Minutes of the Finance Committee held remotely on 25 July 2023 commencing at 6.30pm.

Present:. Cllr’s D Harrison, S Philpin, S Richmond and I Spiller.

In attendance:  Gail Jewell

1. To receive apologies for absence.  Cllr’s C Davies and P King.

2. Representation from members of the public.  None.

3.   To receive Declarations of Interest (if any) of Members in respect of the business to be transacted.

Cllr I Spiller – Declared an Interest in relation to any discussions on Broadlands Fun Day as Chair of Broadlands Hub.

4.    Approval of minutes.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting that took place on 27 June 2023 be approved as a true and accurate record, proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr S Philpin.

5.    Finance update

       Resolved:

• Members noted the Bank Reconciliation summary for June 2023.
• The committee approved payments made during June 2023, which were presented with the agenda which included vouchers numbers 94 – 142.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr D Harrison.
• The committee approved receipts received during June 2023, which were presented with the agenda which included voucher numbers 43 – 74.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr S Richmond.
• The committee approved a list of salary payments made in June 2023 which were presented with the agenda.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr S Philpin.
• The committee noted the update on Broadlands Fun Day spend to date.

The following queries were raised relating to the payment list:

• It would be useful to outline the charge period for all invoices.  I.e., Monthly, quarterly, and annually.
• Payments made to D R Cleaning – Clerk to investigate options for reducing the cleaning costs for Bryntirion & Laleston Community Centre and report back to the Finance Committee.
• To investigate transferring the domain and other services supplied by Mr A Bateman for Laleston.com to the Good IT Company.
• To investigate amalgamating services of both insurance companies to possibly reduce premium costs.
• Clerk to investigate utility costs relief for businesses and report back to the Finance Committee.

The following comments were made in relation to the receipt list:

• Clerk to investigate charges for Bryntirion & Laleston Community Centre and look to compare with other local centres/halls and possibly introduce a tiered charging system.

6.    To review the Budget Monitoring Statement for Q1.

Resolved:  The Finance Committee agreed to:

1)    allocate the spend of £5,000 budgeted for the allotment running costs and £5,000 allocated to Biodiversity Improvements to the Biodiversity and Allotment Committee.

2)    amend and realign the budget lines for the current income and expenditure for the Community Pantry.

3)    remove the reserve of £15,000 for Banc Yr Allt.

4)    increase the play area maintenance to £25,000 which is inline with current spending commitments.

5)    increase the spend for Laleston Well to £13,300 and transfer from reserves to the general fund to assist with effective budget monitoring.

6)    increase the spend for Benches/Bins/Planters to £35,000 and transfer from reserves to the general fund to assist with effective budget monitoring.

7)    confirm an agreed figure to be held as in reserves at the next Finance Committee, which will then be added to the Financial Regulations document for future reference. 

7.    To consider any grant/funding applications received.

At the previous meeting of the Finance Committee, further information was requested from Raw Performance into whether the group had any plans in carrying out any sessions within our ward areas, and how many people attend the sessions provided and if any were from our ward area.  A response was provided at the meeting, explaining that the group would be happy to provide sessions within the ward areas of Laleston Community Council and that currently the majority of the 40 plus people attending the sessions resided in the Council’s ward area.

Resolved:  The Committee agreed to provide a donation of £500.

8.    To receive any recommendations from other Committees or Council.

None.

9.    To review the Committee’s Meeting dates and consider any matters relevant to the committee for discussion at the next meeting.

Members reviewed the Committee’s next meeting date and requested that a running total be provided by email for payment made during July, prior to providing the information at the next meeting, detailing the spend for Broadlands Fun day to date.

There being no further business, the meeting ended at 7.58 pm.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 26 September 2023 and will commence at 6.30pm.