Lindfield Parish Council

LINDFIELD PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Finance and General Purposes Committee meeting held on Thursday 15January 2009at the King Edward Hall, Lindfield.

Present:Rev. M. Davies (Chairman)

Mr. M. Allen

Mr. W. Blunden

Mr. A. Gomme

Mrs. M. Nicolle (ex officio)

Mrs. V. Upton

Mr. S. Willcox (Vice Chairman)

Also present:1 member of the public (part of the meeting only)

In attendance:Mrs. C. Irwin

Mrs. S. Kolien (Responsible Financial Officer)

The meeting commenced at 8.00 p.m.

200.WELCOME AND EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENTS.

200.1The Chairman welcomed all those present to the meeting and announced the emergency procedure for the King Edward Hall.

200.2It was noted that PC Bennett was present to speak in support of the application for funding for the 1st Lindfield Scouts (Item 17 on the Agenda). It was AGREED that this item should be brought forward as Item 8 on the Agenda to allow PC Bennett to leave after making his representations.

201.APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.

201.1Apologies for absence were received from Cllr. Johnson and the reasons accepted.

202.DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST BY MEMBERS IN RESPECT OF ANY ITEM ON THE AGENDA.

202.1There were no such declarations.

203.QUESTIONS/COMMENTS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC.

203.1It was AGREED that PC Bennett should be invited to speak at the beginning of the Item relating to the application for funding for the 1st Lindfield Scouts.

203.2There were no other questions or comments from members of the public.

204. MINUTES AND CONFIDENTIAL MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE HELD ON 12 NOVEMBER 2008.

204.1The Chairman called for approval of the Minutes and Confidential Minutes of the meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee held on 12 November 2008. These were agreed and the Chairman signed the Minutes and Confidential Minutes as a true record of that meeting.

205.ACTION LIST / PROJECT PROGRESS REPORT.

205.1Broadband – it was noted that the Clerk was in the process of arranging to change the supplier of broadband to the Parish Office to Nildram which would be cheaper than the current supplier and the arrangements for payment by direct debit accommodated the requirement for two signatures on the Direct Debit mandate, which was not compatible with the present supplier. The MAC code from the present supplier had been obtained and once the Direct Debit form had been returned the changeover could be made. The disadvantage to changing email address would mean that the email address would have to be changedwhich might cause a few problems initially. The possibility of the Parish Council having a .gov email address linked to the new website domain was to be investigated.

205.2Parish Office Survey – aletter had recently been sent to the owner of the attached property regarding the issues relating to the building as a whole and a reply was awaited.

205.3Additional accommodation – The Clerk would shortly be contacting the landlord regarding the terms of the lease.

205.4Grievance and discipline procedure – It was noted that the procedure still needed to be looked at to ensure that it was sufficiently detailed.

205.5Freedom of Information – the model scheme and publication schedule had been adopted at the Extraordinary Full Council meeting on 11 December and had now been uploaded onto the website.

205.6Website – Cllr. Gomme and the Clerk hadbegun to work out the details of the new Parish Council website before going back to Vision ICT.

206. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT.

206.1Strategy Document. There had not been any comments from Members suggesting changes to the Strategy Document tabled at the previous F&GP Committee meeting and it was AGREED to adopt the Strategy Document for the Finance and General Purposes Committee and to recommend it to Full Council as a broad Strategy for the Council. The Strategy would be reviewed annually, although reference to it would be continuing. It was suggested that the Parish Council and each of its Committees should have a Mission and Vision Values Statement and this should be brought up at the next meeting of Full Council. Members agreed that the Strategy Document was well written.

206.2Village Shops. The Chairman had received email correspondence from a resident regarding the situation relating to Paul’s greengrocers. Although it was not the role of the Parish Council to champion the cause of a particular retailer, or embark on elaborate schemes as suggested by the resident, the Chairman felt that it was the Council’s responsibility to look at what was happening in the Village. Retail had declined over the years and closure of one business affected other traders. The Lindfield Preservation Society was to be looking at this issue at their next meeting. It was difficult to find a way of helping without making a financial commitment, which was not considered to be the appropriate course of action for the Parish Council. It was AGREED that a notice should be put on the Silver Jubilee Noticeboard encouraging people to use the local shops and the Parish Council would put an article in the next Newsletter.

207.GRANTS AND DONATIONS.

207.11st Lindfield Sea Scout Group. The Chairman invited PC G. Bennett to speak in support of this application for funding for camping equipment for the 1st Lindfield Scout Group. PC Bennett stated that he had been asked by Mr. Sutherland 18 months previously to assist with the 1st Lindfield Sea Scout Group. Since then the group had increased in size, particularly the Scouts Troop: from 10 to 26; overall the numbers had increased to 90 and the current waiting list for all sections was high, although there was a policy in place restricting membership to Lindfield residents. It was hoped to increase the number in the Scouts Troop to 36 later in the year by forming a second Scout Section. The Scout Group currently lacked equipment for camp. There was enough general canvas and equipment to cook centrally, but to allow members of the Group to hike and camp overnight in small groups, cooking for themselves, more equipment was needed. It was hoped that it would be possible to obtain enough single burner hike stoves and cook sets in time for a 4 night camp in May, with a further camp planned for September. It was also hoped to raise funds to provide a small number of lightweight hiking tents as the existing 2 tents were heavy. Not all the members would be hiking at the same time, but tents would be needed for a group of about 12. The aim of the 1st Lindfield Sea Scouts was to give more children in Lindfield the opportunity to take part in activities they would not otherwise have the opportunity to do. Scouting kept children off the streets and they were less likely to become involved in crime and anti social behaviour, so there were indirect benefits to the wider community.

