2021 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

FULL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING

13 July 2021

MINUTES

Present:

Councillors: Cllr. D. Barton-Smith, Vice Chair (Deputising Council Chair), Cllr. A. Hanson, Cllr. T. Watson, Cllr. A. Creek, Cllr. T. Firth, Cllr. J. Goodchild

Clerk and RFO: Mr S Baxter         

Members of the public:  14

Meeting commenced at 8.00pm

AGENDA ITEMS AND DISCUSSIONS

The Chair’s welcome to all Councillors and any members of the public sitting in observation and opening remarks. 

The Chair welcomed all, including the new Clerk and checked all Councillors were ready for the meeting to commence. The Chair also reminded all persons that unless the person was speaking, to ensure that masks remain in place.

Public open session – the opportunity for the Community to ask questions of the Councillors.  The open session was limited to 15 minutes and for each participant a limit of three minutes.

1. Question: 

He asked the Council about the Community Park Committee.He stated that the Community have not been told what was happening or that the CPC is now official dissolved.He stated that as far as he was concerned the Council should agree a motion to ratify the CPC and allow the group to carry on.

There were various inputs from the community – no specifics or questions were asked or noted.

There was unfortunately uncordial behaviour by some members of the community.

2. Question:

There was a question placed to the Acting Chair about an email a member of the community had sent to him about funding of the CPC.They also stated that due to a suspicious email back she had alerted the Councillor that his email may have been hacked.She was very disappointed that she felt she had no official reply.

She also stated that the Owmby by Spital Parish Council on behalf of the CPC had made grant applications in excess of £100,000.She continued that the CPC had been certified by ObySPC and it was felt that NbySPC had not responded to their communication.

Cllr Hanson stated that in regard to the grant applications, she had repeatedly asked for copies of the grant applications as the application could have a legal implication on NbySPC and the Councillors.No documents had been provided by the CPC nor ObySPC which was very unfortunate.Cllr Hanson also stated that the NbySPC was only told about the applications after they had been submitted and still don’t actually know what the grants are for.NbySPC had also been told that a member of the former CPC had used the Chair of the NbySPCs details from a previous application without his knowledge.

3. Question:

There was a question about the snicket on Chapel Lane.  The snicket as unfortunately quite overgrown and thus was making walking through the area quite difficult. 

The Council confirmed that it was not the Parish Council’s responsibility unfortunately but they were aware that NbySPC had sent a letter to the owner of the property reminding them their responsibilities of keeping the undergrowth under control.  Any complaints should be sent to WLDC.

They acknowledges that the area is overgrown and that some persons had stopped using the snicket.

4. Question:

There was another statement and question about the CPC and the current situation.The person stated that he felt the community was unsure of what actions or why NbySPC were not certifying the CPC.He stated there was a feeling that the situation was ridiculous and that he couldn’t understand why NbySPC didn’t talk to ObySPC.

Cllr Hanson stated that there had been repeatedly requests for various pieces of documents and information from ObySPC but it was felt there were being met with a brick wall.They had asked on numerous occasions for a meeting to discuss way forward but that the ObySPC insisted on a public meeting which NbySPC felt was not workable or in any way an acceptable way to discuss the issues.It was needed to be in a closed session to be able to full discuss the structure of the CPC.

The Council was also told that their requests for full copies of the grants from ObySPC was rejected – no reason given.

The member of the public thought that the Chairs of NbySPC and ObySPC had agreed a structure with Cllr Jeff Summers (District Councillor) approached as an independent person.

Cllr Hanson stated this alleged agreement was in 2018 and it cannot be considered that it was still in force due to significant changes in the way things were operating.

Cllr Hanson was quite clear in the response:the terms of reference of the CPC specifically stated that four meetings a year or one a quarter was needed.This had not happened.Both Parish Councils needed to certify the CPC but as the CPC had not followed the ToR, upon advice from LALC it was deemed that the CPC was no longer a legal entity and this by default was dissolved automatically.NbySPC had a legal duty to ensure that the Council’s share of the assets of the now former CPC was protected and used as per the formal agreement.

She did continue that it was hoped that through a formal Partnership Agreement which the Clerk was working on, and after the Council approved, would be presented to ObySPC for their consideration.

At 8.15pm the Chair announced that the 15 minutes of public consultation and questions had concluded.

1. Apologies for absence from Councillors – to agree the reasons for absence (if any)

The Clerk had previously been made aware of the apology given by Cllr Bellemy (Council Chair) who is absent due to personal illness.  The Council confirmed that they would accept his apology which was duly noted.

