Governance & Finance

The Council and Councillors are bound by a number of codes, regulations and orders. The main ones which the Council operates to are listed below:

Councillors are required, in order to comply with the Code of Conduct, to register their pecuniary & non-pecuniary interests with Allerdale Borough Council Monitoring Officer. Copies of each Council member’s Register of Interests are included in the ‘Your Local Councillors’ section.

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Council provides information on its operations as set out in its Publication Scheme. Any enquiries concerning the Council should be directed, in the first instance, to the Town Clerk.

Members of the public are welcome to attend any Town Council meetings. The Council publishes an agenda in advance of meetings setting out the items for discussion at those meetings. A minority of items of business are conducted in private due to their confidential nature. Further details are set out in the Council’s Standing Orders, Section 3.

 

Open Government & Transparency

Maryport Town Council is committed to being open and transparent, providing non-sensitive data to the public in an accessible format. This information includes data published under the Local Government Transparency Code. Further information may be obtained, in accordance with the Council’s Publication Scheme, by contacting the Town Clerk.

The following information relevant to Maryport Town Council’s operations, not available elsewhere on the website & published in accordance with the Transparency Code is available to download:

Accessibility Statement

Maryport Town Council strives to ensure that its services are accessible to everyone. Maryport Town Council is working to ensure its website is made easier to use and more accessible for people with disabilities or additional needs.

You can download it here:  Accessibility Statement

 

Town Council Strategy

The Town Council Strategy is a statement of the Council’s vision for the town, setting out its purpose, values, objectives & key priorities over the following five years. The Strategy is a five-year plan, developed in consultation with the local community, & was introduced on 1 April 2015; it is updated annually to ensure it is a contemporary document.

The Strategy is based on five key strategic aims:

  • Attractive Maryport
  • Active Maryport
  • Promote Maryport
  • Pride in Maryport
  • Participate in Maryport

The Strategy tells the communities of Flimby & Maryport what the Town Council does, as well as what it doesn’t do, & how the Council uses money collected from the people of the area to support the community. It is the basis around which the Council plans its priorities over the following five years.

 

Budget

The Council’s Budget is developed on an annual basis & sets out what the Council intends to spend on particular services for the year ahead. The Council’s budget is informed by the Council Strategy & is funded largely by Council Tax collected from the people of Maryport on the Town Council’s behalf by Allerdale Borough Council through a demand made by the Town Council called the ‘Precept’.

A copy of the Council’s latest Budget is available here.

Annual Governance & Accountability Return

The Annual Return is the main means of reporting on the Council’s outcomes for the previous financial year. It consists of two main parts, the Annual Governance Statement & the Annual Statement of Accounts.

The Annual Governance Statement recognises that those that are responsible for the conduct of public business & for spending public money are accountable for ensuring both that public business is conducted in accordance with the law & proper standards, & that public money is safeguarded & properly accounted for, & used economically, efficiently & effectively. In discharging this accountability, public bodies & their management are responsible for putting in place proper arrangements for the governance of their affairs & the stewardship of the resources at their disposal.

The Annual Statement of Accounts represents the statutory accounting statements that councils are required to prepare, to have audited & to publish.

The Return recognises that the Council has a duty to maintain an adequate & effective system of internal audit of its accounting records & of its system of internal control in accordance with the proper practices in relation to internal control. The Council contracts an independent Internal Auditor to report on its arrangements in this respect & the Return includes a report by the Internal Auditor.

The Return also includes a report by the Council’s External Auditor. The auditor’s formal report recognises the relative statutory responsibilities of the Council & its auditors, & sets these out in the Annual Return. The auditor’s report contains an opinion on the accounting statements.

Copies of previous recent years’ Annual Returns are available below.

 

Grant Funding

Eligibility

  1. Any not for profit organisation operating within the parish boundaries of Maryport is eligible to apply for a grant.
  2. Applications made to support individuals must be able to demonstrate the benefit of the proposal to the Maryport area as a whole.
  3. Applications should not be for purposes for which financial support is available from another more appropriate source.
  4. Applications will generally be limited to one per organisation per year, excluding organisations which facilitate more than one event.

Category of Grant

  1. Grant support will be considered under the following categories:
    1. Annual Grants receiving regular, on-going annual support with no financial limit.
    2. Larger Grants for one-off events, with no financial limit.
    3. Larger grants for regular festival events with a financial limit of £3,000 per festival.
    4. Sundry Grants awarded during the year in response to general applications with a general limit of up to £1,000.
  2. Grant support will accord with the above categories, save for exceptional cases, such as international sport representation or significant commemorative events, such cases to be determined by the Council as appropriate.
  3. Grants to the value of £1,000 & over will be subject to advance notification & budgetary provision.

