DRAFT MINUTES OF KEYWORTH PARISH COUNCIL FINANCE & RISK MEETING IN THE FEIGNIES ROOM ON MONDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2018 AT 7.00PM

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1 MINUTES OF KEYWORTH PARISH COUNCIL FINANCE & RISK MEETING IN THE FEIGNIES ROOM ON MONDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER 2018 AT 7.00PM PRESENT: Chair: Committee: ALSO PRESENT: Cllr Grice. Cllrs Armour, Fitzgerald, Oakley, Seller. Cllr Jequier; Neil Grocock (Finance Officer); Steve Mottishaw (Facilities Manager). The meeting was minuted by Neil Grocock. 19/7752 Apologies Apologies were received from Cllrs Chmara and Valentine; their reasons for absence were NOTED and ACCEPTED. 19/7753 Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest. 19/7754 Minutes The minutes of the meeting on were APPROVED and signed by Cllr Grice as a true record. 19/7755 Matters Arising Cllr Fitzgerald arrived at the meeting at this point. The Finance Officer reported as follows: - (19/7738) 9972 had finally been received from Sport England covering the cost of replacing the gabion walls at the activity park in 2017; but see 19/7759a below. - (19/7744) He was yet to receive an invoice in respect of the recent by-election, but had established that the cost to the Parish Council would be The Facilities Manager updated the committee as follows: - (19/7738) Rectory field fencing refurbishment completed. - (19/7744) Centenary Lounge drainage work completed. - (19/7744) Work at Burial Ground had begun, but main work would be carried out in November. (19/7751) There was nothing to report in respect of funding for the proposed Peace Garden. Page 1 of 7

2 19/7756 Correspondence There were no correspondence items. 19/7757 Staffing Matters a) Sub-Committee Minutes dated The minutes of the meeting on , included in the briefing notes for the meeting, were NOTED. b) Sub-Committee Minutes dated The minutes of the meeting on , included in the briefing notes for the meeting, were NOTED. c) Other Staffing Issues AGREED that pay details for individual members of staff should not be in the public domain. 19/7758 Audit The following items had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting: - External Auditor Report & Certificate 2017/18 (Section 3 of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return). - Copy of the Notice of Conclusion of Audit published on the Council website. - Internal Audit Plan 2018/19. a) External Audit 2017/18 It was NOTED that in our [the external auditors ] opinion, the information in Sections 1 & 2 of the AGAR is in accordance with Proper Practices and no other matters have come to our attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met. b) Internal Audit Plan 2018/19 The plan was APPROVED see Appendix 1. 19/7759 Accounts The following items, included in the briefing notes for the meeting, were NOTED: - Management accounts for the month ended , two months ended and three months ended Finance Officer s report. - Bank reconciliation as at Page 2 of 7

3 - Aged debtor list as at a) Q1 Management Accounts The Finance Officer commented as follows: - Net revenue expenditure was more or less in line with phased budget; however, there were no early signs of a significant surplus as there often were even at this early stage of the financial year. - The 6802 margin in the budget for unspecified expenditure was already largely accounted for by the cost of Centenary Lounge drainage repairs ( 1450) and the recent by-election (see 19/7755 above), with further unforeseen expenditure totalling 6/7000 awaiting approval (see 19/7760 below). In the circumstances, the receipt of funds from Sport England (19/7755 above) was timely, but expenditure which had not been allowed for in the budget surely needed to be curtailed during the remainder of the financial year. b) Bank Reconciliation The bank reconciliation was NOTED and APPROVED. c) Aged Debtor List The aged debtor list was NOTED. The Finance Officer commented that, of the three invoices listed in the up to 30 days column, two had since been paid; owed by Rushcliffe Borough Council in respect of the hire of the Village Hall for the recent by-election remained outstanding, but that did not seem unreasonable given that the Borough Council was yet to invoice the Parish Council in respect of the cost of the election itself (see 19/7755 above). d) Reserves The Finance Officer reiterated the point made in his report on the management accounts: that the level of uncommitted reserves was arguably too low bearing in mind that it took into account half of the annual precept, but only reflected three months expenditure. He added that, if need be, one way of addressing the situation to some extent would be to include the full cost of the Burial Ground wearing course in the 2019/20 budget rather than earmarking funds in advance as agreed at the previous meeting (19/7744); the position would perhaps become clearer on receipt of the Q2 accounts in October. The Facilities Manager commented that it was doubtful whether the amount currently earmarked in respect of the wearing course would, in fact, be sufficient. 19/7760 Expenditure for Approval The following items had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting: - Invoice ( 2770) in respect of bark chippings for play area, as discussed at the previous meeting (19/7746a): APPROVED. Page 3 of 7