2. Minutes of Full Parish Meeting (27 April 2021) – to agree and vote as accurate record

The Interim Clerk had previously sent a copy of the minutes to the Councillors.   The Chair asked for any comments or any issues that needed raising in regard to the minutes – none were forthcoming.

• Motion to agree the minutes of the Full Parish Council Meeting on the 27 April 2021 as a true and accurate was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

3. County Councillor’s Report

The Interim Clerk stated that none had been received.

4. District Councillor’s Report

The Interim Clerk stated that none had been received.

5. Police Report

The Interim Clerk stated that the Police report had been previously circulated to all Councillors.  The Chair stated the details in the Police Report for the wider area which included assaults, thefts and a burglary.

6. Highways Report

Cllr Hanson stated that she still does have some litter pick equipment should any members of the public wish to participate.  She continued that the area recently had a young person undertaking their Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and as part her programme she was undertaking a little pick across the Parish.

Cllr Hanson also confirmed that Cllr Firth had hoped to undertake a litter pick in May with volunteers but because the grass was too long,  Cllr Firth and the volunteers had to cancel the project and hope to return in autumn when the grass is shorter.

7. Finance  

Cllr Hanson as the former interim Clerk stated that there had been a recommendation for the Council to consider moving to a more suitable bank that has better online facilities that reflected the needs of the Council.  One of the main issues was the fact that all payments were currently done by cheque which means the payments were slow and caused issues with the cheques being cleared within the suitable timeframe. The new clerk was asked to explain the advantages of moving to UNITY TRUST BANK.

The Clerk explained that UNITY BANK was a very widely used bank by hundreds of Parish Councils as while it was an ethical bank, it was designed with the not-for-profit sector with easy to use banking facilities on line, but had the right secure levels of usage.  The Clerk could view the account and input payments (but not authorise), and the Councillors could view the bank account and authorise (but not input).  This allowed a proper level of control for ensuring all payments were legitimate.  He had recommended this bank to other Councils who had transferred and were very happy with the use.

There was a brief discussion among the Councillors and clarified a few points of the use of the bank and the cost.

• Motion to agree that the COUNCIL move to UNITY TRUST BANK was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

Action: The Clerk stated that the first step would be change of banking address on the current Santander Account to his own address so that when the UNITY TRUST account was opened, the Council could use the Seven Day Transfer service to move the funds and any banking instructions.

Once that was done, he would then start to arrange the application for the UNITY TRUST and would need the various details of the Councillors to include them as signatories on the account.

Schedule of payment to be agreed:

Proposed Expenditure:

It was asked what the expenses to the new Clerk was for?  The Clerk stated that the costs were the travel and time for the meeting prior to the appointment (to agree to the contract), as well as the mileage for the Full Council Meeting and the office and equipment allowance.

Cllrs Firth and Creek objected to the payment as they stated that the rate of pay for the time had not been agreed.  The new Clerk (as well as Cllr Hanson and the Chair) stated that this was incorrect and that the rate of pay had in effect been agreed at the meeting on the 27 April 2021 as the Council agreed the salary range to which Cllr Hanson was given permission to offer to the new Clerk.

• Motion to agree that the COUNCIL approve the payments was proposed, seconded (with two objections for the pay to the new Clerk) and agreed by majority.  Motion carried.

Action: Cllr Hanson would ensure that the necessary outstanding payments would be made including to the new Clerk.

8. Audit Report and Action Plan

As the former Interim Clerk, Cllr Hanson went through the Audit Report following the AGAR submission.

She also confirmed that the AGAR had been submitted by the due date.

Overall the Auditor was happy that every was in good order and that all payments made had been done properly and in accordance with the appropriate legislation.  He was happy that the budget and precept had been managed properly and there was good accountability for the use of the resources.  No issues were highlighted with the S137 payments.

The main points of review needed that the Auditor highlighted was:

• Agendas need signing

This had already been actioned and the interim Clerk had ensured that agendas after this report were properly signed

• VAT not claimed

It was noted that there had not been a VAT reclaim for some time.The new Clerk was fully aware of the VAT position and that through a discussion with the former Clerk and Cllr Hanson (as the former interim Clerk) would proceed in due course with a full submission to the HMRC.

• Proper sales invoices

The new Clerk is aware that proper sales invoices for money owed to the Council should be provided for the customer.This will be actioned as needed.

