Finance and spending

Where our money comes from

The majority of the Authority’s funding is provided by Central Government; more specifically the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as the National Park Grant. In addition to this, income is earned from a variety of other sources.

There are four main areas of income which help to fund the Authority’s activities.

Defra:
- Core revenue grant to help support our delivery which in 25/26 will be £4.0m.
- Core capital grant to help support additional £1.5m.
External funding both as direct award, for example Farming in Protected Landscapes funding from DEFRA, and through applications to bodies such as the National Lottery. The Authority has a target of spending £2.5m in 26/27 via this funding.
Earned income is generated from the Authorities assets, such as car parks, retail at the visitor centres and investment returns on cash balances. This is budgeted at £2.0m in 26/27.
We also receive income from S106 agreements. This is compensation and mitigation payments to help offset the negative impacts of authorised major development within the park. The Woodsmith and Boulby mines will make £4.2m of payments to the Authority in 26/27.

Financial planning and budgeting

The Authority prepares a Medium Term Financial Strategy; the basis of this is included in the Business Plan. These forecasts are reviewed annually by management. The Authority approves a balanced start budget in advance of the start of the financial year which, wherever practical, provides indicative budgets for the following two years. The Finance Risk Audit and Standards Committee receives quarterly updates on budgetary performance and adjustments to the budget within the year.

Chief Financial Officer (s151 Officer/Treasurer)

Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires that the Authority makes arrangements for the proper administration of its financial affairs and must appoint a Chief Financial Officer who must be a Member of one of the recognised accountancy bodies. The s151 Officer is also responsible for ensuring that there are adequate provisions for the internal audit of systems which is currently undertaken by Veritau Ltd.

With effect from 1 April 2020, the Authority has appointed Peter Williams as the s151 Officer.

Contact:

The Old Vicarage, Bondgate, Helmsley, York YO62 5BP

Statutory accounting and reporting

Our accounts are prepared in line with appropriate accounting standards and practices and have a reporting period from 1 April to 31 March in the following year.

Publication of draft unaudited Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2026

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government announced that the deadline for publication of the draft unaudited Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2026 is 30 June 2026.

The draft Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2026 for North York Moors National Park Authority was published on 3 July 2026. The period for the exercise of public rights to inspect these draft accounts and related documents, as per Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234), and as amended by the Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/263) and by the Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/907) commenced on Friday 3 July 2026.

Statement of Accounts 2025-26 - Pre-Audit Draft (pdf)

Public Rights of Inspection Notice 2025-26 (pdf)