The Chairman thanked PC Bennett for his address. PC Bennett then left the meeting (8.20p.m.).

Members considered the request from Victim Support before going on to discuss the request from the 1st Lindfield Scouts.

207.2Victim Support Sussex. Cllrs. Allen and Gomme reported that the last donation to Victim Support had been agreed in July 2007. Through its work with victims of crime in the community and witnesses in the courts, Victim Support Sussex was able to offer support in 2007 to 48,000 people across the whole of Sussex. This figure included any victim of crime or witness attending court from the Lindfield Parish Council Area. A donation of £150, as recommended by Cllrs. Allen and Gomme, wasAGREED.

207.31ST Lindfield Scouts. It was noted that, according to the Council’s Policy and Procedures for the Consideration and Awarding of Grants and Donations, £250 was the normal upper limit. Cllrs. Allen and Gomme recommended that a donation of £250 should be made.

It was generally felt that this request should be supported but there was some debate about the amount: a number of Members suggested that the donation should be higher than £250 and £750 was proposed and seconded. It was noted that for donations exceeding £250, post award monitoring would be necessary. Cllr. Allen pointed out that, although PC Bennett had referred to there being 90 members of the Scout Group, the supporting letter stated 26 and this may be considered disproportionate to the total number of residents and contrary to the criteria in the policy and procedure document. Cllr. Allen therefore declared his intention to abstain. The Chairman agreed to seek further details from PC Bennett and prepare a report for the next meeting. The majority of Members felt that the donation should be £750 but that clarification should be sought as to the number of members in the Scout Group and further details should be requested.

Members AGREED that they were, in principle, prepared to award a donation of £750 to the 1st Lindfield Scouts for camping equipment to facilitate the forthcoming camping projects. However before this award could be confirmed, PC Bennett should be asked to clarify the number of members of the Scout group that would benefit from this donation and to provide any further information required according to the Council’s procedures. If finally approved, the amount of this award should be seen to be exceptional and not to set a precedent for future donations to this organisation. Councillor Allen abstained from voting on this decision.

208.INTERNAL AUDIT

208.1Report of Internal Auditor. Members NOTED the latest report from the Internal Auditors, following their visit in October 2008. Five points had been raised and regarding which appropriate action was being taken.

208.2Review of the effectiveness of the Internal Audit. Cllr. Willcox reported that a small working group had been set up which would be meeting shortly to discuss a paper written by Cllr. Davies further to a note from the RFO. A proposal would then be made to the next meeting of the F&GP Committee on 19 March, and the F&GP Committee would agree a recommendation for Full Council to consider on 26 March.

209.FINANCE AND GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE BUDGET 2008/09

209.1To Review Payments made to date in 2008/09. The RFO, Mrs. Kolien, reported that there would be money left at the end of the financial year, but the amount depended on the bills that came in before 31 March.

NOTED that to 31 December 2008:

• the budget progress relating to the Finance and General PurposesCommittee’s budget showed that, from the budget of £83,575.00, a total of £68,498.06 had been spent.
• For the overall budget, from a budget of £132,125.00, a total of £84,020.11 had been spent

Also NOTED: the quarterly Receipts and Payments Summary.

Cllr. Allen stated that when presenting the figures for month 9 in the financial year, a projection of the total spend should be included. It was noted that the papers for discussion regarding the 2009/10 financial year included this analysis.

209.2Analysis of Administration Budget 2008/09, to 31 December 2008. NOTED: a breakdown of the Administration Budget showed that from a budget of £67,075.00, a total of £61,652.08 had been spent up to 31 December 2008. It had been noted previously that staffing changes were the main reason for the increased expenditure under this heading and this was to be addressed in the budget for the coming year.

210.REFURBISHMENT OF THE DENMANS LANE PUBLIC TOILETS

210.1The Clerk reported that the order was soon to be placed. Mr. S. Howe of ML Surveyors had revised his draft contract letter to include some further points suggested to him after Cllrs. Pickett and Blunden and the Clerk had discussed the draft. Mr. Howe was waiting for Premier Hygienic Ltd. to send a correct plan to replace the one sent which showed the wrong measurements for the cubicles. A cheque had been written out ready to send with the letteronce Mr. Howe had confirmed that the remaining details had been resolved. Members wished to record their thanks to Cllr. Pickett for the work he had done on this matter.

211.LIAISON WITH LINDFIELD RURAL PARISH COUNCIL

211.1Notes of the Meeting held on 31 October 2008. The notes of the meeting held with representatives of Lindfield Rural Parish Council on 31 October, which had not been available in time for the previous F&GP Committee meeting, were received. The main issues had been discussed at the F&GP meeting on 12 November.

