MINUTES of the Meeting of the Finance + General Purposes Committee held at 8.00pm on Thursday
6 June 2019 in the Village Centre, Trinity Road, Hurstpierpoint.
Committee Members Present
Malcolm Llewellyn (Chairman) Duncan Ranger
Stephen Hand Julia Shorrocks
Also Present:
Stephen Hoyles CLERK TO THE COUNCIL
Paul Mayne – Assistant Clerk
F19/004. Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Interest: The following apologies were received prior to the meeting and accepted: Allan Brown, Seth Jee. There were no declarations of interest.
F19/005. Minutes of the meeting of Finance + General Purposes Committee of 30 April 2019 and 16 May 2019: The Minutes were received and accepted and signed by the Chairman.
F19/006. Matters arising from Minutes of the Finance + General Purposes Committee of 30 April 2019 and 16 May 2019: There were no matters not otherwise covered on this agenda.
F19/007. Adjournment for questions from the public: There being no members of the public present the Committee was not required to adjourn the Meeting in accordance with Clause 19d) of Standing Orders.
F19/008. FINANCIAL MATTERS:
F19/008.1 Payments and receipts: The Committee was asked to RESOLVE to approve:
- (1) Revised Payments of £51,224.30 for month 2 (May 2019)
- (2) Payments of £56,967.09 for month 3 (June 2019) and to note total receipts of £12,424.23 for Month 2 (May 2019) (Ref: Schedule May2019)
RESOLVED: The Committee approves:
- (1) Revised Payments of £51,224.30 for month 2 (May 2019)
- (2) Payments of £56,967.09 for month 3 (June 2019) and to note total receipts of £12,424.23 for Month 2 (May 2019)
F19/008.2 Financial monitoring: The Committee noted the Accounts Records for Month 2 (May 2019), in accordance with the Financial Regulations of the Council, as follows:
(1) Bank reconciliation and Trial Balance
F19/008.3. Deposits and Investment: The Committee noted that the Council was holding the following funds on the dates shown:
| Ref | Statement Date | Amount | Bank | Ref | Comment |
| 8 | 31/05/2019 | 131,065.91 | Unity Bank | ‘20365408 | Current |
| 1 | 30/04/2019 | 65,852.45 | CCLA | ‘0663140001PC | Shares |
| 7 | 31/03/2019 | 53,517.14 | Nationwide | ‘90001826 | Bond |
| 9 | 31/03/2019 | 33,249.04 | Nationwide | ‘90114712 | Bond |
| 10 | 09/05/2019 | 50,850.00 | Cambridge + Counties | 15011214 | Deposit |
| 11 | 15/11/2018 | 35,000.00 | Cambridge + Counties | 15012689 | Deposit |
| TOTAL | £369,534.54 |
F19/008.4 South East Water: The Committee note that cheque for £945.00 had been received from South East Water as compensation for water damage in July 2016 to young trees planted in Sayers Common. This apparently occurred due to a burst water main. It was noted that the matter arose through correspondence between resident Mr Jee and SE Water, at a time when the former was not a member of Council, but the Parish Council had not been involved in the process. It transpired that a contractor had been asked to quote and that SE Water had been informed that the Council would retain the contractor. Neither the trees nor the land in question were the property of the Council. The
Committee expressed concern at the arrangements that had been made without the involvement of the Council and agreed that the cheque would be returned to SE Water and Mr Jee advised that this was not a matter for the Council. (REF: Email exchange: Mr Jee and SE Water – from 12 Sept 2018; South East Water ltr 15 May 2019)
F19/009. CONTRACTS: The Committee noted the following contracts with a cost over £500 + VAT:
F19/009.1 Bus shelter, Village Garden: In October 2016 a contract was awarded to GPS (Sussex) Ltd for the refurbishment of both the War Memorial shelter and the Village Garden shelter, following a competitive tender process. In the event the Council decided not to proceed with the Village Garden shelter as some discussions were taking place regarding its possible replacement. There was currently no likelihood that the shelter would be replaced in the foreseeable future and it was therefore proposed that the refurbishment goes ahead. GPS had been asked to re-quote and the price is £4,105 +VAT, being an increase of 3.9% since 2016, which was considered acceptable. (REF: GPS Sussex Ltd bus shelter quote 15 May 2019)
RESOLVED : The contract for the refurbishment of the Bus Shelter Village Garden is awarded to GPS (Sussex) Ltd at a cost of £4,105 + VAT.
F19/009.2 Trade account: The Committee approved a new trade account with Tradepoint, which includes B&Q and
Screwfix. (REF: BRIEFING NOTE Tradepoint Account 29 May 2019)
RESOLVED: The Committee approved that a Tradepoint application is processed with a £500 credit limit attached.