Application for & Award of Grants

  1. Grants will be awarded in accordance with the Council Policy on support for external organisations, & in accordance with budgetary provision.
  2. The Clerks are responsible for the management of the grant application process on a day to day basis.
  3. Applicants will be required to complete an application form providing the following information:
    1. A summary of the nature of the project for which funding is sought.
    2. An explanation of which (groups of) people would benefit from the award of the grant.
    3. A description of the anticipated outcomes from the project.
    4. An estimate of the total cost of the project.
    5. An indication of the amount of grant requested from the Council.
    6. A list of funding requests made to other bodies & the result of the requests.
    7. A statement of the necessity of the level of funding sought from the Council towards the success of the project.
    8. An explanation of consultation undertaken in the community in respect of the project.
    9. Who the leader of the project is.
    10. If the application is for a grant of over £1,000, the names of the Directors, Trustees & Management Committee members, as appropriate.
    11. Latest Balance Sheet & Bank Statement.
    12. Proof of CRB checks undertaken where necessary.
    13. An indication as to whether the applicant body is a registered charity.
    14. Details of applicant, including name of applicant body & contact details.
    15. Signature of applicant & date of application.
  4. In addition to the above information, applicants for Annual Grants will be required to provide further supporting information, stating the proposed outcomes of the project, at the time of application &, on completion of the project, & in any case prior to the end of September each year, provide a report demonstrating actual outcomes.
  5. Applicants for Annual Grants will be required to provide sufficient information, to the satisfaction of the Council, to demonstrate the appropriate usage of the grant funding, in line with (d) above, upon which the award of future grant support for those applicants will be dependent
  6. Following receipt of a completed Grant Application form, the application will be placed on the agenda of the next available Finance & General Purposes Committee meeting for consideration.
  7. Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their applications, as determined by the Finance & General Purposes Committee, following a decision being made.
  8. Following the award of a grant, the recipient may be required to provide such further information as is requested to support the award.

Administrative Arrangements

  1. Annual Grant Applicants will not be required to complete an application form on an annual basis, rather, will be required to provide the information stipulated in 3(e) above.
  2. The Council will invite applications for grants of £1,000 & over to be received by the end of September in the year prior to the year of payment. Payment of such grants will depend on budget availability.
  3. Budgeted Grants will be distributed early in the financial year.
  4. Sundry Grants will be considered at the next available Finance & General Purposes Committee meeting.

Conditions of Grant

  1. Grants are awarded upon the condition that successful applicants agree to promote the financial support given by the Town Council in any media or publicity arrangements, including applicant’s websites, where relevant.
  2. It is assumed that grants awarded will be applied for the purposes stated. In the event that grant funding is not required for the stated purpose(s), the grant will become repayable to the Town Council with immediate effect.
  3. In the event that a grant applicant obtains funding from other sources for the stated purposes(s) in excess of the required funding, an element will become repayable to the Town Council, in proportion to the level of funding obtained, with immediate effect.
  4. Should a project, event or other purpose for which grant funding has been provided not proceed, a full refund will become payable to the Town Council, with immediate effect.
  5. The following information should be provided, where appropriate:
    1. A copy of the organisation’s governing documents, eg set of rules, constitution, memorandum of agreement, articles of association, etc.
    2. A copy of the organisation’s latest balance sheet.
    3. A copy of the organisation’s latest statements for any bank accounts, savings accounts or other financial resources.
    4. A copy of the relevant documents where CRB accreditation is a requirement.
    5. A copy of the organisation’s child protection or safeguarding policy where appropriate.
    6. If the organisation is a registered charity, the charity number.
    7. For applications of £1,000 & over, the names of the Directors, Trustees & Management Committee members, as appropriate.
  6. A grant applicant which employs staff should provide the following additional information:
    1. The number of persons employed, differentiating between full & part-time staff.
    2. Total Annual Expenditure on employees, differentiating between full & part-time employees.
    3. Total annual Expenditure & Income for the organisation, based on the most recent accounts.
    4. Total annual number of beneficiaries in the Maryport area, based on the most recent statistical information.
    5. Details of other funding sources & total funding from each for the previous three financial years.

Application Form

You can download a Grant Application Form here:

Grant Application Form