211.2Proposed Merger of the two Parish Councils. Cllr, Dumbleton, Chairman of Lindfield Rural Parish Council (LRPC), had indicated to the Clerk that LRPChad not yet given thought to the letter both Parish Councils were proposing to send to residents,to seek views about a merger. Cllr. Dumbleton would prefer to defer this until the results of the Boundary Commission’s Review of West Sussex had been published. Members expressed frustration at this further delay, mindful that there were only two years remaining in this Council term and there was a danger of missing the opportunity to resolve this by the next election year. It was AGREED that a letter should be drafted by the Chairman of Council and the Chairman of the Finance and General Purposes Committee, setting out the arguments in favour of the proposed merger and this should be agreed by the next F&GP Committee meeting for recommendation to Full Council. An informal meeting of the Parish Council Chairman could be called if there was need to consult further for advice on the wording.

211.3WalsteadCemetery. Councillor Blunden reported that an item was understood to be on the agenda for the next meeting of Lindfield Rural Parish Council regarding parity of charges for residents of Lindfield Parish.

212.COMMUNICATIONS FORUM

212.1Notes of the meeting of the Communications Forum held on 23 October 2008. The notes, which had not been available at the meeting of the F&GP Committee on 12 November, were received.

212.2Meeting of the Communications Forum held on 13 January 2009. The notes of this meeting were not yet available. The Chairman stated that, since its inception, the Forum had been serviced by Parish Office staff but in view of their workload, the Forum had agreed that Cllr. Gomme should take up the role of Chairman and Cllr. Davies would service the Forum until someone else came forward.

Cllr. Gomme reported on the discussion at the meeting on 13 January regarding the Lindfield Times. The Village had felt let down by the Lindfield Times, which had deteriorated in content and become unreliable. The December edition had come out late, after several events publicised in the magazine had already passed. Cllrs. Davies and Gomme had metwith the Editor and had tried to secure an agreement which would guarantee publication in return for regular local input. At the end of the meeting it had appeared that progress had been made. However, Cllr. Davies had then drafted the formal agreement and sent it to the Editor for his approval before sending it out to the Village organisations, encouraging them to submit material for publication, butnothing further had been heard from the Editor. It had been concluded that no further progress could be made. Mr. D. Tingley had then indicated that he may consider launching a new magazine through his company and Cllr. Davies, along with another member of the Communications Forum, wouldbe meeting Mr. Tingley the following week to discuss this proposition. The possibility that there may be legal implications was noted, although it was made clear that the publication would be independent of the Parish Council. The publishers of the Mid Sussex Handbook had been asked to quote for printing the Parish Council’s Newsletter, but problems could be foreseen with this option.

The Communications Forum had also noted that Lindfield Online (domain and content) had been put up for sale by Mrs. Jan Beesley of Cipherweb.

213.ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PARISH COUNCIL’S NEWSLETTER

213.1The Chairman reported that, because publication of the Lindfield Times was unreliable,it was no longer a suitable vehicle for publishing the Parish Council Newsletters and an alternative had to be found. It was hoped that the new magazine reported in Minute 212.2 would resolve this, but it was acknowledged that other arrangements might have to be found for the Spring Newsletter if the first issue of the magazine could not be produced in time. It was noted that other local printers included OathallCommunity College. It was AGREED that the Clerk, in consultation with the Chairman of the F&GP Committee should make appropriate alternative arrangements for the publication of the next Newsletter if necessary.

214.LINDFIELD PARISH DIRECTORY AND YEAR BOOK

214.1A report from the Clerk had been circulated. It was noted that advertising revenue was significantly down on previous years (£4,195.00) and would not cover the cost of printing the 2009 issue of the Directory (£5,400.00), leaving a shortfall of £1,205.00. A conservative estimate of the additional costs: Clerks’ time, postage, stationery and photocopying etc, came to £951.74.

214.2During discussion the following points were made:

• The cost of the Directory to the Parish Council was rising
• There was concern that the advertising may not be increased the following year
• Taking out the advertisements may save Clerks’ time and the Parish Council, with a contribution from Lindfield Rural Parish Council could then fund the Directory without advertising revenue.
• There may be a reduction in cost of printing if the diary section was taken out
• The diary section should not be taken out as the combination of the different elements of the Directory worked well and it would be less successful if a section was taken out.
• The Council needed to decide for how long it was prepared to underwrite the Directory.
• The Directory made a positive contribution to the Parish Council’s public relations with the residents. Members of the delivery team had received a consistent message that the Directory was well appreciated by residents. Cllr. Dumbleton (LRPC) had made a point of asking people on his round if they wanted the Directory and the response had been very positive. Cllr. Allen asked for it to be recorded that he had knocked on doors when delivering Directories on his round and had received thanks from 99%.
• Whilst the cost of the Clerks’ time in putting the Directory together was not insignificant, it was considered to be a small percentage of the total Parish Council overhead.
• The future publication of the Directory should be kept under regular review.

The following recommendations were AGREED, subject to confirmation at the Finance and General Purposes Committee on 19 March, following receipt of the quotation from the printers: