Minutes of the Annual Council Meeting Held in Lindsey Village Hall

Minutes of the Annual Council Meeting held on Wednesday 8^th May 2024 in Lindsey Village Hall, Church Road, Lindsey which commenced at 7.32pm.

In attendance: Cllrs. C Arthey (in Chair), R Corcoran, M Hainsworth, B Howe, R Howe, J Moore and A Sturgeon and Mrs V Waples, Parish Clerk.

1. Election of Chair

Following acceptance his nomination, the meeting resolved to approve Councillor Arthey as Chair for the year 2024-2025. Cllr. Arthey signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office for the position.

2. Opening and Welcome

The Chair, Cllr. Arthey, opened the meeting and thanked all for attending. The statement on reporting at meetings of the parish council was taken as read.

3. Apologies of Absence

There were no applicable apologies of absence as all were present.

4. Declaration of Members Interest

To receive declarations of registrable, other and non-registerable interests as detailed in Appendix B of the LGA Model Code of Conduct Model Code of Conduct 2020 – there were no declarations of interests.
There were no declarations of gifts of hospitality received exceeding £50.
There were no requests for dispensations for the agenda under discussion.

5. Minutes of Previous Meetings

To approve the minutes of the following Council Meetings:
- 13^th March 2024 - the meeting agreed that the circulated minutes, following an amendment to the list of attendees, were a true and accurate record of the meeting that took place and agreement was forthcoming for the Chair to sign the minutes, aif.

6. Public Forum

To receive comments from the public on the agenda as published – there were no members of the public present.
To receive comments from the public as submitted: speeding within the village within the 30mph zone – no further comments had been received.

7. Parish Matters

To receive updates on items raised at previous meetings:

Climate awareness / climate emergency – to receive an update / information on Climate related issues coming forth – Cllr. Sturgeon provided a summary which included: continued attendance at the Heating Bildeston group meetings. Funds for a Feasibility study to heat the Bildeston Surgery and Primary School have been sourced. – Locogen (expert in construction and operation of renewable energy systems) blueprint was being explored as to how energy can be shared with small local communities. Should the opportunity arise, the council might want to look at where a small solar array could be sited. More details on community initiatives were being explored on the back of the Energy Bill passing through parliament. Update of the second thermal imaging project was very small. Consideration was being given to the conducting of a feasibility study for wind generation with vertical turbo as opposed to horizontal.
To receive an update on the project to amend the Speed Limit on the A1141 between Hadleigh and Semer – funding sourced, statutory public consultation now completed.
To receive updates concerning the area of speeding within the village within the 30mph zone – no updates had been received from members of the public.

8. Statutory Business

Financial Regulations 2024 – all noted that the revised financial regulations, not having yet been issued, would be presented for adoption at a future meeting – possibly July 2024.
To agree to the annual subscriptions for the year ending 31st March 2025: County Association membership fee; data protection fee; Microsoft Office 365; anti-virus protection fee – all agreed to the renewal of the annual subscriptions to the limits in the budget set for the year 2024-2025, aif.

9. Correspondence

SCC – to receive an update on the Bus Service Improvement Plan 2 Stakeholder Led Schemes – all were advised to review the link for more information.
Greenest County Community Newsletter – Council noted receipt of the newsletter. Cllr. Sturgeon made all aware of the HEAT (Hadleigh Environmental Action Team) group in Hadleigh which was a community group set up to do explore practical measures to deal with climate change and the environment in the local area.
BMSDC – CIL Bid Round 13 – all noted that the CIL Bid Round 13 was now opened for bids and would close to new applications at 12.00pm on 31st May 2024.
BMSDC – Town and Parish Updates – all confirmed that the monthly updates are emailed to Councillors.
SALC – all confirmed that the weekly news bulletins are emailed to Councillors and that all would contact the Clerk if there were any items of interest.
East Anglian Air Ambulance – all noted the thank you letter received from the organisation following the donation given under the GPoC.

