Northumberland County Council·Internal Audit Service
Booking, charging, and records
There is no booking form on the operator’s website and no reply by automatic message. Rooms and the field are arranged by letter or by telephone to the Heritage Centre during advertised hours. A request sent the day before arrival will not be seen in time. That system is adequate for a private house. It is not adequate as a persons-on-site record for a field that has no warden at night.
- Charges: described as by arrangement. A hall-fund donation was mentioned by telephone. No tariff, no invoice, no paying-in book for camping as a line, and no reconciliation to the 19 parties of 2002 were produced.
- The Authority has no fee income from this use, because there is no licence.
- A diary at the hall was the occupancy source. It is not a register of names, addresses, vehicle marks, or next of kin.
- No cancellation record. No no-show record.
- Data protection was not tested. The diary, if it holds names, is a record. It was not inspected beyond the occupancy counts read from it.
Finding 10 — records
Without a register, the operator cannot say who is on the field after 20:00, and the Authority cannot test occupancy against any future licensed capacity. A single-sheet register for the season is the minimum. Money handling is a separate weakness for the Hall treasurer; it is noted, not pursued, in this review.