May 2023 Minutes Annual Parish Council Meeting
FALDINGWORTH PARISH COUNCIL
faldingworthpc@hotmail.com
https://faldingworth.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk
MINUTES OF THE FALDINGWORTH PARISH COUNCIL MEETING Memorial Hall Faldingworth
Wednesday 17th May 2023
Present: D. Waine (Chair) Debbie Whelan (Clerk), Cllrs W. Green, Cllr D. Dickinson, Cllr P Gregson
Two (2) members of the public were present
23/05/01 Election of Chair and receive Declaration of Acceptance of Office
Councillor Waine opened the meeting. Cllr Green proposed and Cllr Gregson seconded Cllr Waine as Chair. This was APPROVED unanimously. Cllr Waine signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office
23/05/02. To receive apologies and reasons for absence
Cllr Thompson tabled his apologies as he was committed elsewhere.
23/05/03. To receive Declarations of Acceptance of Office
Elected members completed Confirmations of receipt of Code of Conduct, Register of Interests (or confirmation of unchanged circumstances), and Acceptance of Office.
23/05/04. Election of Vice-Chair
Cllr Green was voted in as being Vice Chair.
23/05/05. To resolve to suspend the meeting to allow no more than 15 minutes of public forum
It was RESOLVED to suspend the meeting to allow for 15 minutes of public forum.
T. Howard raised the issue about the Clerk’s wage needing to go through HMRC to protect the Council. This has been raised in the audit and is being addressed following the current audit. It was explained that we continued the practice as agreed with the previous Clerk. This specific arrangement is included in the contract as signed. It was RESOLVED that Cllr. Green would take the appropriate steps immediately to remedy the situation.
23/05/06. Confirmation of Parish Council Minutes
The Minutes of the Meeting of the 22 March were APPROVED, subject to the following items for noting.
23/03/08: It was subsequently established that Andy Hopkins was not able to carry out this audit. The audit was carried out by Carl Thomas.
23/03/16: Insurance Renewal: The insurance premium remained constant except for a small uplift of 3% to cover the change in cost of living.
23/05/07. Memorial Hall Management Committee
Cllr Gregson was appointed as representative on the Memorial Hall Management Committee.
23/05/08. Playing field inspections
Cllr Gregson proposed Cllr Waine. This was seconded and ADOPTED.
23/05/09. Defibrillator maintenance
Cllr Waine is the current guardian of the defibrillator. It was RESOLVED that he continue in this role.
23/05/10. Speed Indicator Device
This item is to be held over to the next meeting.
23/05/11. Financial Matters, taking any required action
The Year End accounts were tabled and ACCEPTED. However, they needed to be supplement by the completed AGAR documentation. This includes,
Year End Accounts - to receive and approve reports
• Bank Reconciliation 2022/23
• Variance Report 2022/23
Variances were accepted.
Governance Statements – to receive and sign off
• Annual Governance Statement 2022/23
Notes in the Internal Audit re governance
• Accounting Statements 2022/23
• Internal Auditors Report 2022/23
These approvals to be held over for an extra-ordinary meeting.
Recommendations from the tabled audit infer the following actions:
- Cllr Green to carry out liaison with the HMRC to resolve the PAYE query.
- The Clerk to check all details and update information on the website.
- The Clerk to initiate VAT claims.
- The Clerk to prepare clear documentation re. Standing Orders, Financial Regulations, Publications Policy, Staffing Policy.
Payments
The following payments were APPROVED and the following incomes were NOTED.
Expenditure:
Cheque 101196 – Carl Thomas (Internal Audit) £150.00
Cheque 101198 – Wages (April / May) £430.00
DD - Bank Charges 25/03/2023 £ 10.00
DD - Bank Charges 25/04.2023 £ 10.00
Cheque 101197 - Glendale (Grass Cutting) £167.41
This is a total of £767.41 in payments for the period.
Income:
EFT - WLDC (Precept) £9,767.00
As of the 4 May 2023, the balance in the CURRENT ACCOUNT stands at £20,808.16
As of the 4 May 2023, the balance in the BUSINESS ACCOUNT stands at £30,235.04
23/05/12. Updates from outside bodies
There were no updates from any outside bodies.
23/05/13. Resident Issues, taking any required action
There was a complaint from a resident about the ‘Save Our Scampton’ sign. The Clerk has responded noting that this is Highways land and that the Council has no jurisdiction over the site.
23/05/14. War Memorial update
This is in place, and we are responsible for cutting the grass and general maintenance.
23/05/15. Playing Field issues, taking any required action
Cllr Waine met with John Land who has undertaken to replace the bottom step in a more robust manner.
The wooden frame equipment has splits in the timber which is impacting on the structure. Cllr Waine suggests digging test pits in order to establish the degree of rot. Cllr Dickinson suggested that we insert a spike into the ground to support the timber. It was RESOLVED that the Clerk will establish any grants for the maintenance of the play equipment and that Cllr. Waine will carry out the exploratory test pits to report at the next meeting.
23/05/16. Planning Matters
There were no planning matters received recently. The protocol is that a Microsoft form will be circulated by the Clerk in future with any planning matters.
23/05/17. Correspondence and updates on previous actions and action required
There were no actions required.
23/05/18. Any urgent items for discussion
No items were submitted to the Clerk for tabling. Notices for co-opting will be placed by the Clerk onto the website and the notice board. This will invite any interested parties to attend the meeting on the 19th but need to submit an expression of interest to the Clerk 7 days before.
23/05/19. Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Parish Council is 19 July 2023 at 7.30pm.
The meeting closed at 20.35