FPPC 2024 Minutes

 

Present: Councillors Bowell, Gilbert, Halls, Hosking and Shinkins-Hoppe.

The minutes were taken by the Parish Clerk 

 

25.14 To receive apologies of absence.

Apologies had been received and were accepted from Councillor Stevens  

 

25.15 To receive any declarations of interest.

None declared 

 

25.16 To adopt the minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 4 June 2024.   

Agreed and signed. 

 

25.17 To receive the Clerk’s report.

At the request of Unity Trust Bank the Financial Services Compensation Scheme annual review 2024 has been completed confirming DSJ Parish Council’s eligibility.  

An application to add Councillor Stevens as a signatory to the Unity Trust Bank has been completed and requires signing by two other signatories. Councillors Gilbert and Shinkins-Hoppe signed the form 

Notification of a change to the Unity Trust current account tariff has been received moving from T1 to T2. This will allow DSJ Parish Council to better track the charge payable on the account. 

Confirmation had been received that the fee to use the Lincolnshire Association Internal Audit Service for 2024/25 would be £415. This covers a mid-year full audit plus an end of year mini audit and completion of the Annual Governance and Accounting Return Internal Audit form. 

 

25.18 To receive a report of the financial position as at 7 August 2024. 

Councillor Bowell commented that there was no earmark reserve to build a fund to replace the Parish Council vehicle at some point in the future. It was acknowledged that this needed to be included when considering the budget and precept figures for 2025/26.

The contents of the report was noted. 

 

25.19 To receive a report on the income and expenditure against budget for the period 1 April 2024 to 7 August 2024. 

Councillor Bowell asked for clarification as to which budget heading the allotment administration fees received from new allotment tenants was allocated to. The Clerk confirmed that this income was paid into the Allotment fees budget heading along with the allotment rent. 

The contents of the report was noted. 

 

25.20 To review the following documents deferred from the meeting held on Tuesday 4 June 2024 

1. Standing orders – each committee’s terms of reference and delegated powers  

This committee RESOLVED to accept the proposed amended delegated powers in respect of the planning and transport committee put forward by Councillor Smith. They read as follows: 

“This Committee’s remit extends to all responses arising in relation to applications for Planning Permission, Listed Building Consent, Advertisement Consent, Conservation Area Consent (including trees in such areas) , Tree Preservation Orders, Certificates of Lawfulness,  Hazardous Substances Consent, Prior Approvals, consents and consultations submitted to or received by the District or County Council arising from  highways  legislation,  and consultations for the installation of electricity cables under the Electricity Acts,  or other infrastructure connected with Water and  Gas pipelines. 

The Committee shall be authorised to make comments on the following categories of planning or other consultations where there is a majority agreement. 

 

i. Developments of up to 5 houses. 

ii. Extensions, conservatories, and outbuildings, or similar structures. 

iii. Works to trees and hedgerows.

iv. All non-residential uses and all engineering work (except major pipelines and major electricity infrastructure). 

v. Mobile phone communication masts. 

vi. Commercial and Farm buildings or structures smaller than 1000m2. 

vii. Amended proposals where the Council has recorded no objections to the original proposals.

viii. All issues affecting highways, footpaths, street furniture including bus shelters and road signs, electric vehicle charging and associated infrastructure. 

ix. Section 106 or other legal agreements arising from the above 

x. Any other decision passed to it from time to time relevant to planning and transport matters 

Expenditure of a revenue nature (i.e., maintenance/general) may be approved by the Committee without recourse to the Council providing the expenditure is contained within the previously approved annual budget for the Committee and reported to the next Council meeting.

Any development or matter not in the above lists shall take the form of a recommendation of the Council for a decision.

The Committee may at any time choose to refer any decision on to the Full Council for confirmation.” 

 

This committee RESOLVED to accept with immediate effect the proposed amended delegated powers in respect of the recreation and open spaces committee put forward by Councillor Shinkins-Hoppe. They read as follows: 

 

(i) Expenditure of a revenue nature (maintenance/general) may be approved by the Committee without recourse to the Council, providing the expenditure is contained within the previously approved annual budget for the Committee and reported to the next Council Meeting.

