5 May 2021
Minutes of the Billinghay Annual Parish Council Meeting held on Wednesday 5 May 2021 (7.00pm) on Microsoft Teams
Present:
Cllr Cassidy (TC) in Chair, Cllr Locke (KL), Cllr Catlett (AC), Cllr Bell (TB) & Cllr Waters (TW)
Parish Clerk & RFO Carol Willingham (CW)
Minutes Secretary Lou Hird (LH)
0 Members of the Public
Public Session
No members of the public attended.
1. Election of Chairman
Cllr Cassidy was nominated by TC, seconded by KL, and elected unanimously.
2. Election of Vice Chair
Cllr Locke was nominated by TC, seconded by AC, and elected unanimously.
3. To agree membership of Committees
The following Committees were agreed:
Policy and Finance: Cllrs Locke, Cassidy, and Catlett
Environment: Cllrs Locke, Cassidy, and Dymoke
Planning: Cllrs Bell, Locke, Cassidy, and Dymoke
HR: Cllrs Cassidy, Locke, Catlett
Events and Community: Cllrs Locke, Catlett, and T Waters
Emergency Planning: Cllrs Cassidy, Catlett, and T Waters
Neighbourhood Planning: Cllrs Locke, Cassidy, Catlett, T Waters and Bell.
4. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Clerk prior to the meeting.
None received. District Councillor Gill Ogden apologised as she was attending another meeting, she submitted a report that was circulated to councillors.
5. To receive Declarations of Interest under the Localism Act 2011 - being any pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on members’ Register of Interests.
None declared.
6. To approve as correct record and minutes notes of the PC meeting held on 14 April 2021 and 2 March 2020
It was proposed by KL, seconded by TC, and agreed unanimously that the Notes for the 14 April 2021 be accepted as minutes.
It was proposed by KL, seconded by TC, and agreed unanimously that the Notes for the 2 March 2020 be accepted as minutes. (These had been missed from previous meetings in error).
7. To receive an update on the vacancies for Parish Councillors
The Clerk had received details via a third party of a resident who had expressed an interest in becoming a Councillor. She was asked to make direct contact to see if the matter could be progressed further.
8. Parish Council Policies Review and Adoption.
Prior to the meeting, various documents had been issued by AC to all Councillors. It was proposed by KL, seconded by AC, and agreed unanimously that the undernoted new policies be adopted.
Code of Conduct (unchanged since those adopted in March 2021)
Financial Regulations (unchanged since those adopted in March 2021)
Standing Orders (unchanged since those adopted in March 2021)
PCD017 Disciplinary policy.
PCD006 Pensions policy.
PCD028 Social Media policy.
AC will pass Word versions of the updated documents to LH so they can be added to the website.
PCD009 Safeguarding policy – AC agreed to investigate further and re-submit at a later meeting.
9. To agree procedures for Parish Council Meetings (as remote meetings will currently not be legal after 7th May 21.) To agree delegating temporary powers to the Clerk.
Information had been circulated prior to the meeting.
Firstly, it was agreed that the June Meeting be cancelled.
Cllr Cassidy proposed and Cllr Catlett. seconded and all councillors indicated that they agreed that a S101 delegation of power to the Clerk be resolved, with the Terms of Reference detailed below, and with the input of the Chairman if available plus one other councillor, but with the authority of a minimum of two councillors, and the Clerk copying all councillors by email.
Delegation of Power
To the Proper Officer and Responsible Finance Officer (LGA 1972 s101)
The Council’s Scheme of Delegation authorises the Clerk to the Council/Responsible Finance Officer to act with delegated authority in the specific circumstances detailed:
· To take action:
To take action on any issue that cannot wait until the next Parish Council meeting.
The Clerk will address any need/resolution to all councillors by email.
Action taken should routinely be done with the input of at least two councillors, including the Chairman if available.
If circumstances do not permit the input of at least two councillors, the Clerk would normally be expected to consult the Chairman or Vice Chairman if the Chairman is unavailable and take his/her view into account.
· Financial thresholds:
To authorise expenditure on items where the Council within a budget approved by the Council has agreed the expenditure.
To incur expenditure on behalf of the Council, which is necessary to carry out any repair, replacement or other work or essential project which is of such extreme urgency that it must be done at once, whether or not there is any budgetary provision for the expenditure, subject to a limit of £1,000.00.
To take any action regarding minor repairs (up to a cost of £1,000.00) and to report minor matters to the relevant authority.
· Record keeping
Record keeping and the maintenance of a solid trail (particularly around decision making in any form) should be retained in writing and reviewed and certified to ensure good documentary evidence. This is particularly important in the case of an s101 delegated authority.
