Annual Meeting of Swaton Parish Council - 7.30pm Tuesday May 16th 2023.
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH MEETING (Agenda is below) HELD ON TUESDAY MAY 16th, 2023 AT 7.30PM IN THE COMMUNITY HUT.
PRESENT: Cllr A Wilson, (Chairman) and the Clerk, 3 parish councillors, D/Cllr R Jackson, four members of the public. The Chairman opened the meeting and welcomed all present.
1. MINUTES OF MEETING, May 17th, 2022. Accepting Clerk’s Notes as Minutes. It was proposed by Cllr Mrs Penketh and seconded by Cllr Mrs Patrick that the Clerk’s Notes of May 17th, 2022 meeting, which had been circulated, be accepted as a true record. All who were present agreed, resolution passed, the chairman signed the Minutes.
2. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT FOR 2022/23.
We seemed to have crammed in a lot over the past 12 months with the highlights being the celebration of Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee on 5th June. The Parish Council was able to contribute towards the building of a beacon and a party in the park to mark the occasion.
We then had the sad news on 8th September that the Queen had passed away at the age of 96 and we have just celebrated the coronation of her heir, Charles III, at the beginning of May.
The Parish Council has seen some changes over the period with both Mrs C Farley and Mr N Eaves being co-opted into the Parish Council in July bringing up the number for Councillors to the full quota of 7. Unfortunately this was short lived with Mrs Farley having to stand down in November.
I want to thank Cllr. Patrick for her first year as Finance Officer, Cllr Campion for making and installing a mini book library for the village and a special thank you to our long standing Clerk Mrs S McIntyre who tirelessly guides the Council on its legal duties, governance and administrative paperwork.
I also want to thank Cllr. Penketh for her successful application to the Sleaford REP Community Power Fund which was awarded at the end of 2022. This fund was used to purchase seating for the smaller children in the form of a caterpillar and three new picnic tables, two of which access for wheelchairs. These were installed in early May with help from a volunteer workforce from the village. A massive thank you to all those who helped over that weekend. We have made use of the artificial grass, that was kindly donated by Smiths Construction, under the new equipment and also to cover over the muddy patch in front of the football goals.
After several years of campaigning, Joff Parsons, myself and Cllr. G Frizzell from Helpringham Parish Council, managed to secure sufficient commitment from residents both in Swaton and Helpringham to sign up to the Government’s Gigabit scheme to secure full Fiber To The Premises from BT which should be installed by this November.
Swaton also hosted on 14th November one of the public consultation sessions with Anglia Water covering the new Lincolnshire Reservoir proposal, which was well supported.
This year, the Parish Council reluctantly took the decision to increase the annual precept as, despite careful control and limiting of spending, it is currently running at a deficit which needs to be addressed.
On 4th May we had local elections which did not include voting for our Parish Council as there were only 4 of the existing councillors that put themselves forward to stand again. Cllr Richardson has taken the decision to step down after 21 years on the Council making him the longest ever serving councillor. I want to thank him for his contribution over this time and I hope he will attend the occasional council meeting to provide us with an update on the reservoir
And finally, I wanted to thank Robert Brown for his continuation in the roll of our village litter picker.
3. FINANCIAL ANNUAL REPORT. 2022/23
The Council commenced the year with funds of £5481.
The Council received a total of £5803 in income during the year. £2250 precept, £527 grass cutting and litter picking grants, a VAT reclaim of £435 and £26 bank interest.
Additional picnic benches and children’s seating were installed in the playpark. This was funded through a successful grant application. The balance of this grant funding will be spent in the 2023/4 financial year.
The Council supported the village Platinum Jubilee celebrations with a £500 contribution. £180 was unspent and has been repaid to the Council account.
The total expenditure for the year was £5541. The Clerk’s salary and PAYE totalled £1845, Clerk’s expenses were £138, insurance and subscriptions £450 and litter picking £45. The balance was made up of the purchase of play equipment and associated expenses.
The value of all the assets the Council owns rose from £67738 to £71032 during the year.
At the close of the financial year 2022/23 there was £5743 in the Council account. We are required to maintain a level of reserves sufficient to support any elections and cover unforeseen circumstances during the financial year.
