savings on water usage      (pitches, changing rooms) and on the senior passport scheme.                            Library and Information Centre                Savings on salaries and wages were made due to staff changes and extra income was generated      on the sale of goods in the Information Centre.  An increase in the fee from partner authorities produced      an additional £1,700 of income.                                Parks and Recreation                  A serious underground water leak caused an overspend of almost £12,000.  As the pipes were old and       breaking up it was decided to cap off the whole supply to the lake and use an existing alternative      supply pipe which feeds the buildings and the paddling pool.  The overall shortfall on this department      was less than the above figure due to savings on salaries and wages.                          Swanley Banqueting                                  Alexandra Suite:  Finished the year only £2,200 below its target which was mainly due to a shortfall in         catering income                                The Olympic:  Improved profit margins on bar and catering stocks ensured that The Olympic beat         its targets by £7,500.                              The Woodlands  Exceeded its target in excess of £27,000 due to increased profit margins on both bar         and catering, additional hire fees and savings on staff costs, equipment and repairs        and maintenance.                                  Café in Swanley Park  Although the café did not reach its income target on catering sales, it exceeded its        net profit target due to tendering  a concession for an ice cream van sited elsewhere         in the park.                                                  Fixed Asset Changes in the Year                                Expenditure on fixed assets in the year:    £    £                        Operational Freehold land & buildings -                Refurbishment of toilets at The Olympic  8,000            Railway platform in Swanley Park    10,150    18,150                        Operational leasehold land & buildings -                Tower Room conversion at the Library  7,614            New boiler at the Library    3,800    11,414                        Vehicles & Equipment -                  Play equipment at Petham        13,097                        Infrastructure assets -                  Jetty on Swanley Park lake    5,410            Swanley Park waterplay feature    1,160    6,570                        Non-operational land & buildings -                Allotment plots          7,229                  56,460                                                            Changes in Accounting Policies              Until 31 March 2009 the Council's accounts were prepared in accordance with the Code of Practice on Local    Authority Accounting in Great Britain and the 2007 Statement of Recommended Practice on Local Authority     Accounting in Great Britain.                                From 1 April 2009 larger local councils with income or expenditure exceeding £1 million are required to prepare     accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities (FRSSE) found in Part 4     of Governance and Accountability for Local Councils: A Practitioners' Guide 2010 (England).  This guidance is     part of the 'proper accounting practices' referred to in Section 21 of the Local Government Act 2003.                      The FRSSE requires that an Annual Report is produced and approved by Council and that this should include     details of the activities during the reporting year.                                                  Revenue and Capital Investment Plans            The Council has approved a revenue budget for the year from 1 April 2010:                      £                      Expenditure to maintain existing levels of service          626,000                      Funded by:  General Fund Balances        22,500        Precept          603,500                  626,000                      If all of the above is expended, the General Fund Balances at 31 March 2011 will be £259,305.                                        The Council has approved a capital expenditure budget for the year from 1 April 2010:                  £                      Works completed at 31 March 2010 not yet paid        4,387    Works in Progress            18,200    New capital projects            434,893                  457,480                      To be funded by:  Capital Receipts           307,746        Grants Receivable          59,866        Capital Projects Reserve        89,868                  457,480                                        External Loans                The Council has no external borrowing and has no plans for future borrowing.                                              Adoption of the Report                                This Annual Report was adopted at a meeting of Swanley Town Council on 30 June 2010                                                                                                ………………………………………              Cllr Mrs J Sargeant                Mayor                                   

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