• More frequent budget and reconciliation reporting

The new Clerk has already designed the new financial reporting package which will not only provide the overview for the Councillors including full budget management, forecasting and bank reconciliations, but would also allow Councillors to fully review the minutia if they wish.

• Need to create a Personnel Committee

The new Clerk had already sent a Terms of Reference recommendation to the Councillors for their consideration.It was recognised that it is best practice to have a Personnel Committee and this will be created in the next 3-6 months.

• Need to create a Finance Committee

The new Clerk had already sent a Terms of Reference recommendation to the Councillors for their consideration.It was recognised that it is best practice to have a Financial Committee and this will be created in the next 3-6 months.

9. Policy Review

1. Standing orders – to ratify the latest version

The new Clerk had taken the recommended template from National Association of Local Councils which includes the statutory details the Council was obliged to include, and adapted it for the use for the Council to consider the size.

Cllr Firth expressed concern about the rules of debate and how this would affect the normal process of the Council.The Clerk explained that the Standing Orders proposed were a direct recommendation from the Auditor as well as ensuring the statutory provisions were included.

The Chair stated that he was very confident of the proposed standing orders and they were necessary.

• Motion to agree that the COUNCIL approve the recommended STANDING ORDERS was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

2. Financial Regulations – to ratify the latest version

The new Clerk stated that these were specifically needed to ensure that the statutory provisions were included and recommended by the auditor.

The new Clerk had taken the recommended template from National Association of Local Councils which includes the statutory details the Council was obliged to include, and adapted it for the use for the Council as it was needed.

The new Clerk stated that the Financial Regulations were specifically linked to the Standing Orders as well as the Procurement Policy (which will be proposed at the next Full Council Meeting).This then with everything considered have a specific and controlled framework.

Cllr Watson asked about how the limits of expenditure would work.The new Clerk detailed that that anything under £100 the Clerk could spend with retrospective permission from the Council.From £100 to £500 it was for the Clerk to provisionally authorise in conjunction with the Chair.Anything above that needs Full Council approval and various documents.

• Motion to agree that the COUNCIL approve the recommended FINANCIAL REGULATIONS was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

3. Training Policy – to agree of compulsory annual training for Councillors

Cllr Hanson stated that currently while it was hoped that all Councillors would undertake some training, unfortunately it was not the case.  Due to the recent data breach report to the ICO, it was recommended by them that Councillors and the Clerk undertake annual training to ensure that they were fully aware of issues such as GDPR, finance and governance.

Cllr Creek stated that no cost of training had been forthcoming and that should the Council delay the decision to ascertain the decision.  

The Clerk stated that while the decision was for the Council, if the Council suffered a second data breach or had any other serious issue and it was found that the Councillors had not agreed the recommend training, there could be serious consequences especially in regard to data management. 

Following a question from Cllr Watson, the Clerk confirmed that the maximum fine that the ICO could impose on the Council was £20m, and while training may cost some funds, it was possible cost effective to save future issues.

Cllr Hanson stated that it was hoped that LALC would be designing the course as needed and would be in contact with them.

• Motion to agree that the COUNCIL approve the recommended TRAINING POLICY which included mandatory training for Councillors and Clerk was proposed, seconded and agreed by majority with two objections.  Motion carried.

10.  Councillor Training update and detail of attendance

1. Cllr A Hanson – Cemeteries Management.  Confirmed attendance in May 2021

Cllr Hanson did state that her and the Clerk from ObySPC had inspected the cemetery together to ascertain the conditions and what work is needed.

2. Cllr A Creek – New Councillor Training.  Cancelled by Cllr A Creek (no reason stated).

3. Cllr T Watson – New Councillor Training.  Confirmed attendance in June 2021

11.  Planning Applications received and details of agreement

Planning Applications received up to July 2021:

12. Neighbourhood Plan – Survey Update – Cllr J Goodchild

Cllr Goodchild stated that he would be looking for 10 volunteers from the Community to held start work on a Residents Survey to then feed into the Neighbourhood Plan for Normanby – he would look to update the Council at the next meeting.

13. Community Park Committee – Update – Cllr A Hanson

Cllr Hanson stated that unfortunately the CPC had in effect been dissolved as the Committee had not met its Terms of Reference and as a result had not been ratified by both Councils.  She stated the last meeting was in May 2019 and while there was some allowance during 2020 due to Covid that had expired.  The Council had made the CPC and the Chair of ObySPC aware this issue but had no response.

