PARISH councillors on Oxford’s largest estate are to get a ticking-off from auditors for breaching regulations.

Every year auditors assess councils across the country to make sure they are managing their affairs according to official guidelines.

Larger parish councils have a visiting auditor but smaller councils, like Blackbird Leys, must send off relevant documentation to be examined.

The parish council completed its paperwork on time last year. However, follow-up questions from the auditors were not answered within the allotted deadline, before September 30 last year. They were eventually sent off in November.

The Issues Arising Report, by auditor BDO Stoy Hayward, also noted weaknesses in the council’s procedures and called for immediate action.

Among the paperwork not in place was a risk assessment and a publication scheme, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

New clerk Malcolm Anderson said the council would get a “slap on the wrist” but would not be financially penalised.

He added: “The basic problem was that the council missed the deadline in responding to some of the things that were in the audit, so we will get a bit of a slap on the wrist for that, but we’re in the process of sorting that out.”

Mr Anderson said he suspected that the change of council clerk meant that paperwork “got lost in the system” and that he intended to pass this year’s audit with flying colours.

Council chairman Gerry Webb said: “There has been some negativity in the report and, as a resident of the community, I’m not so chuffed about it.”

Mr Webb also pledged to work with the clerk to improve the parish council’s website, which has not been updated for almost a year.