Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to require parish councils to submit annual governance reports to their principal authorities.

The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 require parish councils and other smaller authorities to produce an Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR). Parish councils are accountable to their local electorate rather than their principal authority. The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 require councils to make their unaudited AGAR available for public inspection. Councils are also required to publish their AGAR (including the external auditor's report and certificate) online and/or on noticeboards by the end of September following the end of the financial year to which the statement relates.