The Council then wrote to the CPC and the Chair of ObySPC that as from the 15 June 2021 the CPC was dissolved and could not operate.  The Council also confirmed that any sub-committee with delegation from the CPC would by default also be dissolved.

The Council was clear that it had a legal duty to ensure that the CPC was run properly and according to the TofR and that by not adhering to these the effect was that the CPC was dissolved by default. 

Cllr Hanson clarified that the Council did not cancel any events, it simply was acting as it legally was obliged to and protecting the resources of the community.

Cllr Hanson did state that the new Clerk and her were working on a formal Partnership Agreement between the two Parish Councils which would provide a firm, specific and clear framework to which both Councils could then work jointly.  Once this provisionally agreed by the Council it would be sent to ObySPC for their opinion and approval.

In reply to a question from Cllr Firth about why couldn’t the events proceed with both councils agreeing the funds, Cllr Hanson said that despite asking for specific details and costings for this, none had been provided by Cllr Firth or others.  Because of that the Council could not agree to use any jointly held funds without detail.

Cllr Watson asked the Clerk what amount could be agreed by the Clerk (under the new financial regulations) without the need to decide at Council.

The Clerk confirmed that he could spend £100 with retrospective permission, and up to £500 in consultation with the Chair.  The Clerk confirmed that he would contact the Clerk of ObySPC to ascertain what costings had been done (if any) to then investigate a way forward.

14. Dog Poo Bag Dispenser bins – Update – Cllr A Hanson

Cllr Hanson stated that she did have spare bags if any members of the community wanted to undertake a clear up and that there was a dispenser at the end of Main Street.

AT 8.55PM, DUE TO UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR BY SOME OF THE COMMUNITY, THE CHAIR ASKED SEVERAL PERSONS TO LEAVE THE MEETING.

MEETING RECOMMENCED AT 9PM.

15. Neighbourhood Watch – Update - Cllr T Firth

Cllr Firth stated that following a request by a third party, she wanted to propose to the Council to see if this was something that the community wanted.   She hoped that if there was support, this is something that she could bring back to the Council for support.

• Motion to agree that the COUNCIL look into the possibility of a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

Cllr Firth asked the Clerk what options she had to convene a meeting with some Councillors or volunteers to see what could be achieved.  The Clerk confirmed that she could convene a Working Group (with no decision powers) to gather ideas and could the report back to the Council at the next meeting.

16. Review of Community Assets – The Bottle and Glass Public House – Cllr A Hanson

Cllr Hanson stated that the Council need to decide if they wish to renew their option of purchase of the village Pub, The Bottle and Glass.The option is effect would that if the pub was put the market, the Council would have legal first option on the purchase and be given six months’ notice to find the funds.Cllr Hanson confirmed that as the previous option had lapsed as the pub had been sold in the intervening period, if the Council wish to go down this route it would need to restart the process.

Cllr Watson asked if there was a financial cost if the Council renewed their options to which Cllr Hanson confirmed there wasn’t.

• Motion to agree that the COUNCIL to renew the Community Asset option on the BOTTLE AND GLASS PUBLIC HOUSE was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

17. Correspondence: received up to July 2021.

Cllr Hanson as Interim Clerk stated that the most important piece of correspondence was the complaint it had received in regard to a GDPR breach.  Cllr Hanson confirmed that she reported the breach within the allotted 72 hours and was in communication with the ICO as soon as possible.  The breach was that a name of person was named by a Councillor following a submitted document without permission.

Cllr Hanson confirmed that the breach was noted by the ICO and that they recommended compulsory training for all Councillors and Clerk to ensure their knowledge was at least adequate for data management purposes.

18. Date and venue of next meeting

Cllr Firth asked if the meeting could be on a different day to ObySPC as she would like to attend their meeting as well, Cllr Creek agreed.

The Chair agreed with the Clerk that the provisional date would be the 14 September 2021 but that it would have to be confirmed at a later stage when availability of location is known.  No access to the dates of ObySPC was known as thus could not assure of not conflicting with them on dates. 

CHAIR CLOSED THE OPEN SESSION OF THE MEETING AT 9.15PM.

19. Council will go into closed session.      

Councillor discussed the contract of the Clerk and the various payments.

No detail will be publicly divulged due to confidentiality but agreement was made.

• Motion to agree that the COUNCIL to agree the proposed employment contract and payments with the CLERK was proposed, seconded and agreed by majority with two objections.  Motion carried.

CHAIR CLOSED THE CLOSED SESSION OF THE MEETING AT 9.35PM

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