Delegated actions shall be in accordance with Standing Orders and Financial Regulations and in line with directions given by Council from time to time and this Scheme of Delegation, and where applicable any other rules/regulations and legislation,
and
· Reporting back to full council
shall be reported to the next available Council meeting.
This delegation of power to be I force until the 5 July 2021.
10. Finances
a) To approve payments made since the last meeting (list circulated to Cllrs prior to meeting) - it was proposed by KL, seconded by TB, and agreed unanimously.
b) (i) To approve annual governance statement 1 for the year ending 31 March 2021.
b) (ii) To approve annual governance Accounting statement 2 and complete the Annual return for the year ending 31 March 2021.
It was proposed by AC, seconded by TB, and agreed unanimously that 10 (b)(i) and 10(b)(ii) above be approved subject to any changes necessitated by the Internal Audit.
c) To agree Reserve Funds as recommended by the Clerk in report circulated to Councillors. To consider and agree investing £30,000 in the Public Sector Deposit Account held by Billinghay Parish Council.
The Clerk explained that this was necessary to reduce our Lloyds Bank holdings to below the Maximum Compensation threshold.
It was proposed by KL, seconded by TW, and agreed unanimously to take this action.
d) To agree Bank Signatories
Current Bank signatories and Payment Authorisers are Councillors Cassidy and Locke. It was proposed by KL, seconded by TW, and agreed unanimously to add Councillors Bell and Catlett. The Clerk was requested to arrange for this to be done.
11. Highways
It was reported that the potholes in Fen Road and West Street had been repaired. The Clerk reported that a resident was unhappy with the traffic situation through the village and wanted HGV traffic to be banned and traffic calming measures introduced by the Parish Council. He had also approached the Chair. It was pointed out to him that the Parish Council had no such powers and his request should be directed to the LCC Highways Department.
12. Planning Matters.
a) Applications Received
TB reported that a new application had been received that day, namely:
21/0525/HOUS 18 Victoria Street – demolition and erection of replacement building. As the expiry date for comments was before the next Council meeting, TB asked Councillors to let the Clerk have any comments that they wished to make for onward transmission as soon as possible.
b) Applications Approved
21/0348/HOUS 50 St Michaels Close: erection of single storey rear extension.
21/0277/HOUS 12 Mill Close: erection of single storey side extension.
13. To receive Councillors reports - For information only. Any items for decision will appear on the agenda for the next meeting. Reports from County Councillor & District Councillors (if in attendance)
TW asked if the Council would be sending a representative to a well-known resident’s funeral. It was agreed that councillors could attend if permitted but in an individual capacity and not as official Council representatives. It was felt that this would create a precedent for future funerals. CW would look to including an obituary in the next Newsletter.
AC advised Councillors of a forthcoming RBL Centenary event, and that the occasion would be commemorated by a select number of Billinghay Royal British Legion members observing the Covid19 restrictions.
The Clerk advised that a resident in the village would be 100 very shortly and it was agreed to send a card from the Council.
14. To resolve whether to exclude the public and press in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960 to discuss staffing matters.
It was proposed by KL, seconded by TC, and agreed unanimously that the meeting go into closed session. Accordingly, the current meeting closed at 20.03. The closed meeting commenced at 20.03.
To discuss and agree sensitive cemetery matters.
- Request from a resident for a Memorial Bench .
A resident who had suffered a recent bereavement had asked about the possibility of placing a Memorial Bench in the cemetery. It was felt that there were already sufficient benches located there. The Clerk agreed to go back to the resident to:
- Offer help if another location was thought suitable for a bench.
- Suggest that if a memorial within the cemetery was required, the planting of a tree with a memorial plaque would be acceptable.
- To agree next action regarding a breach of cemetery regulations
The Clerk had distributed details and a photograph illustrating the breach of current regulations. The plot’s owners had been asked to rectify the position but had taken no action. It was proposed by TC, seconded by KL, and agreed unanimously that the Clerk write to the owners asking them to take the necessary action within three weeks. Failing this being done the Council would have to take remedial action of their own.
Arising from the discussions, it was agreed to review the Cemetery Leaflet on the website to ensure that it fully stated the Council’s position. It was also agreed that we should ensure that Funeral Directors, and Monumental Masons are sent a copy of the revised document and asked to ensure their clients are aware of the Council’s requirements. If the client is dealing directly with the Parish Office, they should be given a copy of the up-to-date regulations.
It was also agreed to have a cemetery noticeboard so the regulations could be displayed clearly. The Clerk was asked to investigate the possible purchase of a board costing up to £1000.
Update on legal advice sought regarding allotments (if available for the meeting)
The Clerk advised that we were still awaiting the solicitor’s advice. It was, therefore, agreed to defer the matter until this had been received, and distributed to the Councillors.
The meeting closed at 20.41.