10. Clerk’s Financial Report

To consider schedule of receipts received and payments made since the last meeting – Paper A – all confirmed receipt of Paper A (details can be seen at Appendix A). It was noted that the Clerk’s expenses included the reimbursement of the street furniture licence for the stone setts to be located at the verges in Lindsey Tye (locations can be found at: ///damage.manly.makes & ///depth.retained.stilted), which would be allocated against council’s CIL monies. The clerk confirmed that County Cllr. Finch had offered £1,500 from his locality budget towards the costs involved.
To consider and approve the verified items awaiting authorization as per the schedule submitted – Paper B – all noted that there was no expenditure settled via the internet banking system since the last meeting for approval.
To consider the Council's financial position to date – Paper B – Council noted the reconciled position of £10,930.03 once the accounts awaiting payment had been settled, aif. Cllrs. Corcoran and Hainsworth confirmed that they had verified the position against the bank statements and cashbook at the next meeting.
To consider the actual versus budget for the period ending May 2024 - Paper D – the clerk confirmed that as there had been no movement through the account in terms of expenditure, this item would be reconsidered at the next meeting.
To note receipt from the District Council of the first tranche of precept for the year 2024-2025 in the sum of £2,891.00 – this was so noted by the council.

11. Year End Processes

To consider the following as part of the council’s year-end processes:

To receive and approve the Annual Internal Audit Report for the Year ending 31^st March 2024 – Paper E – the meeting received and accepted the internal audit report as produced and asked that the minutes reflect the comments raised within 15.1 “I would like to record my appreciation to the Clerk/RFO for her assistance during the course of the audit work and for presenting the documents for audit to a very high standard”.
To consider and decide the actions to be taken following the recommendations arising from the Internal Audit Report – the comment relating to the reduction in council’s general reserves was noted with agreement forthcoming from the meeting that the position had been regularised for the year 2024-2025.
To receive and approve the Payments & Receipts Account for the year ending 31st March 2024 – Paper F & Supporting Statements to the Accounts – it was agreed that overall the Payments and Receipts Accounts including the accompanying statement be accepted and permission was given for the Chair and Clerk to sign the relevant paperwork, aif. A copy of the Receipts and Payments account can be found on the Council website: https://lindsey.suffolk.cloud/parish-council/council-finances/
To note the Bank Reconciliation for the year ending 31^st March 2024 – Paper G – the meeting noted and confirmed acceptance of the year end bank balances as £9,636.87, aif.
To consider and approve the Annual Governance Statement for 2023/2024 as per Section 1 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Guide (AGAR) – the meeting agreed that having reviewed the statements all could be answered in the affirmative and the Chair and Clerk were given permission to sign Section 1, aif.
To consider and approve the Accounting Statements for 2023/2024 as per Section 2 of the AGAR – Contained within Paper H – the accounting statements for 2022/23 were received and accepted as reflecting the Council’s overall financial position, aif. A copy of the AGAR can be found on the Council website: https://lindsey.suffolk.cloud/parish-council/council-finances/
To consider and approve the recommendation that having fulfilled the criteria required, Council considers itself exempt from a Limited Assurance Review – Contained within Paper H – as the Council was a smaller authority where the higher of all gross annual income or gross annual expenditure did not exceed £25,000, and that it met the qualifying criteria as set out in the Certificate of Exemption, it was able to declare itself exempt from sending the completed Annual Governance and Accountability Return to the external auditor for a limited assurance review. Council approved the exemption confirming that it met the requirements, aif.
Should Agenda Item 11h) be so approved, that delegated authority be given to the Chair to sign the Certificate of Exemption exempting the Council from a Limited Assurance Review for the year 2023/2024 – Contained within Paper H – aif – as council had consented to apply for exemption, the Chair and Clerk were authorised to sign the certificate for onward submission to the external auditors by the due date of 1^st July 2024.
To receive the dates from the RFO of the period for the exercise of public rights and the publication requirements of the Annual Governance and Accountability Guide for the year ending 31^st March 2024 - Paper I – the meeting noted that the clerk had set the dates as 3^rd June until 12^th July 2024 and that all relevant data would be uploaded to the council’s website prior to that date in accordance with the prevailing legislation.

