Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Parish Council
Held at the Jubilee Hall on Monday 22nd May 2023
at 8.15pm, following the Annual Parish Meeting
- Cllr. Wardley proposed Cllr. Lunn continued as Chair. This was seconded by Cllr. Steward and carried unanimously. Cllr Lunn was willing to be re-nominated and signed the Chair’s Declaration of Office.
- Cllr. Steward proposed Cllr. Wardley as Vice-Chair. This was seconded by Cllr. Lunn and carried unanimously. Cllr Wardley signed the Vice Chair’s Declaration of Office.
- Other Councillors signed their Declarations of Acceptance of Office.
- Cllr. Schofield sent her apologies for absence (illness) and these were accepted.
- Present
- Councillors Matthew Lunn (Chair), Robert Wardley, Sam Steward, John Calver, Vashti Mouncer, Geraldine Schofield, Kevin Shelver, Nick Hopewell-Smith, Doris Dearing
- Residents
- Shirley Cunningham, Mark Kendall
- County Councillor
- Stephen Burroughes (until item 11)
- District Councillors
- Owen Grey and Langdon-Morris
- Clerk
- Lydia Kirk
- There were no declarations of interest.
- The Minutes of the Council Meeting on 13th March 2023 were approved as a true record of the meeting.
- Cllr. Wardley reported on two matters arising from that meeting. The litter pick went ahead as planned and he passed his thanks on to members of the Women’s Institute Group who helped with this. He has had a very productive site meeting with a Highways Engineer to discuss various issues around the village and some of these have since been addressed.
- Appointment of Officers and Council Representatives
| Proposer | Seconder | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Responsible Financial Officer | L. Kirk | ML | RW |
| Examining Councillor | S. Steward | JC | ML |
| Tree Warden | K. Shelver | ML | SS |
| SALC Representative | G. Schofield | ML | SS |
| Health and Safety, Emergency Planning & Welfare Officer | R. Wardley | JC | KS |
Council Representatives with legal trustee responsibilities
| Dennington Jubilee Hall | S. Steward | RW | JC |
| Dennington Con. Charities | R. Wardley | KS | JC |
| Dennington Sports Club | S. Steward | ML | RW |
All appointments were approved unanimously.
Chair’s Report
The Chair’s report for the Annual Parish Meeting will be published on the village website.
Clerk’s Report
The planning application for The Leys as discussed at the Council’s last meeting has now been permitted. Councillors are encouraged to set up separate email addresses for Parish Council business to help with data protection and compliance and the clerk is happy to help Councillors do this. SALC has recently changed the format of its Councillor training sessions and attendance at these is recommended and there is a budget for this. Election expense forms must be completed and returned to East Suffolk Council before 1st June and Councillors must also complete their Interests Register online within 28 days of the election.
Responsible Financial Officer’s Report
- The following payments were approved:
| Reference | Amount | Payee | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| P01 23-24 | 30.00 | Dennington Village Hall | Hall hire May |
| P02 23-24 | 40.00 | ICO | Data Processor fee * |
| P03 23-24 | 176.00 | Trevor Brown | Internal audit |
| P06 23-23 | £4,200 | R. Gladwell | Replacement footbridge |
* The direct debit instruction is currently being processed
- The following payments made since the last meeting were noted:
| Reference | Amount | Payee | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| P04 23-24 | 208.43 | Robins Row Ltd | Mower insurance |
| P05 23-24 | 267.52 | SALC | Annual subscription |
- Funds received since the last meeting were noted:
| Date | Amount | Company | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28.04.2023 | £5,400 | East Suffolk Council | 1st payment of precept |
- The bank balances were as follows on 28th April 2023:
Community Account £10,869.88 Active Saver £6,585.96 Equipment Account £7,471.72 It was noted that £15,465.19 of this are reserved funds.
Item 13 was brought forward to ensure compliance with Annual Governance Statement 7 considered at item 12b.
Internal Auditors’ Report
The Internal Auditors’ Report on the 2022-2023 annual paperwork was considered. It was pleasing to note that there were no recommendations or causes for concern and the Chair and Vice Chair thanked the clerk for her hard work over the year which helped the Council receive such a positive auditor’s report.
Procedural
- Cllr. Wardley proposed accepting the audited accounts for the year ending 31st March 2023. This was seconded by Cllr. Calver and carried unanimously.
