Finance Committee, 22 September 2015

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
Members of the Finance Committee of Helmdon Parish Council are summoned to attend a meeting of the committee to be held straight after the Planning meeting, in the Committee
Room, Reading Room, Church Street, Helmdon, NN13 5QJ on Tuesday 22nd September
2015 at 8.30pm
Members of the public and press are welcome to attend this meeting. This meeting may be recorded, filmed or broadcast without prior notice to the Parish Council, provided that such activity does not impede the conduct or business of the meeting.
AGENDA
1. Election of Chair
2. Apologies
3. Election of Vice Chair
4. Declarations of Interest
5. Approval and signature of the minutes of the meeting of 20th January 2015
6. Matters arising
7. Open Forum
8. To appoint a councillor to be the Internal Controls Councillor
9. To receive the report of the internal auditor for the year ending 31st March, 2015
10. Conclusion of audit for the year ending 31st March, 2015
11. To receive a report on the financial administration of the school field drainage project
12. To review banking arrangements and confirmation of authority and signatories:
a. the addition of Helen du Bois (Helmdon Parish Clerk) as the Account Administrator with View and
Submit level of access b. to change the authority level from Dual Authority to Triple Authority c. the addition of Cllr Hart and Cllr Vicars as Registered Users with View and Authorise level of access
13. To review the Mowing contract from 2016 onwards
14. To agree schedule of meetings for the next 12 months
15. Close
Signed_________________ Dated______________
Helen du Bois
Clerk to Helmdon Parish Council
[address removed] tel: [phone number removed]

HELMDON PARISH COUNCIL
FINANCE COMMITTEE
MINUTES
Of a meeting of the finance committee held in the Reading Room, Church Street Helmdon on Tuesday 22nd September 2015 at 8:30 pm
1. Election of Chairman
Cllr Coatsworth was elected as committee chairman
2. Apologies for absence
The Parish Clerk and Cllr Hart tendered their apologies for absence owing to prior engagements
3. Election of Vice Chairman
Cllr Moody was elected as committee Vice Chairman
4. Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest
5. Approval and signature of minutes of meeting held 20th January 2015
The minutes of the previous meeting were declared as a true record and signed by the Chairman
6. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising from the previous minutes
7. Open Forum
There were no members of the public in attendance
8. To appoint a councillor to be the Internal Controls Councillor
Cllr Hart was proposed as Internal Controls Councillor by Cllr Moody, seconded by Cllr
Vicars and supported by all committee members, was duly elected
9. To receive the report from the internal auditor for year ending 31st March 2015
The report of the internal auditor was reviewed and items requiring further attention were discussed. Clarification regarding the employment status of the previous Parish
Clerk is required. Although an employee of the parish council, it appears that HMRC
may be collecting tax based upon self employment. This raises a potential liability for the parish council. After some discussion it was RESOLVED that a) A check will be made to ensure that the new Parish Clerk’s employment status is correctly registered with HMRC
b) Cllr Coatsworth will meet with the previous clerk as soon as possible to ascertain the details necessary to assess if the parish council has any liability c) When the facts are known, an internal review will be undertaken to preclude any repeat d) A review of ALL payments will be included in future finance committee meeting agendas

It was RESOLVED that the Clerk will check with BDO to obtain a ruling on whether or not the new steps for the children’s slide should be recorded as an asset. Action: The
Clerk
It was RESOLVED that Cllr Hart and the Clerk would be asked to create terms of reference for the finance and planning committees for presentation at the November
2015 meeting of the parish council. Action: Cllr Hart/The Clerk
10. Conclusion of audit for the year ending 31st March 2015
Cllr Moody stated that he has provided relevant information to BDO regarding two matters of concern raised by them. BDO have indicated their satisfaction and will now proceed to complete the audit report and issue the notice of conclusion of audit.
11. To receive a report on the financial administration of the school field drainage project
Cllr Coatsworth briefly outlined the history of this project. Cllr Moody recommended that the authority to transfer of the grant monies to the school is contained within
Section 19 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976.
After some discussion it was RESOLVED to recommend that the parish council should proceed with the transfer of funds from SNC to the school under these provisions.
12. To review banking arrangements and confirmation of authority and signatories
The meeting noted that the completion of the requisite forms to achieve the changes is in hand and RESOLVED to proceed with the changes. Action: The Clerk
13. To review the mowing contract from 2016 onwards
It was agreed that the Clerk should draw up a brief of areas presently included plus new areas to enable three tenders, for one year and three year contracts to be obtained. The new areas should comprise both sides of the road from Welsh Lane to the railway bridge and the green areas in Station Road and entrance to Hintons Close.
Action: The Clerk
14. To agree schedule of meeting for the next 12 months
It was RESOLVED to hold a finance committee meeting during October/November
2015, 13th January 2016, 13th April 2016 and 12th October 2016, all dates subject to confirmation nearer the time
15. Close
There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 9:27
pm
Signed _______________________Dated________________________
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