Minutes of a virtual meeting of Essington Parish Council

held on 01 March 2021 commencing at 7pm

Present EP860

Councillor Steel, Chairman

Councillor Haddon, Vice Chairman

Councillors Cornfield, S Curtis, Dodd, Fisher, Kelly, Lester, Nicklin, Porter and Southern

In attendance

Mary Danby, Locum Clerk

Louise Tipler, Acting Clerk

Public Forum

No members of the public were present, no questions had been submitted prior to the meeting.

Apologies

Councillor A Curtis.

Declarations of interest

Councillor Kelly declared a prejudicial interest in Minute No. 5 (Kelly Tots Nursery).

Minutes

RESOLVED That the Minutes of the meeting held on 08 February 2021 be approved as an accurate record.

Matters arising from previous Minutes

None raised.

Correspondence

Staffordshire County Council Digital Team

The new email domain will be active in the near future.

Pharmacy – Use of the Community Centre as a Vaccination Centre after 21 June 2021

Deferred to the next Management meeting.

Kelly Tots Manager regarding looking at creating safe access for children across the car park.

Deferred to the next Management meeting.

Tree at High Hill – the Tree Surgeon had confirmed that the tree is unsafe. The District Council are obtaining a quotation on the council’s behalf for the tree to be felled – it was noted that there would be an additional charge for this work.

Forest of Mercia – offer of trees from the Community Forest

The council agreed to accept the offer which includes planting and the first year’s maintenance.

District Councillors’ report

The Local Government Boundary Review Commission for England are undertaking a boundary review and are looking to reduce the number of councillors, they will also look at Ward boundaries.

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The council noted that the Bank balance as at 26 February 2021 was £107,938.30.

Policies and Procedures

8.1 RESOLVED That the following policies and procedures be approved (nine for, one abstention):

Financial

Statement of Internal Control and Annual Review of Effectiveness of Internal Control

Risk Assessment

Data Protection

Councillor Privacy Notice

Data Security Breach Reporting Form

Document Retention and Disposal Policy

Data Audit

Email Contact Privacy Notice EP862

Information and Data Protection Policy

Privacy Impact Assessment Form

Publication Scheme

Social Media and Electronic Communication Policy

Subject Access Request Form

The Management of Transferable Data Policy

General Policies

Dignity at Work, Bullying and Harassment

Disciplinary Procedure

Grievance Procedure

Lone Working Policy and Guidance

Sickness and Absence Policy

Whistle Blowing Policy

Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy

Community Engagement Policy

Code of Practice for Handling Complaints

Environmental Policy

Equal Opportunities Policy

Health & Safety Policy (temporary policy pending receipt of H&S documentation from Peninsula)

Members and Officers Subsistence / Mileage Policy

Openness and Transparency Policy

Risk Management Policy

Training Policy

8.2 Asset Register

Deferred to an additional meeting of the Full Council to be held on 29 March.

8.3 Councillors S Curtis, Dodd, Fisher, Lester and Steel agreed to meet face to face as soon as possible to review all the above policies and procedures and recommend to the council any amendments necessary to suit the council’s needs.

Standing Orders

RESOLVED That the following be added as Standing Order No. 16 and that the remaining Standing Orders be re-numbered as appropriate:

16. Delegation of Authority

The council will delegate authority to the Clerk in consultation with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman (or other councillors should one or the other be indisposed) to take any actions necessary with associated expenditure to protect the interests of the community and ensure council business continuity during the period of an emergency situation, informed by consultation with members of the council. All decisions to be minuted appropriately. Delegated authority to cease upon the first face to face meeting of the council.

Earmarked Reserves

Deferred to an additional meeting of the Full Council to be held on 29 March.

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Re-appointment of Internal Auditor EP863

RESOLVED That Alan Toplis Associates be re-appointed to act as the council’s internal auditor for the 2020/21 and 201/22 financial years. (Nine for, one abstention)

Outsourced payroll service

Deferred to the April meeting of the council to enable comparative quotations to be obtained.

1911 Café licence

It was noted that this should be concluded in the near future.

Skip hire

It was noted that there was a lot of furniture, etc in the Community Centre which needed to cleared and that some of the items belonged to the various groups and businesses that use the Centre.

AGREED That:

Groups be given until the end of March to take away unwanted items or identify anything that they wanted to keep.

Delegated authority be given to the Chairman and Clerk to arrange for a skip when necessary.

It was also noted that the Bar area needs to be cleaned and made ready for business from 21 June when the lockdown restrictions should be lifted by the Government.

Payment card

It was noted that this was progressing and should be available in the near future.

Street Buddies

Deferred to the next Management Meeting.

Food Bank

It was noted that there is a lot of food in the Council Chamber which should not be allowed to go out of date; that the Rugby Club and the council are still holding funds for the Food Bank.

AGREED That the Food Bank volunteers will liaise to co-ordinate a rota and the open hours will be publicised as widely as possible.

Swan Park Sub-Committee

An update was given confirming that the £11,000 insurance claim had been received and that the Sub-Committee had agreed on its preferred piece of replacement equipment. A metal fence and gate need to be installed to the front of the park before the new equipment is installed. The possibility of a path to be installed around the park was to be explored with Bovis Homes. Funding pledges had been made from various sources and the council has included £15,000 in the 2021/22 budget for the park.

RESOLVED That the Swan Park Sub-Committee be given delegated authority to proceed with ordering the preferred piece of play equipment and to apply for planning permission if required for the fencing to the front of the park.

Staff Contracts Sub-Committee

Meeting to be arranged.

Essington Pools Sub-Committee EP864

An update was given on signage for the pools, permit renewals and the arrangements for issuing permits for the 2021/22 season.

RESOLVED That the permit renewals fee be frozen at the 2020/21 rate for 2021/22; the arrangements for issuing permits remain unchanged for 2021/22.

Management Meeting – Agenda items

Essington Show 2021

Comparative locksmith quotes

Date of next meeting

The next ordinary meeting of the Full Council will be held on Tuesday 06 April.

The meeting closed at 9pm