Minutes of the Finance Committee held remotely on 26 September 2023 commencing at 6.30pm.

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

In attendance:  Gail Jewell.

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

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.

Cllr S Philpin – Declared an Interest in relation to the grant/donation application received from Bryntirion Infants School as one of the school governors.

4.   Approval of minutes.

Resolved:  That the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting that took place on 25 July 2023 be approved as a true and accurate record, proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr P King.

5.   Finance update

Resolved:

• Members noted the Bank Reconciliation summary for July and August 2023.
• The committee approved payments made during July and August 2023, which were presented with the agenda which included vouchers numbers 143 – 232.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr P King.
• The committee approved receipts received during July and August 2023, which were presented with the agenda which included voucher numbers 75 – 109.  Proposed by Cllr D Harrison and seconded by Cllr P King.
• The committee approved a list of salary payments made in July and August 2023 which were presented with the agenda.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr S Philpin.

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

• The Chair of Council queried whether a payment had been received from Speedy Hire to credit the deposit charge for the safety barriers for Broadlands Funday – Clerk to investigate.

The following comments were made in relation to the Salary Payments:

• The Finance Committee asked to receive an unredacted list of payments made to staff.

6.   To consider any grant/funding applications received.

The following grant/funding applications were received and reviewed by the Finance Committee.

a. Bryntirion Infants Big Bocs Bwyd

Resolved:  The Committee agreed to provide a £500 donation.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr S Richmond.

b) Bridgend Carers Centre

Resolved:  The Committee agreed to provide a £250 donation.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr P King.

7.   To receive a proposal for reducing the cleaning costs for Bryntirion & Laleston Community Centre.

At the previous meeting of the Finance Committee, Members asked the Clerk to investigate options for reducing the cleaning costs for Bryntirion & Laleston Community Centre and report back to Council.

Resolved:  Following a verbal update from the Clerk, the Committee agreed to reduce the current cleaning regime from 5 days a week to a Monday and Wednesday which will be reviewed again in the future.  Proposed by Cllr I Spiller and seconded by Cllr S Philpin.

8.   To receive a report detailing investigation of charges for Bryntirion & Laleston Community Centre in comparison with other local centres/halls   

At the previous meeting of the Finance Committee, Members asked the Clerk to investigate charges for Bryntirion & Laleston Community Centre and look to compare with other local centres/halls, along with the possibility of introducing a tiered charging system.

Resolved:  The Clerk presented a report compiled by the Assistant Clerk and following debate; it was agreed that from the 1 January 2024:

• the main hall would increase its hourly rate to £15.00 with a concession of £12.50 for community groups and charities.
• the smaller hall would increase its hourly rate to £13.00, although the longstanding tenant, Cylch Meithrin, would be provided an extension until the new financial year.  
• any bookings made for birthday parties or similar, would be a minimum booking of 3 hours.
• that a deposit of £20 be written into the contract which will be retained if rubbish is not removed following a booking.

9.   To confirm an agreed figure to be held in reserves which will be added to the Financial Regulations document for future reference.

Resolved:  As previously discussed during the consideration of Q1 budget, Members suggested recording and agreeing on a figure to be held in reserves, to be included in the Financial Regulations document for future reference.  Following debate, the Committee agreed to allocate 3 months running costs into earmarked reserves, which equated to £41,475.00 for the financial year 2023 – 2024. 

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

Council recommended that the Finance Committee receive detailed accounts relating to the Broadlands Hub Committee and spend concerning to the Broadlands Fun Day, prior to any decision on providing a budget for Broadlands Fun Day 2024. 

In addition, it was requested that minutes or notes from any Committees be provided at the next Council meeting for noting.

The Finance Committee received and scrutinised the Broadlands Hub bank accounts, along with a detailed spend analysis for the 2023 Broadlands Fun Day.

Resolved:  As an attendee of the annual Broadlands Fun Day, Cllr D Harrison outlined that the event was bigger and better than previous years and included several new and additional pieces of equipment such as high ropes.  Therefore, Cllr D Harrison proposed that an allocation of £16,500 be provided as a budget heading for 2024.  The proposal was seconded by Cllr P King.

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

Resolved:  Members reviewed the Committee’s next meeting date and requested the costings for IT support be added to the agenda.  In addition, the Clerk was asked to investigate the requirement for Members to have separate Council email addresses.

There being no further business, the meeting ended at 7.41 pm.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 24 October 2023 and will commence at 6.30pm.