Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

CIL parish support

Information and guidance about Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) for town and parish councils and parish meetings:

Once your CIL Annual Statement has been agreed and signed off with your own council processes, you must also publish it on your town or parish council website by 31 December each year. The CIL Annual Statement should be located with your other published financial reports. You should retain this information for 7 years.

Spending Neighbourhood CIL

When you are thinking about how to spend your Neighbourhood CIL it is worth thinking about the infrastructure that exists in your area and where the people that live in your area go to use play, allotment or other facilities as this may not be within your parish area. It helps to understand what should be prioritised for improvement. The Parish Infrastructure Investment Plan helps you consider infrastructure needs in an area:

 

Clerks Neighbourhood CIL checklist

  1. After financial year end (31 March) - download the latest CIL annual statement template above (always do this as the layout may have changed).
  2. Complete the title with your parish council name and the financial year to which the report relates.
  3. The table includes:
    1. The amount you had left at the end of the last financial year (A)
    2. The sum of the CIL allocations (if any) received within April and October of the financial year you are reporting on (B)
    3. Your total of expenditure should match the total in the second table called 'CIL Expenditure' - always double check the addition and any subtraction values.
  4. Expenditure values should not include VAT if you are able to reclaim this.
  5. Remember to record the date of expenditure which would fall between 1 April and 31 March in the financial year period.
  6. Do not add in bank interest to your CIL values.
  7. If we have sent a clawback notice requesting you return monies the amounts the notice relates to should be recorded in the relevent middle lines and if funds have been returned to East Suffolk, then this amount is recorded in row D.
  8. Once your report is completed, get someone else to double check it.
  9. We recommend you redact personal signatures or refrain from signing other than by print. (To comply with data protection/GDPR)
  10. Once competed, publish your annual CIL report to your councils finance webpage.
  11. Please send us a link to this or a copy of your report by email to CIL@eastsuffolk.gov.uk
  12. If you have queries, please just email us on the email above.

Reminders

  • Neighbourhood CIL must be spent within 5 years of the date of receipt of each allocation.
  • Do not report on allocated funds that are not spent. The report is about actual income and expenditure.
  • Always publish your annual report by the 31 December of the end of the financial year you are reporting on.
  • If your parish has a Neighbourhood Plan, your CIL spending must reflect the priorities that have been voted on in that Neighbourhood Plan.
  • Neighbourhood CIL can be spent collaboratively with other councils on larger projects.
  • Neighbourhood CIL should ideally be spent on improving, expanding, replacing or adding new infrastructure that helps to support the new housing growth in your area.
  • Make sure you provide a handover/guidance and training to the new clerks or the responsible finance officer.
  • Don't forget to use our Developer Contributions Database to check your income and expenditure data online. There are separate instructions on the Parish Support webpage to assist you with understanding what Neighbourhood CIL payments could be coming your way. https://pfm.exacom.co.uk/eastsuffolk/cil.php