As the Council’s 2022/23 turnover was less than £25000, the regulations mean that we can certify ourselves exempt from a limited assurance review under Section 9 of the Local Audit (Smaller Authorities) Regulations 2015. Swaton Parish Council accounts have been independently audited bu Bill Marshall, our Internal Auditor.
Please note that the audited accounts will be available to view on the Council website
https://swaton.parish.lincolnshire.gov.uk shortly.
The accounts will be available to view upon request from Monday 5 June to Friday 14 July 2023. Details of how to access these will be displayed on the Council noticeboard and on the website (as above).
All figures in this report are rounded to the nearest £.
4. ANNUAL REPORTS FROM VISITING REPRESENTATIVES – D/Cllr Jackson submitted a report to the parish council meeting which followed this meeting.
5. PUBLIC DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONING.
Mr C Richardson gave an update on the reservoir. Licenses are being issue regarding testing, though not agreed yet around Swaton.
He also explained recent flood alleviation works. A ‘mock flood’ during the winter provided some testing. The work is already over budget. Mr Richardson felt the system will work, and further alleviation work will take place around Threekingham. It is likely he will manage the sluice gates in the event of a flood.
6. CLOSE THE MEETING – any relevant issues will be taken forward to a future Parish Council Meeting. The chairman thanked everyone for their input and closed the meeting at 7.45pm.
NOTICE OF MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL
Dear Councillor
I hereby give you notice that the Annual Meeting of Swaton Parish Council will be held at 7.45pm on Tuesday May 16th 2023. All members of the parish council are hereby summoned to attend for the purpose of considering and resolving upon the business to be transacted at the meeting as set out hereunder. Public can attend from 7.30pm - Members of the public may also attend this meeting as observers, but will not be allowed to speak during the transaction of the business after it commences at 7.45pm.
1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.
2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST, if any. DECLARATIONS OF ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE – signed declarations.
3. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN. Chairman signs Chairman’s Declaration of Acceptance.
4. ELECTION OF VICE CHAIRMAN AND R.F.O.
5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - Clerks’ Notes from the meeting of March 21st 2023, – accepting as Minutes, to be signed when possible.
6. 3 COUNCILLORS STILL REQUIRED FOLLOWING THE ELECTION. Agree to start the co-option process to fill the vacancies.
7. REPORT(S) FROM VISITING REPRESENTATIVE(S), if any.
8. COUNCIL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. Council Standing Orders, Financial Regs and other policies and procedures. Accept and/or agree to update. All published on the web site.
9. COUNCILLOR RESPONBILITIES. Details of current responsibilities are at the end of this Agenda. Agree areas of responsibility for 2012/22.
10. INSURANCE. The PC’s insurance is due for renewal June 1st, details have been circulated.
11. PLAYPARK TREES. Update on communication with Crown Estates.
12. HECKINGTON SOLAR PARK. Correspondence received. Meeting arranged Wednesday May 17th, 7.30pm in the Hut.
13. FINANCE –
• Monthly report from RFO, including signing of Cheques/Approval of BACS payments. Note and Accept. Note and accept the Asset Register.
• End of Year reconciliation – to Note and Accept.
• Resolve to appoint Internal Auditor for 2023/4 financial year.
• AUDIT 2021/22
a) AGAR Part 2 Certificate of Exemption. Note and agree to submit to External Auditor.
b) Section 1, Annual Governance Statement. Answer and agree that it should be signed.
c) Section 2, Accounting Statements. Note and Agree that it should be signed.
d) Internal Auditor Report – to Note.
e) Public Period of inspection – to Note.
14. CLERK’S REPORT.
• LALC bulletins circulated. LALC seeking nominations for their Management Committee.
• Low branches north end of village. Update.
15. DATE OF NEXT MEETING.
7.30pm - Tuesday July 18th, Tuesday September 19th and Tuesday November 21st.
Current Areas of Responsibility and Vacancies:
Police/Speeding/ASB. Cllr Mrs Penketh.
Play area. Cllr Mrs Penketh, Cllr Wilson.
Road and path lighting. Cllr Mrs Patrick
Grants and Fund Raising. Cllr Mrs Penketh,
Planning/Open Spaces. Cllr Campion
Responsible Finance Officer. Cllr Mrs Patrick
Footpaths and Bridleways. Cllr Mrs Patrick.
Flooding Liaison. Cllr Richardson.
Tidy Village. Vacant
Health and Safety Officer Vacant