The Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 1985 to require a local authority to prepare as part of its annual accounts a Remuneration Report.

Regulation 2 provides that this duty arises in respect of the 2010/11 accounts onwards, with saving provision for cases where there are contractual issues about disclosure in respect of the year in which the Regulations come into force.

Regulation 3 sets out the detail that is to be included in such a Report, by reference to a Schedule inserted into the 1985 Regulations.

Paragraphs 2 to 4 of that Schedule require such a Report to provide relevant general information. Paragraph 5 provides that details must be provided in respect of subsidiary bodies, in addition to the local authority itself.

Paragraphs 6, 7, 9 and 10 of that Schedule make further provision as to the structure of the Remuneration Report.

Paragraph 8 of that Schedule describes the categories in respect of which information must be shown in a Remuneration Report, and paragraphs 11 and 12 describe what is to be included in respect of pension values and contributions.

The accounts of each local authority require to be audited by virtue of section 96(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. These Regulations do not make any other change to the need for an audit of those accounts, or alter the timescales within which such accounts require to be submitted for audit.