Local Government (Capital Finance and Accounting) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2011

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provisions for capital finance and accounts under the Local Government Finance Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (“the 2011 Act”).

Regulation 2 identifies, for the purposes of the definition of “proper practices” referred to in section 2 of the 2011 Act, certain documents that contain accounting practices.

Regulation 3 prescribes the date before which district councils must consider and approve the estimates of the income and expenditure submitted to them and fix for the next financial year the amount estimated to be raised by means of rates made by that council.

Regulation 4 provides that capital expenditure need not be charged to the general fund of a council.

Regulation 5 requires a council to charge to their general fund for a financial year an amount equal to retirement benefits payments and contributions to pension funds payable for that year.

Regulation 6 requires a council to determine and charge to their general fund a minimum revenue provision in respect of the financing of capital expenditure for that current financial year. A council may also charge an additional amount for the current year or any previous year.

Regulation 7 requires councils to have regard to the “Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities” when determining how much it can afford to borrow under section 13 of the 2011 Act.

Regulations 8 and 9 make provision excluding certain liabilities from the definition of “qualifying liabilities”, under section 17 of the 2011 Act, so that certain transactions are not credit arrangements.

Regulation 10 makes provision for varied transactions to be credit arrangements and regulation 11 sets out how the cost of credit arrangements are to be calculated.

Regulations 12 and 13 provide for expenditure which is, and which is not, to be treated as capital expenditure for the purposes of Part 1 of the 2011 Act.

Regulations 14 to 17 provide for certain sums received by a council to be treated, or not to be treated, as capital receipts.

Regulation 18 provides that capital receipts may only be used for specified purposes.

Regulation 19 requires that a council, in carrying out its capital finance functions, must have regard to the code of practice in “Treasury Management in the Public Services: Code of Practice and Cross-Sectoral Guidance Notes”.

Regulation 20 revokes the Local Government (Annual Budget) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973 and the Local Government (Annual Budget) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973.

Copies of the following documents referred to in these Regulations may be obtained from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, 3 Robert Street, London WC2N 6RL (www.cipfa.org.uk):

(a) The “Prudential Code of Capital Finance in Local Authorities”;

(b) The “Treasury Management in the Public Services: Code of Practice and Cross-Sectoral Guidance Notes”;

(c) “Best Value Accounting Code of Practice”;

(d) “Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom”.