BRERETON AND RAVENHILL PARISH COUNCIL
DISTRICT OF CANNOCK CHASE COUNTY OF STAFFORDSHIRE
Minutes of the
FULL COUNCIL
Held at: the Parish Hall, Ravenhill Park, Brereton, Rugeley. WS15 1DU
Thursday 18th April 8.00pm – 9.30pm
WELCOME
Members Present:
M Blackham (MB)(Chair),
S Merriman (SM),
K Theobald (KT),
C Davies (CD),
C. Harris (CH),
K Paul (KP),
R Hall (RH),
A Cowdell (AC),
D Blocksidge (DB),
J Gascoigne (JG)(V-Chair),
R Hall-Davies (RHD),
APOLOGIES
Members Absent: Apologies were received from: C Boulton (CB), which were accepted. No apologies were received from J Johnson (JJ), which were not accepted.
In Attendance: PR Whibley (Clerk), L. Featherstone (LF)(RFO)
32. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST IN ANY ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
None.
33. FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE CHAIR / CLERK
The clerk will be away from his desk next week and it was agreed that he will send out the Agenda’s for both the Parish Hall Management (PHM) and Finance, Asset & Risk (FAR) committee meetings six days earlier than usual. However in the event that something extremely important needs to be raised then SM will ensure that all members/and the clerk are informed before Friday. The members were reminded that the next Council meeting is the Annual Parish Meeting.
34. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
None.
35. AGREEING THE MINUTES FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING
To approve and sign off the minutes of Full Council meeting held on Thursday 21st March 2024.
Minutes approved and signed by the Chair
36. MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MEETING
20.1a. That the clerk will update the BRPC Financial Regulations and make all changes necessary to the front cover, as well as updating the document on the council website. Completed.
20.3a.That the clerk will update the BRPC Risk Assessment document and insert an additional number 53 to cover the councils approach to internal emails and their possible risk. Completed.
20.1a.That the clerk will update the BRPC Risk Assessment document on the council’s website. Completed.
20.1a.That the clerk will update the BRPC Accessibility Statement on the council’s website. Completed.
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Minutes Approved by Chair / Acting Chair : …………………………… Date: ……………………………
12.3.1. The three councillors not present will be asked to sign at the next opportunity or at the next meeting. One member still outstanding.
6.3. The clerk to place Terms of Reference on next month’s agenda. Agenda full. Other issues are taking priority. Completed (see item 42)
11.1a.That the clerk inform any members who have not completed the envelope exercise to do so, as soon as possible. Completed. (Email sent 07.04.24)
11.1b.That all members and staff should have a dedicated ‘work only’ email and council related messaging must be conducted using these.
JG will ensure that LF and JS are given a designated council email address.
11.1c.That the clerk would insert item 53 in the Risk Assessment and place it on the council’s website. Completed.
13.1b.That the Council approved the Earmarked Funds list. Completed.
16.1a.That the RFO would ensure that this budget stream remains untouched, unless needed for venue hire but is transferred into the Earmarked funds next year. Agreed and Completed.
24.3a.1. That JS use a prepaid Debit Card to purchase the D-Day flag. No Update.
24.3b.1.That a Car Boot sale, on the date agreed would be organised. Details for the Hall element to be organised by the Parish Hall Management Committee.(PHMC) That the clerk would place this on the next agenda of next month’s PHMC. Completed.
24.5a.That the Clerk ask the Staffing Committee to begin to consider what the job specification and responsibilities might be for the position of Handyman to the council. Completed.
26.1.That the Chair (MB) would action a solicitor’s letter be sent requesting the location of assets. See FAR Committee Minutes Item 20.2.
27.1. That the Council approved the Earmarked Funds list. Completed.
28.1. That the Council approved their Committee choices. Completed.
29.1. That the Council approved their Governance Structure. Completed. 30.1. That the council agreed to pay the Home allowance weekly payment to the Clerk. Agreed.
30.2. That the council will ensure that the RFO has access to online banking. Completed. 30.3. The council has approved this change and the Clerk will amend the Financial Regulations on the website. Completed. 30.7. Resolved: The council has approved this procedural change and will adhere to the Financial Regulations. The clerk will make the necessary update (if needed) on the front cover and upload the document onto the council’s website. (item 25) Completed. 30.4. The council has discussed this recommendation and this will be investigated further. The council has approved an additional item 53 in their Risk Assessment to explain how they are going to minimise the threat in the meantime. Completed. 30.5.The council has approved their Risk Assessment and the clerk will place it on the website. (item 11.1b) Completed. 30.6.The council has approved their Earmarked funds for 2024-2025 at this meeting. (item 27) Completed.
Completion of GDPR exercise to have sealed envelopes with emails and passwords locked away in office.
JG and RHD completed the exercise. 5 members and 2 staff to complete.
37. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES / WORKING GROUPS
37.1. Finance Asset & Risk Committee:
April Minutes presented for approval (attached)
The council expressed their thanks for the minutes.
37.1.1. BRPC Action Plan (item 20 on FAR minutes)
37.1.2. ASSET LIST COMPLETED (Item 20 April meeting)
Agenda items on May FAR meeting, if approved, presented at next FC meeting
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Minutes Approved by Chair / Acting Chair : …………………………… Date: ……………………………
37.2. Parish Hall Management Committee:
April Minutes presented for approval (attached)
The council expressed their thanks for the minutes.