(ii) Expenditure of a capital nature may be approved by the committee without recourse to the council providing the expenditure is contained within the previously approved annual budget for the Committee and reported to the next Council meeting.

(iii) To apply for grant funding from a variety of sources, reporting to Full Council with updates as needed.   

(iv) To seek assistance from professional sources including consultants, via grant application, to promote the development of Recreational and open spaces, reporting to Full Council as needed.

(v) To organise community events within approved budgets.

(vi) To attend community events, with other organisations both locally and nationally to promote the Parish and the Council.

The committee also RESOLVED to remove point “(iv) To liaise with the Friends of Deeping St James (former In Bloom Committee) and to make recommendations to Council” from the terms of reference relating to the recreation and open spaces committee as if this group requested funding it had been previously resolved that this should be provided from the Hall Meadow Estate charity funds so required a decision by the whole Parish Council as the sole trustee  

 

 

2. Financial regulations – to consider the adoption of NALC revised model template 

After receiving the following advice from the Chief Executive of the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils 

“At our recent meeting with NALC officers, it was confirmed that the corrections would be made and a new template reissued. We did not have a timeframe for this, but LALC will inform you all of this. Initially, they said they would not be correcting them and that councils should do this as they adopt them, but it appears that they will now be doing the corrections. ALL councils should ensure that they read the Financial Regulations and adapt them for their own use following the guidance. Adopting the model template does not constitute having fit for purpose financial regulations for your council. We want councils to adopt the model financial regulations, BUT we do need councils to read them and adapt them for their own council needs. They are very similar to the model Standing Orders; the BOLD should remain as it is set out in law and then there are options for the council to tailor”

It was RESOLVED to continue with the current financial regulations until the new corrected template had been received from the National Association of Local Councils. It was acknowledged that following this resolution, in accordance with current standing orders no change would be able to take place for at least six months. 

 

25.21 To consider the recommendation from the recreation and opens spaces committee held on Tuesday 9 July 2024 to recruit a new member of staff on a full-time basis to act as the ground maintenance Supervisor.    

Councillor Gilbert introduced this item saying that there were a number of issues to be considered and that they needed to be further discussed outside of this meeting before a clear proposal and decision could be reached. He asked Councillor Bowell to expand on the paper he had already written looking at the pros, cons and costs and asked others to forward their ideas to Councillor Bowell for inclusion in a paper which a working party would consider. The working party would be the members of the current personnel sub-committee and they would meet on 24 September 2024 and bring their findings to the finance policy personnel committee on 8 October 2024. 

 

25.22 To note SKDC’s approval of a UK shared prosperity fund grant of £23,425 for design work to improve Jubilee Park, the associated consultation, and the production of tender documents and to agree who to award the contract to.

Councillor Smith introduced this item noting the successful approval of a grant to DSJPC for £23,425 for stage one of a two stage project design work for a new Jubilee Park, the initial stage is for consultation, design options, site review, and production of tender documents. This is to create a strong framework for seeking considerable grant aid from other sources for reconstruction and improvement work. The grant is for expenditure in 2024/25 to 

• secure design options; and present the community with options 

• agree a new master plan design.

The Parish Council now need to agree which of the three organisations, from which quotations have been obtained from, should be awarded the contract to lead on design work. The 4 landscape architecture companies with public park development experience were finally invited to quote, and 3 of these quotes were selected for assessment  by the Jubilee Park Working Group consisting of Councillors Rose, Shinkins-Hoppe, Smith and Stevens. All quotes were very close to each other in price. The final decision is based on the companies’ experience, and ability to support the Parish Council in seeking future capital grants to actually carry out the work and with this in mind Councillor Smith proposes that contract is awarded to Groundwork East (Groundwork East - Groundwork). The committee agreed with this proposal. 

 

25.23 To agree 

1. When the staff appraisals to take place and who will complete them

Councillors Gilbert and Hosking advised of their availability and it was agreed that the Clerk would organise the appraisals to be held during the afternoons of Tuesday 3 and 10 October 2024

2. A date for a personnel sub-committee meeting  

This would be agreed once the appraisals have been completed 

 

25.24 To agree the date of the next meeting – to be held at 8pm on Tuesday 08 October 2024.