Parish Council Office,
Winscombe Community Centre,
11 Sandford Road, Winscombe,
North Somerset BS25 1JA
Tel: 01934 844257 Fax: 01934 844292
__________________________________________________________________________________
A meeting of the Finance Committee was held on
Monday 29th October 2007, at 7.30 pm.
The Amesbury Room, Winscombe Community Centre
Present: Mrs. A Brading, Mr A Forbes, Mr G Lloyd, Ms D Powell, Mr. C Sampson (chairman),
Mr. J Westlake, Mr M Williamson.
.
Clerk: Mrs L Rampton
Members of the public: one
Apologies for absence: Mrs P Cram
1. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – no interests were declared.
2. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION – none
3. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES DATED 9TH JULY 2007
(i) Moot Account – at the request of the committee, the Clerk had researched the history of this account. Our adopted Standing Orders (page 12, item 4ix) list this account as an education/apprenticeship fund for parishioners. The account was considered by the Parish Council in January 2002 with revised amounts to be agreed by the finance committee in October and January.
The fund was initiated by Parishioners in 1931 to assist those of secondary education age to continue with their studies and a bequest of £24 was made from a will (later unproven) with further donations following. The Parish Council were asked to act as Trustees for the amount invested although from correspondence received from the Charity Commission and associated Educational Charities in the 1960s, no record of this was found. It would appear from records that the account was active through the 1930s & 1940s with little movement then until 1964 when further grants from the fund were made.
Mr Westlake, Mr Lloyd and the Clerk would further study documentation found and investigate this matter with a recommendation being made to (1) Donate a cup to the Winscombe Community Association Michaelmas Fair for a children’s section competition that would act as a permanent reminder of this fund. (2) Donate the remaining funds to Winscombe Youth Club for the benefit of children of secondary school age.
Proposed: Mr G Lloyd Seconded: Mr A Forbes All in favour
(ii) War Memorial Recreation Ground Rental Charges – clarification by WMRG Committee members to the treasurer of this committee has revealed that the current rental charge made to rugby, football and cricket clubs is for the rent of pitches at the sports ground. As the rugby club do not play at the ground, a revision to this has now been agreed by the WMRG Committee at their meeting held 23rd October 2007. Both cricket and football clubs are to be charged an annual rental charge for use of the ground of £75 for the 2008/09 financial year with all three clubs making a contribution towards the maintenance of the changing room facilities. It was acknowledged that both football and cricket clubs currently maintain and mark their own pitches.
It was proposed by Mr Lloyd, seconded by Mr Westlake that the rental charges as approved by the WMRG Committee be accepted by the Parish Council for the 2008/09 financial year with a review being made in the 2009/10 financial year. All Committee members were in favour.
4. TELEPHONE COST COMPARISON
A comparison of costs between our current telephone line provider and an alternative source was studied by the committee. Further comparisons are expected from other providers.
Two telephone lines into the office were considered beneficial if the second line could be provided at a reduced line rental cost. The current system set-up requires investigation and the Clerk was asked to call a BT Engineer or suitably qualified person (at a call-out cost if necessary) to attend the office to resolve the matter. Following this action, the call divert between the two lines should be removed. It was proposed by Ms Powell, seconded by Mr Westlake that a meeting of the Chairman’s Committee authorise a future telephone line supply contract. . All Committee members were in favour.
5. ZURICH MUNICIPAL LOCAL COUNCIL POLICY Annex 1
(i) The Inclusion of ‘Additional Items’ on the Policy Schedule.
On further consideration of the risk v reduced premium, it was proposed that the all Risks Additional item list 2007/08 be replaced with the reduced list as compiled by this committee at their meeting held 9th July 2007. Proposed: Mr M Williamson Seconded: Mr A Forbes All in favour
(ii) Meeting Date to Assess Current Insurance Schedule
A visit around the Parish was arranged for Thursday 15th Nov 2007, 10.00 am, meeting point at the Parish Office to enable values and items on the current policy schedule to be considered. A second quotation for comparative annual insurance will be sought for future Parish Council Insurance provision as the fixed 5 year term with our current insurer’s ends on 31st March 2008. Ms Powell would be unable to attend this meeting and offered her apologies.
6. REPORT ON INTERNAL AUDIT INSPECTION TO 30TH SEPTEMBER 2007 -
Documentation for the first six month period of this financial year has been inspected and signed by our internal auditor with no items of concern arising. The next inspection is scheduled for January 2008 when a financial risk assessment for the Parish Council will be compiled.
Councillors were issued with a blank ‘Annual review of the effectiveness of internal audit’ form issued by our External Auditors. Mr Williamson and the Clerk would compile suggestions for the completion of this to be presented at the next committee meeting.
7. PORTABLE APPLIANCE TESTING – PARISH OFFICE
Quotations have been obtained to carry out portable appliance testing of electrical equipment at the Parish Office. Each appliance will be allocated an ID and a test sheet issued on completion of works. It is anticipated that there will be 20-25 items that require a test.
IRH Electrical should be instructed to carry out the PAT testing of equipment at the Parish Office at a cost of £2.50 + vat) per appliance with a minimum of 20 appliances.
Proposed: Mrs A Brading Seconded: Mr M Williamson All in favour
It was proposed by Mr M Williamson, seconded by Mr Sampson that the Clerk be authorised to instruct this annual test for Parish Office equipment without future referral to the committee. All in favour.