12. Clerk’s Report

To receive an update on the repairs to the parish and village noticeboards – the Clerk confirmed that due to work pressures, the noticeboards had not yet been completed but agreement was forthcoming that they would be collected shortly, and the repairs completed.
Improvements to the two triangles near the Rose Pub - Drakestone Lane Junction and outside Old Forge Cottage – the clerk confirmed that she had received and paid for the street licence to place the stone setts at these junctions as the proposed works had been signed off by SCC Highways Department. She had requested and obtained confirmation that Cllr. James Finch would offer £1,500 from his Highways Locality Budget and that the balance would be funded from CIL (approx. £3,000).

13. Planning Matters

To consider the following planning applications: none had been received at the time of submission of the agenda.
To note the following planning applications determined by the local planning authority: none had been received at the time of submission of the agenda.

14. Parish Councillors’ Reports

The following reports on village issues were received from Councillors present:

Cllr Hainsworth stated that the remedial works to the flooding outside of Red Rose appeared to have worked.
Cllr Hainsworth made all aware that a hardstanding for access for wheelchairs would soon be installed at the Community Farm.
Cllr Sturgeon asked that thanks to given to Dairy Farms for their recent ditching works undertaken.
Cllr Sturgeon asked that thanks also be offered to the chair for recent ditching works undertaken.
D Day celebration 6^th June – 21.15pm – all agreed that this should be advertised as widely as possible. A risk assessment will be carried out prior to lighting.
Cllr. Moore reported that the flooding issue at Rose Green crossroads appeared to have been improved. All noted that this was a temporary fix until a more permanent solution could be implemented.
Cllr. Moore and Hainsworth reported that flooding by Chapel Barn appeared to be in abeyance although it is noted that the pipe under the driveway appeared to be blocked in the area of the electrical wire.

15. Date of Next Meeting

All meetings will take place in the Village Hall, Church Road, Lindsey.

To note the dates of meetings for 2024 – 17^th July, 11^th September and 13^th November.

16. Close of Meeting

There being no other business the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 20.38pm.

Appendix A – Financial Report

Items received since the last meeting:

Income Description	Nett	VAT	Gross	Ref
08.04.24 BDC – precept 1 of 2	2891.00	0.00	2891.00	BACS

Total Income £2891.00

Items Paid out since the last meeting:

Income Description	Nett	VAT	Gross	Ref
Nil	0.00	0.00	0.00	DD

Total Expenditure £NIL

Items Authorized for Payment:

Expenditure Description	Nett	VAT	Gross	Ref
Clerk’s Salary & Expenses	886.75	0.00	886.75	BACS
Nedging Hall Estate ½ cost of Defibrillator	375.00	75.30	450.00	BACS
SALC Annual Subscription	141.09	0.00	141.09	BACS
Suffolk Cloud Website hosting	120.00	0.00	120.00	BACS

Total Expenditure £1,597.84

Financial Report

Date	£
Opening Balance 01.04.24	9636.87
Add Income Received April – May	2891.00
Less Expenditure Incurred April – May	0.00
Less Verified Expenditure 08.05.24	1597.84
Closing Balance 08.05.24	10930.03

Bank Reconciliation

Community Account	£
Statement at 29.04.24	12527.87
Less uncleared payments At 08.05.24	1597.84
Plus unaccredited income At 08.05.24	0.00
Reconciled Total At 08.05.24	10930.03

Within the balance above are the following reserves:

(Restricted) CIL reserve - £7,720.18
Earmarked General reserve - £1,000.00
Election reserve - £836.59
Current year reserve - £1,908.26