Minutes of Meetings 2023

An extraordinary meeting of East Keal Parish Council was held on 29/11/2023 at 7pm at The Keals’ Village Hall.

Welcome
Cllr Graham Pearson welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Present: Chair Cllr Pearson, Deputy Chair Cllr Kemp, Cllr Goddard, Cllr Thornley, Cllr Mahoney, Cllr Stickland, Cllr Wrisdale, Clerk to the Council Mrs McKinlay and 1 member of the public

1. To note the appointment of new Councillors and for new Councillors to sign the Declaration of Acceptance of Office in accordance with S.83 Local Government Act 1972. In the event the Declaration is not signed, Councillors will agree a date this must occur by.
Cllr Pearson welcomed the two new Parish Councillors. Cllr Mahoney and Cllr Thornley signed the Declaration of the Acceptance of Office in the presence of Clerk and Cllrs.

2. To receive and accept apologies.
No apologies received.

3. To receive declarations of interest under the Localism Act.
Cllr Pearson declared an interest in agenda items 8,9&10 and requested Deputy Chair Cllr Kemp to take over the meeting at that point as he will leave to ensure a fair discussion.
The Clerk will make representations then leave whilst Councillors further discuss agenda items 8,9&10 to ensure a fair discussion.
After the Clerk has left, Cllrs discussion on agenda items 8,9&10 will not be minuted. Cllrs decisions will be minuted on the Clerks return.

4. To discuss and agree a resolution to go into a closed session under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings Act) 1960, to exclude public and press as the council will be discussing the following agenda items which are confidential matters in relation to staffing.
Cllr Pearson moved a motion to exclude members of the public and go into a closed session under the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings Act) 1960 to discuss confidential matters in relation to staffing.
Resolution agreed by all Cllrs.

5. To discuss the Clerks registration with HMRC and ongoing correspondence.
5.1. A discussion was held about the difficulties registering with HMRC as required information not provided. Further advice has been sought from HMRC and LALC.
Cllrs agreed for Cllr Mahoney to make contact with previous Clerk to obtain password and PAYE Zipfile. Cllrs agreed handover documents should be created for the Clerk and Chair roles to ensure smooth transitions in the future.
5.2. The Parish Council is in receipt of a Notice of Penalty Assessment with £100 fine from HMRC for failure to file PAYE returns on time for the period of 6th September to 5th October. The return must be submitted and fine paid within 30 days, otherwise interest will be due. EKPC can appeal in writing or via Government Gateway portal, once access has been obtained. Cllrs are aware that EKPC may receive another fine.
Cllrs agreed to pay the fine and for the Clerk to appeal on grounds of extraordinary circumstances.
Cheque number 596 was written to HM Revenue and Customs for £100 and was signed by Cllr Kemp and Cllr Goddard.

6. To discuss the Clerks training required to deal with the current financial situation and agree the next steps required to complete Financial Position, Bank Reconciliation and Audit.
The Clerk has undertaken training courses recommended by LALC and is booked onto more. There have been requirements raised from the training. Cllrs discussed the current financial situation and the complaints previously made against the Council. Cllrs agreed to appoint LALC to conduct a mid-year audit which will go over governance in depth, then a light touch audit at year-end to ensure Cllrs can confidently sign off AGAR. As per the requirements in Regulation 4(4) Accounts and Audit Regulations
2015: “Council must agree controls to mitigate risk”.
Cllrs agreed that if the cost is confirmed at £150, to appoint LALC as EKPC Internal Auditor.
Proposed: Cllr Kemp Seconded: Cllr Mahoney

7. To discuss ongoing training support for the role of the new Parish Clerk and approve suitable courses
The Clerk informed Cllrs of training courses available. Cllrs agreed to the Clerk undertaking the necessary training courses as it will be of benefit to Clerk and Council.
Proposed: Cllr Goddard Seconded: Cllr Kemp
Cllr Pearson left the room. Cllr Kemp chaired the meeting.
Cllr Kemp gave a brief overview of the process followed by EKPC for appointing a new Parish Clerk.

8. To discuss and approve an increase in hours per week for the general Parish Clerk duties.
Cllr Kemp informed Cllrs that the previous Clerk had stated that the role usually took approximately 5 hours per week, she was paid for 2.5 hours and regarded any additional time as her personal voluntarycontribution. The Clerk explained what the role had involved so far and recommendations from LALC for weekly hours to satisfactorily meet the role requirements. The Clerk requested an increase to 3.5 hours per week. Cllrs will make a decision after their discussion.

9. To discuss and approve overtime payment for the Clerks pre-agreed additional tasks.
The Clerk informed Cllrs of the overtime hours already accrued for employee change-over tasks such as updating contact details with various external organisations, updating bank mandates, contacting HMRC and Clerk training. Cllrs agreed that in future, hours for employee change-over tasks will need to be provided. The Clerk requested 15 hours overtime payment. Cllrs will make a decision after their discussion.

10. To approve the SCP Salary point for the Clerk as per the NALC pay rise
NALC (National Association of Local Councils) have informed Parish Councils that the National Joint Council for Local Government Services have reached an agreement on new pay rates for local councils. Cllrs have been provided with a copy of this document. The advert for the Clerks role specifies the Clerks role at an SCP of 4-6. Cllrs will make a decision after their discussion.
The Clerk left the room whilst Cllrs had further discussions. 

After Cllrs had discussed and made decisions, Cllr Pearson and the Clerk were invited back into the meeting. The Clerk minuted the following decisions.

8. To discuss and approve an increase in hours per week for the general Parish Clerk duties.
Cllr Kemp presented Cllrs decision:
If the Council wants a job doing and a job doing well, they accept it is going to take longer with a new Clerk in the role. The previous Clerk had stated that the role usually took approximately 5 hours per week, she was paid for 2.5 hours and regarded any additional time as her personal voluntary contribution. Cllrs accept the request does not seem unreasonable. Cllrs decided to not agree an increase in hours and to discuss again at the next meeting. Cllrs asked the Clerk to complete a diary log to correlate the actual hours spent on general Parish Clerk duties going forward so Cllrs can makean informed decision.

9. To discuss and approve overtime payment for the Clerks pre-agreed additional tasks.
Cllr Kemp presented Cllrs decision:
Cllrs note information and advice received from LALC that any newly appointed Clerk requires 25-30hrs for the first month of appointment to transition into the role. We note that the current claim to achieve transition and undertake some training has amounted to 15 hours in the first month. Cllrs approve the Clerks claim for 15 hours overtime to be paid at the current pay rate.
Cllrs also note and agree that the Clerk has booked onto a further 12.5 hours training and Cllrs agree to pay these hours at the revised pay rate in arrears once the training is complete. Cllrs request the Clerk to add training to the time sheet to create an audit trail.

10. To approve the SCP Salary point for the Clerk as per the NALC pay rise
Cllr Kemp presented Cllrs decision:
Cllrs agree that the Clerks pay rate be revised to SCP 5 rate per hour from 1st December to bring the Clerks salary scale in line with NALCs recommendations dated 6th November.