PARISH COUNCIL OF NEWLANDS
MINUTES OF THE FINANCE AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON THURSDAY
17 JUNE AT NEWLANDS COMMUNITY HALL, NEWLANDS AVENUE, WATERLOOVILLE, PO7
3BX ON 17 JUNE 2021 COMMENCING AT 7. 30pm
Members: Cllr L Price (Chair) (P) Cllr O Barneveld (P)
Cllr A Carden (P) Cllr D Crichton (P)
Cllr A Kirby (P)
Also present was Karen Seear, Clerk to the Council.
013/22F Apologies: All Councillors were present.
014/22F Declarations of Interest: There were no declarations of interest made.
015/22F Minutes of the previous meeting: The minutes from the Finance Committee Meeting dated 6 May
2021 were received. It was unanimously RESOLVED that the minutes of the Finance
Committee meeting be accepted as an accurate record and were duly signed by the Chair.
016/22F Public participation: There was no requirement for a public session.
017/22F Correspondence:
None.
018/22F Appointment of Vice-Chair: Cllr A Kirby volunteered for the position of Vice-Chair. It was
UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to appoint Cllr A Kirby as Vice-Chair. Cllr D Crichton wished
to stand down as a member of the Committee and Cllr O Barneveld was appointed as member.
NOTED.
019/22F Amended Financial Procedures: The Chairman read out the proposed new terms of the Financial
regulations. He suggested that quotes received should be quotes and not estimates. The
recommendations will be given consideration at the next Full Council meeting. NOTED.
020/22F Financial Allocations from previous year: A brief discussion took place. It was agreed that
financial allocations will change over a period of time, as and when the Council adopts more space.
NOTED.
021/22F Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR): The Chairman read out a related
statement concerning the way the AGAR is currently performed. He queried whether the Parish
Council’s requirement was still current in line with current guidelines due to the way the Council is
funded. Cllr D Crichton suggested that the matter be referred to the next meeting of Southern
Parishes for clarification. He also suggested that Council write to other neighbouring parishes to ask
what their procedure is. NOTED.
022/22F Review of budget, excluding reserves: The current budget remains unchanged. The Chairman
circulated copies of the budget. He had updated the layout and a breakdown of the precept could be
included. NOTED.
023/22F Amenities:
a) Additional funding for youth shelter. The Chairman gave the budget figure which had
been set aside for the Amenities spend. The extra funding was agreed at Full Council. There
had been a hold up receiving more information from the manufacturer. The Clerk will
continue to chase and bring this matter back to the next meeting. NOTED.
b) Review and amendment of the Community Asset Reserve. A list of required items had
previously been a list drafted and approved by Full Council. There is one future matter,
which will need funding, and that is the new community centre. The centre will require
internal furniture, fixtures, and fittings. Denmead and the Waterlooville Community Centre
should be approached, to enquire as to what will be required, this will then need to be costed,
but with an addition for future increases in cost due to the timescales. NOTED.
024/22F Open Space: The planned walk around of the area will be taking place on Friday 25th June. Any
issues may be raised there. NOTED.
025/22F Finance required for open space adoption: The requirement for a solicitor was discussed. The
Clerk had contacted the previous Clerk to ask for advice with regards to this and had been given
several contacts. The cost is expected to be high but necessary. It is expected the responsibility of
maintenance for the open space to transfer to the Parish during the summer. Cllr D Crichton
suggested asking whether a solicitor would be available and secondly asking for an estimated cost.
Cllr A Kirby clarified the reserve figure for this process, there are reserve amounts for both the land
adoption and legal fees. The Chairman queried what expenditure will be going forward. Cllr A
Kirby suggested that this matter be clarified by the Amenities Committee. He also suggested carrying
on for the time being with the current maintenance contractors. The Clerk will research solicitor
costs and bring these back to the next Amenities meeting for discussion. NOTED.
026/22F Review and amendment of the Open Space Reserve: This matter was covered in the previous
item.
027/22F Highway and General Purpose Sub Committee Funding: Cllr D Crichton suggested that this item
may be being considered a little prematurely as it has yet to be decided whether the council is looking
to include people from outside the Council for sub-committees. He suggested that as and when
costings arise this information should then be considered by Council. NOTED.
028/22F Amended Grant award procedure, and set maximum current year awards: The maximum grant
payable is £8.32 per elector. The budget has currently been set at £1000. The maximum budget for
the grant requires updating. The Chairman stated that the Council requires a S137 form for anyone
wishing to apply for a grant. It was confirmed that the Council already has the required forms and
understands the requirements regarding the regulations. If there are any future changes this will be
reviewed as and when necessary. NOTED.
029/22F Financial Management of Community Hall: It has yet to have been determined what proportion
of the shared utility costs of the community building are going to be. Current restrictions have meant
that this information is slow to come through. It was suggested that the Clerk write a formal letter to
ask Grainger if they had any more information regarding the matter. NOTED.