- The Chair read through the Annual Governance Statements and Councillors agreed each statement. Section One and Section Two (Accounting Statements) of the Local Councils’ Annual Return for year ending 31st March 2023 were duly completed. The annual paperwork will be published on the village website.
- The Council resolved to opt out of an External Audit as an exempt council following its positive report from the internal auditor. The Certificate of Exemption was completed and signed by the Chair and RFO.
- The Clerk went through the Statement of Significant Variances and this was accepted.
- Councillors confirmed their agreement to be summoned to meetings by email.
Policies Reviewed
- Standing Orders A minor amendment was made to the tender figure as recommended by NALC.
- No amendments were required to the Assets Register.
- Financial Regulations A minor amendment was made to footnote 11 regarding the tender figure as recommended by NALC.
- The Statement of Internal Control was considered effective and fit for purpose.
- Risk Assessments for Physical Assets There were no changes required.
- Financial Risk Assessment There were no changes required.
- Data Protection Policy There were no changes required.
Code of Conduct
The Local Government Association’s model Code of Conduct was re-adopted.
Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Report
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Report for 2022-2023 was approved.
Action: Clerk to send report to East Suffolk Council.
Internal Auditor Re-appointment
Cllr. Wardley proposed re-appointing Trevor Brown as the Council’s internal auditor for the year ending 31st March 2024. This was seconded by Cllr. Steward and carried unanimously. The Clerk noted her appreciation to the auditor for his detailed report and assistance throughout.
Highways and Footpath Issues
- Cllr. Calver commented that the hedge adjacent to the old Bell Pub is extending into the road. He will speak to the property owner in this regard, and the clerk will report it to SCC if the issue is not resolved.
- Cllr. Mouncer is concerned that visibility is restricted to the left as you leave the Village Hall and that this would be improved if this hedge could be cut back.
Community Lunch Report
The Chair gave a brief report on the recent community lunch to celebrate the recent Coronation and thanked everyone who helped to organise the event. Of the 252 Coronation mugs that the Parish Council ordered, 50 have been distributed to children living in the village. It was agreed to give a mug to all children who attend Dennington school even if they do not live in the village. The remaining 150 mugs can be sold at a cost of £4 which can be reviewed again if they do not all sell.
Correspondence
Correspondence received since the date of last meeting was considered. The Sports Club is again benefitting from business rates relief.
Reports from Councillors
There were no reports from councillors.
Public Forum
A resident submitted a written question, asking why the Speed Indicator Device along The Street is so frequently out of action. The Chair has since spoken to a nearby resident who has agreed to charge and replace the battery in order to resolve this.
Cllr. Schofield asked for two comments to be passed on at the meeting. She thinks that the communication regarding the ‘20s Plenty’ limit should be considered by the whole village. Cllr. Wardley responded that there is already a ‘20’s Plenty’ limit in place at the school so this is of little relevance to Dennington. He noted that this correspondence was not from Suffolk County Council itself. Cllr. Schofield also asked how East Suffolk Council is informing residents of the changes to its waste management operations. District Councillor Grey offered to look into this and it is thought that it will be detailed in the Council’s next newsletter that is delivered to each property. The Clerk will ask if it can go in the next village newsletter and on the website.
A resident asked if the date of the next meeting could be confirmed and the clerk responded that this will now be on Monday 24th July.
Cllr. Langdon-Morris was sad to report that Barclays Bank in Framlingham would be closing in August. He is meeting with representatives from the bank to see what they would be doing to support people who rely on this bank.
Matters to be Carried Over
There were no matters to be carried over to the next meeting.
Meeting Closure
The meeting was at this point closed to the public and clerk. The Chair explained to councillors the National Association of Local Councils’ National salary award for 2022-23 along with the associated pay scales and bandings. Cllr. Wardley provided some figures that other local councils are paying their clerks. Councillors discussed the clerk’s existing pay along with the bandings and felt it would be appropriate to increase the clerks salary based on the national agreement formula. Cllr. Hopewell-Smith proposed that the clerk’s salary should be based on the NALC scale range of LC2 substantive benchmark (SCPs 24-28) starting at the SCP band rate of 24. This was seconded by Cllr. Mouncer and unanimously agreed by all councillors, with the new pay commencing from 1st June 2023.
Next Meeting
The next meeting was confirmed as 7.30pm on 24th July 2023. There being no further business, the Chair thanked Councillors for attending and closed the meeting at 9.45pm.
Signed M. Lunn 24th July 2023
Chair Date