F19/010. PROJECTS:
F19/010.1 Action List 2019/20: The Committee was asked to note the Action List for the Council Year 2018/19. It was noted that Latchetts Lane drainage would be added and that the Council Parish Action Plan would be reviewed at the next meeting of the Committee. (Ref: ACTION LIST 2019/20 rev33 23 April 2019)
F19/010.2 Bus shelter, London Road, Sayers Common: The Council had been advised by WSCC that they were willing to grant a licence, subject to the outcome of the public consultation, which was due to complete 28 May 2019. WSCC advised that the approved location would be approximately 10m north of that originally proposed. An application had been made to MSDC to ‘ring-fence’ s106 funds and it has been confirmed that £10,000 has been allocated. In discussion it was agreed that the new shelter would as far as reasonable match the style of the existing shelter on the southbound side of the road. (REF: WSCC Email Sayers Common bus shelter May 2019; MSDC Email 29 May 2019)
F19/011. OPERATIONS: The Committee was asked to note (exception reports only):
F19/011.1 Street lighting: (No report)
F19/011.2 Toilets: (No report)
F19/011.3 Trees: A large fallen limb in Reeds Lane Recreation Ground (north) had been inspected and judged to require removal, and work is in hand. F19/011.4 Cemetery: (No report)
F19/011.5 Recreation Grounds: The Lawsons Circus visit to South Avenue Recreation Ground 7-9 May 2019 was satisfactory and without incident.
F19/011.6 Waste bins: (No report)
F19/011.7 Buildings: The Bus Shelter Wickham Hill had been removed, leaving the hardstanding only. A question was raised about tidying the remaining foliage.
F19/011.8 Allotments: A report had been received (28 May 2019) of and outbreak of Marestail weed on one plot.
The Parish Office had requested guidance from the Allotments Association on suitable treatment.
F19/011.9 Village Garden: The Council was awaiting the submission of the floral planting plan from the maintenance contractor.
F19/011.10 Highways: (No report)
F19/011.11 Public enquiries: The Committee was advised that the Parish Office maintains a Customer log of all public enquiries and which is available for inspection by Members.
F19/012. Internal Audit: The Committee received the Internal Audit Report for the Year to 31 March 2019 and noted the Action Plan (page 9) the respective responses as follows:
| Point Forward / Action needed | Auditor notes | Council response |
| I identified 4 transactions wrongly accrued into the 2018-19 financial year, amounting to £3,862. | These should be transferred to 201920 as the invoices show these relate to services delivered after 1 April 2019. I advised the accounts should be adjusted to correct this error. | Completed and the 2018/19 accounts updated. |
| The Council may need to consider setting up a reserve for Court Bush Hall to fund future repair costs, although I note the Council has included £9k in the 2019-20 budget to cover such costs | Use unspent budget to fund repairs reserve | This will be included in the earmarked reserves allocation at the end of 2019/20. |
| I noted 2 expenditure transactions amounting to £1k wrongly coded to an income ledger code. | These should be journaled to the relevant expenditure code. | Completed and the 2018/19 accounts updated. |
| I note that the bank statements for the Cambridge And Counties accounts were not those for 31 March. I recommend that these are obtained prior to submission of the accounts to the external auditors. | I recommend that these are obtained prior to submission of the accounts to the external auditors. | Now obtained. |
In discussion it was noted that there were some inconsistencies in the Audit Report. It was also noted that it remained the intention to purchase a free-standing server, sited off-site, to provide additional data back-up security.
(Ref: Internal Audit Report Year ended 31 March 2019, 26 April 2019)
RECOMMENDATION to Council: The Internal Audit Report for the year ending 31 March 2019 is approved.
F19/013. Annual Financial Risk Management Review 2019/20: The Committee was asked to RECOMMEND to COUNCIL to receive and adopt the Annual Financial Risk Management Review 2019/20. The Committee proposed that the Court Bushes income stream was added to the schedule and a note made of the potential risks of the Court bushes Hub not meeting its income targets. In discussion it was agreed that the Village Centre Committee was also asked ot produce a financial risk schedule. (Ref: ‘Governance + Accountability for Smaller Councils March 2017 Section 5 (Risk management); Annual Financial Risk Management Review 2019/20 3 May 2019)
RECOMMENDATION to Council: The Annual Financial Risk Management Review 2019/20, with the addition of Court Bushes Hub income, is adopted.
F19/014. Annual Risk Assessment 2019/20: The Committee was asked to note that the Annual Risk Assessment of Council owned property has been undertaken and to RECOMMEND to Council that it was confirmed that it is complete. (Ref: HP&SCPC Risk Assessment and Inspection Records 24 April 2019)
RECOMMENDATION to Council: The Annual Risk Assessment 2019/20 is adopted.
F19/015. Internal Audit – Review of effectiveness of Internal Control 2019/20: The Committee was asked to review the Internal Control systems and accordingly RECOMMEND to Council. (Ref: BRIEFING NOTE Internal Audit – Review of effectiveness of Internal Control 2017/18 3 May 2019; Internal Control Arrangements (Regulation 6 of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015)
RECOMMENDATION to Council: The Internal Audit – Review of effectiveness of Internal Control 2019/20 is adopted.
There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 9.14 pm
Chairman