4 - Invoice in respect of Tour of Britain initiative: expenditure up to 1000 was APPROVED on the understanding that it would be partly offset by grants of 300 from Rushcliffe Borough Council and 300 from Notts County Council plus sundry donations. - Quotations for CCTV repairs/upgrade ( 2817 or 3547): the Facilities Manager explained that, whilst not all of the work was necessary in the short term, it would make sense, if possible, to have it all done at the same time. After due consideration, the 3547 quotation was ACCEPTED on the basis that it would afford better coverage of the car park and be a deterrent to antisocial behaviour; it was also acknowledged that an additional cost might be incurred in respect of the hire of a cherry picker. - Quotation for car park barrier repairs ( 1686): APPROVED and AGREED that the expenditure should not be from the Facilities Manager s discretionary budget. - Quotation for Churchyard Xmas lights ( 541): The Finance Officer pointed out that he had been asked to include 250 for this purpose in the budget; quotation APPROVED. - Extract from notes from Facilities Oversight group meeting on recommending expenditure of 1300 for two benches at the activity park: after due consideration, it was AGREED that this should be included in the draft budget for 2019/20, although it might be possible to bring the expenditure forward if a budget surplus materialised later in the current financial year. 19/7761 Concessions on Hire Fees Schedules of one-off/non-regular concessions on hire fees for the months of June, July and August, included in the briefing notes for the meeting, were APPROVED see Appendices 2a, 2b and 2c. 19/7762 Budget/Grants 2019/20 The following items had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting: - Grant request from Robin Hood Cadet Corps of Drums ( 600 compared to 375 in 2017/18): after due discussion, a grant of 400 was AGREED. - Grant request from Keyworth & District Community Concern ( 1000 same as 2017/18): APPROVED. - Maintenance grant application from Platt Lane JMC ( same as 2017/18): APPROVED. Bearing in mind concerns regarding the current level of expenditure which had not been allowed for in the 2018/19 budget (see 19/7759a above), the Finance Officer suggested: that the Council should make every effort to anticipate non-routine costs which might be incurred in 2019/20; that the Facilities Manager could obviously play a part in this process, but that it might also be a good idea for the Facilities Oversight group to meet within the next two months (before the 2019/20 budget was completed) to consider any repairs or improvements which might be worth considering. 19/7763 Risk Management The following items, included in the briefing notes for the meeting, were NOTED: Page 4 of 7

5 - Quotation ( 1185) for remedial work in Village Hall Complex, Rectory field pavilion and former changing rooms following electrical inspections. - Burial Ground risk assessment. a) Electrical Inspections The Finance Officer reported that: - The net cost of the inspections to the Parish Council was 555 with 125 and 100 to be reimbursed by Keyworth Table Tennis Club and Transition Keyworth/Abundance respectively had been budgeted for the report and remedial work. - The amount quoted was accordingly well within budget. The Facilities Manager reported that: - There were no concerns that would not be addressed by the remedial work outlined in the quotation. - An inspection at the Bowls Club was due to be carried out in October. The quotation for remedial work was ACCEPTED and it was AGREED that the cost of work in the pavilion and former changing rooms, which the Facilities Manger confirmed would be negligible, should not be passed on to the occupiers. b) Risk Assessment Review Burial Ground The assessment was APPROVED without amendment. c) Other Risk Management Issues With regard to the Tour of Britain initiative, the Finance Officer suggested that: - It had not been clear whether some activities were organised by or on behalf of the Parish Council or independently of the Parish Council, and that such lack of clarity was problematic given that there could be insurance implications. - There should arguably be risk assessments for some activities, e.g. Parish Councillors putting up bunting. Cllr Armour commented that the Council s involvement had been primarily to facilitate the purchase of cardboard bicycles and bunting, and that, for example, the cycle challenge which had been advertised had not been the Parish Council s responsibility. 19/7764 Review of Banking Arrangements The following arrangements were APPROVED without amendment: - Seven signatories (members of the Finance & Risk committee). - Any two to sign cheques/payment orders. Page 5 of 7

6 - Finance officer to use business charge card ( 500 limit) when necessary; transactions to be approved by two signatories as soon as practicable thereafter. - Annual review of banking orders and direct debits. After due consideration, it was AGREED that the proposed opening of an account with another bank, to spread the risk, should be deferred until after the 2019 election given that changes in signatories following the election would otherwise necessitate onerous formalities having to be repeated. 19/7765 Legal Matters Bowls Club Lease Further to his comments at the previous meeting (19/7749), the Finance Officer reported that he had since received confirmation from the Council s solicitor that he had received the declaration required from the club excluding the lease from the Landlord & Tenant Act. Play Area Lease A draft licence to underlet, received from Stone King LLP via the Equals Trust, had been included in the briefing notes for the meeting. The Finance Officer reported that: - The document had been approved in principle by Notts County Council, but was still subject to approval by the Department for Education. - The proposed lease would be for 25 years, but with a mutual 10 year break option. - It was not clear at this stage who would be paying the County Council s legal and surveyor s fees (combined total 1250); he was seeking clarification. - The Parish Council s solicitor s fees were likely to amount to at least 750. AGREED that the Finance Officer should instruct the Parish Council s solicitor to act on the Council s behalf in this respect. Skatepark Lease The Finance Officer pointed out that the lease was for 10 years commencing , but dated , this being an indication of the inordinate length of time it had taken for the lease to be renewed. With this in mind, it was AGREED that the Finance Officer should enquire of the landlord whether it would be possible to start the ball rolling for a further renewal sooner rather than later. Other Matters Cllr Fitzgerald suggested that an article by Cllr Grice regarding the recent by-election in the July edition of the Keyworth News had contravened the Local Government Act. Cllr Grice denied that there had been any wrongdoing on his part. Page 6 of 7

7 The Finance Officer suggested that it was not within the remit of Finance & Risk committee to make a ruling on such an issue. 19/7766 Data Protection/GDPR Cllr Armour confirmed that she was liaising with the Clerk to the Council regarding progress towards compliance with GDPR. There being no further business, the chairman closed the meeting at 8.20pm approx. Page 7 of 7