37.2.1 Table Top Sale Final Arrangements for 28th April (RH/KT)
It was mentioned that the Bowls Club who hire the hall on a regular weekly basis were paying an old rate of hire. The standard small increase therefore came as a surprise. It was agreed by SM and CD that they could continue to stay at their usual rate until the issue could be resolved. LF/JS will alter the invoices accordingly.
37.3. Community Engagement (Neighbourhood) Committee:
April Report delivered for approval.
The council expressed their thanks
37.4. Planning Committee:
April Report delivered: Record of decisions
An update concerning the Talbot Inn’s application was given to the meeting.
The council expressed their thanks
37.5. Staffing Committee:
37.5.1. Ideas for role and Job Description of Handyman role. (to be actioned)
It was mentioned that this is part of the Strategic Plan for the council and has been allocated £5500 of Ear Marked Funding.
37.6. Policy, Practices & Procedures WG:
37.6.1. Interim Terms of Reference (See item 40) (to be actioned, if necessary)
Not Actioned. See item 40.
37.7. Police Report: (report for March attached)
37.7a. Resolved: That the clerk ensures that this report only appear in the agenda of the Community Engagement Committee.
38. ANNUAL PARISH ASSEMBLY MEETING ( MAY ) (attached)
It was agreed to hold the meeting on Friday 17th May at 6.00pm. It was agreed that it should be an informal evening, with invited representations from the Police, District Councillors, People representing the hirers of the hall and Community groups. Further discussions are ongoing as to how the evening will be organised, where it will be advertised and what arrangements will be made concerning food and refreshments. A draft agenda plan was included with the meetings papers previously distributed.
38.1. Resolved: That the Annual Parish Assembly Meeting will be held on Friday 17th May at 6.00pm in the Parish Hall.
39. DELEGATED BUDGETS TO COMMITTEES (not Neighbourhood)
The clerk explained that items 39 and 40 should be seen as a single proposal. The clerk explained how the Full Council could allocate committees with their own delegated budgets which would be scrutinised by the FAR committee and the RFO.
Finance Committee
£500
Staffing Committee
£2000
Community Engagement Committee
£3000
Planning Committee
£500
Parish Hall Management Committee
£3000
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Minutes Approved by Chair / Acting Chair : …………………………… Date: ……………………………
Allowing for different allocations for different committees based on their projected spending needs. It was decided not to implement delegated budgets for committees.
39.1. Resolved: That the meeting decided not to delegate any budgetary controls to any of their committees.
40. TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS (8 documents attached)
Detailed individual Terms of Reference were produced for each of the five committees and three of the working groups. These were distributed prior to the meeting by the clerk.
A. Finance Asset & Risk Committee
B. Parish Hall Committee
C. Community Engagement Committee
D. Planning Committee
E. Staffing Committee
F. Neighbourhood Working Group
G. Heritage Working Group
H. Policy, Practices & Procedures Working Group
Using section 17 from the proposed CE Terms of Reference as an exemplar the clerk showed how each committee could spend a small allowance on items agreed by a minuted vote themselves within their own allocated budgets, without having to go through both the FAR committee and Full Council. Their purchases would be scrutinised by the FAR committee as usual and discussed at the next FC meeting. The council felt that they wanted to retain full collective responsibility for all expenditure prior to purchase and didn’t feel confident enough to give committees limited autonomy. It was decided not to implement the Terms of Reference (ToR) but to continue to present all unpaid invoices to the FAR committee prior to being presented to the Full Council for approval and payment.
40.1. Resolved: That all committees and working groups would not have Terms of Reference.
40.2. Resolved: That committees would not have any delegated spending ability.
40.3. Resolved: That all financial decisions would be taken collectively during Full Council meetings.
41. STRATEGIC PLAN 2024-2026 (including responsibilities and timeline) (SM) (attached)
SM presented a Strategic Plan for the Council which she had previously produced and distributed to the members for their suggestions and opinions. It was extremely well received. It appears to convey in a timeline-table almost all of the ideas and proposals that the council have been planning.
She led the discussion by saying that it shouldn’t be the responsibility of one person or just the full council collectively to lead on all the elements of the Strategic Plan. It was agreed that named committees/council will be responsible for producing a proposal to implement their element(s) of the Plan. Committees/council may form working groups to drive this element forward.
Three elements were still to be added: Car Park, Events and Grants.
It was agreed that each element should contain both a Mission and Vision Statement.
41.1. Resolved: That each committee/council have this item on their next agenda.
41.2. Resolved: That each committee/council produce a proposal for FC showing how to deliver their designated elements of the Plan.
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Minutes Approved by Chair / Acting Chair : …………………………… Date: ……………………………
Strategic Development
1
Community Council
Full Council
Strategic Development
2
Accessibility
Staffing
Strategic Development
3
Engagement
Community Engagement
Strategic Development
4
Increase use of the Parish Hall
Parish Hall Management
Strategic Development
5
Community Cafe
Parish Hall Management
Strategic Development
6
Organising Events
Community Engagement
Strategic Development
7
Community Transport
Community Engagement
Strategic Development
8
Enriching Health & Wellbeing
Community Engagement
Strategic Development
9
Planning & Environment
Planning
Strategic Development
10
Handyman
Staffing
42. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: ANNUAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
Thursday 16th May 2024 in the Parish Hall Meeting Room at 8.00pm
PRWhibley
Clerk BRPC