The second matter concerns the Waterlooville Area Community Association. It was asked to
determine whether or not the Council are able to offer the community hall for hire and if not when to
expect to be able to offer the facility. Grainger had advised that the hall should remain closed in line
with Government guidelines as there is no way to monitor the use of shared facilities within the
building. The Clerk was asked to contact WACA for clarification on this matter. NOTED.
The agreement with WACA for the running of the community hall was spoken about. WACA hires
the hall on behalf of the Council. WACA are paid for the administration management. The Council
then receives the balance. Cllr D Crichton suggested that the Council confirm this is still the way the
hall is managed. NOTED.
Cllr A Carden asked what is the situation with the Community Hall bank account. The Clerk reported
that there had been little activity, there had only been a couple of invoices for cleaning and
administration.
Cllr D Crichton questioned whether once the temporary community building is no longer required
and the Council is able to use the district hall, currently some 4-5 years away, will Grainger discharge
their contribution money subject the section 106 agreement? It was queried whether there may still
be some section 106 monies left outstanding. Cllr A Carden suggested that the matter be raised by
both the Planning and Finance and Personnel Committee. NOTED.
030/22F Assets: Cllr A Carden pointed out that the lease for the Community building was not currently listed
as an asset. NOTED. He requested that this item be added to the asset register.
The Chairman wished to note that deprecation was not currently included. Cllr A Kirby queried
whether depreciation should be added to the Council’s asset register. It was agreed that replacement
costs do need consideration. Cllr D Crichton suggested that plans are made ahead to consider both
replacement of current assets and additional purchases. A discussion took place regarding how the
depreciation subject should be handled. It was suggested that there be a depreciation policy made
available and the asset register figures stay fixed. The Chairman was concerned that there may not
be sufficient funds being put by to allow for depreciation. Cllr A Kirby suggested that as and when
items require replacing they be factored into the current year in which the requirement of the item
falls into. Cllr A Carden proposed that moving forward, depreciation is not included in any of the
budget constituents and that the matter be taken as a vote by the Committee. He asked the Chairman
if it could be moved to a vote. It was then RESOLVED by a majority to not include depreciation
into the budget constituents at this time.
031/22F Future Year Forecast:
a) The criteria for next year’s budget will be based on a correlation between last year and the
current, as this will be more accurate. This will show residents that the funding they provide,
does not generate excessive reserves. Every item should be considered on an RPI increase.
When the next budget is drawn up the council will require extra item, benches, litter bins
etc.. Cllr A Carden mentioned a list that the Highways Committee had been working on
which identifies these items. NOTED.
The rate of spend will be determined by how fast the Council takes on open space land.
b) Reserve proposal and rules: This item had previously been covered. NOTED.
032/22F Finance:
a) Orders for payment It was unanimously RESOLVED that the payments detailed on the
Orders for Payment (list 03) should be APPROVED in the sum of £72.00
including VAT and that receipts of £0.00 are noted. Further payments of £190.60
(including VAT) made since the last orders of payment were RATIFIED.
Cllr A Kirby wished to note that should the Council are still paying for Zoom the video
conferencing subscription. Should the subscription be cancelled as meetings are now face to
face. It was UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED to include the matter for discussion at the
next meeting of Full Council.
b) Bank Statements: The May bank statements had been previously circulated. The statements
were reviewed and the balances as at May 2021 were agreed. The statements were signed by
the Chairman. NOTED.
c) Accounts: The accounts to 31 May 2021 had been previously circulated. NOTED.
033/22F Coloration of statements to accounts: The Chairman drew the Committee’s attention to the
drafted accounts. As is shown on the budget statement there is a reconciled general account entry.
An error checking procedure could be put in place, as it will hi-light any errors. NOTED.
034/22F Other reports: There were two items relevant to the computer assets.
The Chairman noted that there is currently no budget for the funding for additional, or replacement
computer software. Software is not an asset, so cannot be included as such. Software is a
consumable item. If and when any additional software is required it will come to the committee for
consideration. NOTED.
The Chairman also suggested that the Clerk’s laptop and office set up may not currently meet health
and safety requirements. He suggested purchasing an additional two monitors for use by the Clerk.
It was asked whether the council’s health and safety representative, Cllr A Berry could carry out
checks on the Clerk’s desk and equipment to check and determine what may be required and to report
back to the next meeting. NOTED.
035/22F It was RESOLVED that in accordance with the Public Bodies (admission to meetings) Act 1960
to exclude the public and press for discussions regarding personnel matters where publicity
might be prejudicial to the special nature of the business.
The meeting closed at 9.09 pm. The next Finance Committee meeting will be held on Thursday 29
July 2021.
036/22F Exempt Business
Appointment of a Parish Amenities Warden:
The Committee discussed whether the application stage should be extended. As no shortlisting could
take place, due to lack of applicants with the required skills.
Cllr A Carden suggested that the job title and job spec be changed in order to attract the right type of
candidate.
It was agreed to re-advertise the position and any extra funding also agreed. NOTED.