Finance and Human Resources Committee – July
Modbury Parish Council Finance and HR Committee Meeting
6.00pm, Thursday 27th July 2023. Parish Office, 2 Galpin St.
MINUTES
PRESENT: Cllrs Helen Nathanson (HN) (Chair), Barbara Price (BP) and Phil Smith (PS)
2023 19 FHR There were no apologies for absence
2023 20 FHR There were no declarations of interest
2023 21 FHR The minutes of the last meeting were agreed.
Matters arising:
Clerk confirmed that the new savings account was now open and that full council were to agree an amount to transfer at the August meeting.
2023 22 FHR Financial Regulations and Scheme of Delegation
1. It was agreed to defer review of the Scheme of Delegation pending final approval of The Financial Regulations by full council
2. Proposed changes to the Financial Regulations were agreed for recommendation to full council.
2023 23 FHR The finances for the 1st quarter of the financial year (report distributed previously) were reviewed:
– clerk clarified insurance and audit were above the 25% due to annual one-off payments, that a second instalment for the precept was due in September, that the parking expenditure was the business rate charges.
– Clerk to create a new nominal code for assets and payment for the new noticeboards to be moved across to this cost centre from the community engagement cost code
2023 24 FHR Current payment authorisation procedure and VAT arrangements
Following extensive discussion the following authorisations were agreed:
• Full council for all items over £5,000
• Any of the delegated committees at a meeting held with the statutory 3 clear days’ notice for items over £500 that are within the revenue budget for the budget lines they manage (as listed in their Terms of Reference)
• The Finance and HR Committee at a meeting held with the statutory 3 clear days’ notice for items over £500 that are within the revenue budget for all budget lines not managed by a delegated committee
• The clerk and Chair of Committee for any items between £100 and £500 that are within the revenue budget for the budget lines they manage (as listed in their Terms of Reference)
• The clerk and Chair of FHR for any items between £100 and £500 within the revenue budget for all budget lines not managed by a delegated committee
• The clerk for items below £100
The clerk must be provided with A VAT receipt and, unless a VAT number is shown, VAT will not be reclaimed.
It was agreed that this would be reviewed at the next meeting
2023 25 FHR Procedures and responsibility for Council and MARS accounting:
It was agreed that the Councillor on rota on the 1st or 2nd Saturday of the month would review the invoices, payments and bank statements provided by the clerk for the previous month. Decision regarding procedures for MARS was deferred pending recommendations from an independent internal auditor.
2023 26 FHR It was agreed that the clerk would proceed with an introductory discussion with the recommended independent internal auditor
2023 27 FHR Supervision arrangements for the clerk including checks on PAYE, pension and HMR payments
It was agreed that BP would undertake this role with PS present for the quarterly and annual review meetings
2023 28 FHR Financial impact of the recent road closures by OpenReach on local traders and businesses
No report was available for this matter.
2023 29 FHR Date of next meeting Thursday 14th September at 6pm in The Parish Office
Meeting closed at 7.45pm