8. HEALTH & SAFETY CONTRACTORS QUESTIONNAIRE Annex 2
Careful consideration was given to the contractor’s questionnaire proforma circulated to committee members with the agenda papers to this meeting. It was accepted that the form would only have to be completed once but the document was considered too onerous for the small contractors used by the Parish Council. This could make the task of obtaining competitive quotations for small works more difficult. The larger contractors used by the Parish Council usually have a dedicated person to deal with such matters and obtaining the necessary risk assessment and method statement does not present a problem. Avon Local Councils Association should be contacted for guidance.
9. VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION OF PARISH COUNCIL LAND WITH LAND REGISTRY Annex 3
A discussion ensued where the method to initiate the registration process for this land was considered. The Award Land Committee Chairman will liaise with the NSC Archaeologist regarding the proposed survey to be conducted free of charge by NSC using posts installed twelve years ago demarking the boundary. The original agreement held by our solicitors between this Parish Council and ARC Limited dated 11th July 1995 should be used as supplementary evidence to the claim. An application to register the Award Land should be submitted to Parish Council Solicitors as soon as the survey has been completed provided that estimated fees for this do not exceed £1,000.
Proposed: Ms D Powell Seconded: Mr M Williamson All in favour
10. TO ADOPT A ‘COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE’ Annex 4
With two small amendments being made to the circulated paper, it was proposed by Mr Lloyd, seconded by Ms Powell that the ‘Code of Practice for handling complaints for a service user or member of the public’ be adopted by the Parish Council. All in favour
11. TO APPOINT AN EMPLOYMENT SUB-COMMITTEE
Members considered that all employment related matters be dealt with by the Chairman’s Committee and a small sub-committee from this formed. Terms of Reference for the sub-committee should be written to allow for details of a confidential nature not to be publicly reported back to the full Parish Council. Further consideration should be given to which committee or sub-committee recommends annual salary reviews/awards to ensure consistency for all employees.
It was recommended that the Chairman’s Committee form a sub-committee to deal with all employment related issues. Sub-committee members should be any member of the Chairman’s Committee and not named as members may vary for each meeting. The Employment sub-committee will consist of a maximum of three members to include either the Parish Council Chairman and/or the Vice Chair.
Proposed: Mr G Lloyd Seconded: Mrs A Brading 5 in favour, 0 against, 1 abstention
12. 2007/2008 BUDGET SUMMARY TO 30TH SEPTEMBER 2007 – Annex 5
The Budget Sheets and Bank Reconciliation Control Sheet were considered by the Committee. Expenditure incurred for the first half of the financial year was discussed with percentage of budget remaining being shown for individual headings. A number of questions were asked by committee members and answered by the Clerk. It was advised that the YANSEC grant funding cheque of £10,000 towards the new play area at the War Memorial Recreation Ground was received on 26th October 2007 and will be included within the figures for the next quarterly period. The bank reconciliation shows monies being transferred after notice from the ‘14 day notice’ account to the ‘business’ account to ensure adequate funds were available to meet the final instalment of the new play area on completion of works. As works are still to be completed, funds should be transferred back to the notice account where they will continue to earn interest.
It was resolved that whilst the cheque payee, description and number be shown, the amount of the Clerk’s salary will not be detailed on the bills for payment. Full details will be supplied in quarterly budget figures presented and included within end of year accounts. Salary scales are agreed annually and amounts paid do not fluctuate.
Proposed: Mr M Williamson Seconded: Ms D Powell All in favour
13. BUDGET PLANNING 2008/2009 Annex 6
Advice issued by the National Association for Local Councils through ALCA on 21st March 2007 regarding the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government, chapter 4 concerning precepting had been issued to committee members in advance of the meeting. Recommendation for contingency levels from ALCA was also given and this matter should be given further consideration in view of precept payments rising in past years with current contingency levels remaining static. Insurance against employee absence for medical reasons should be investigated.
The outline budget document for 2008/09 was discussed in considerable detail. With the exception of the WMRG Orderly, no salary figures have been included (see min 11 above) and there is no provision for a Parish Plan amongst other items. Committee Chairmen were asked if they have not already done so, to provide a detailed split of their budget requests for the next financial year to the Clerk before 21st Dec 2007 to enable this information to be included with papers to the next meeting of the finance committee. Chairmen were also asked to provide details of anticipated expenditure Jan-Mar 2008 by the same date to enable carry forward figures to be calculated.
As we are likely to fill our current burial area at the Ilex Lane Cemetery in less than two years, very serious consideration must be made to the cemetery extension into the adjoining field along with associated cost implications for professional fees, surveys, design and landscaping. At the request of the this committee, investigations for a further loan for this purpose will be made.
14. ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Report of Suspected Non-Conformance to Current Regulations – Sports Clubs at WMRG – confirmation has been received that Winscombe AFC have inspected pitches and equipment used for white line marking. Assurance that the Club will comply with current regulations controlling this is given and certification will be provided to the Parish Office prior to any herbicides being used on the ground.
Bute Shelter, Community Association Playing Field – the shelter will be installed onto the hard base on 30th October 2007. With the agreement of the committee, the opening should face to the playing field.
A litter bin will be installed and Connaught advised to add this to their schedule for emptying twice weekly again.
With no further business the meeting closed at 10.20 pm
Signed _____________________________________Committee Chairman Date _____________