The annual statement of accounts is a statutory summary of our financial affairs for the financial year and is prepared in accordance with the code of practice on local authority accounting in the United Kingdom.
The purpose of our statement of accounts is to give clear information on our overall finances and to demonstrate our stewardship of public money for the year.
Independent auditors report annually whether the statement of accounts fairly represents our financial position of income and expenditure. Their report is included in the statement of accounts.
The auditors also look at the quality of our services, whether money is spent economically and efficiently and at our performance. This is reported in the annual audit and inspection letter.
Statement of accounts
You can download the most recent statement of accounts below.
Draft statement of accounts 2020 to 2021 [PDF 4.73MB]
Audited statement of accounts 2019 to 20 [PDF 2.80MB]
Audited statement of accounts 2018 to 2019 [PDF 1.93MB]
Audited statement of accounts 2017 to 2018 [PDF 1.49MB]
Delay in publishing audited statement of accounts: Year ended 31 March 2021
The external audit of the draft statement of accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 has not yet been completed by our external auditors, Deloitte LLP, due to prior year audits not yet being completed.
This situation is allowed for by Regulation 10, paragraph (2) of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234), as amended by the Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/263).
This notification explains, as per regulation 10 (2) (a), that we are not yet able to publish our audited 2020-21 statement of accounts in line with publication date of 30 September 2021, as per regulation 10 (1). The council is continuing to work closely with the external auditor to ensure the required work is completed as soon as possible. In line with the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, Blackpool Council published a draft statement of accounts subject to audit on 31 July 2021 and the final audited statement of accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 will be published as soon as the audit is concluded, and the Independent Auditor’s Report issued.
Councils must produce an annual statement of accounts in accordance with legislative requirements and the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the UK. Our draft 2020-21 annual statement of accounts are available above for local electors to inspect.
Steve Thompson
Director of resources (Section 151 Officer)
You can download the most recent annual audit letter below.
Public inspection of accounts
You can view the public inspection of accounts notice below:
Public inspection notice for the 2021/22 Statement of Accounts
Audit of Accounts Year Ended 31 March 2022 – Notice of Public Rights
The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (Revised)
Local Audit (Public Access to Documents) Act 2017
The Accounts and Audit Amendments Regulations 2021
The Council's draft 2021/22 Statement of Accounts will not be available for public inspection by the deadline of 1 August 2022 as required by the Regulation 10 paragraph (1) of the Accounts and Audit regulations 2015 as amended by The Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2021. The draft Statement of Accounts have not been completed due to an update of the CIPFA Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting to deal with changes to accounting for infrastructure assets, which has caused a delay in the audit, approval and publication of the 2020/21 Statement of Accounts.
A further notice will be published in due course setting out the public inspection period as soon as the draft 2021/22 Statement of Accounts have been finalised.
This notice is issued under Regulation 15, paragraph (1a) of the Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2021.
Dated 27 July 2022
Steve Thompson
Director of Resources
Blackpool Council, PO Box 4, Town Hall, Blackpool, FY1 1NA