MINUTES OF THE POLICY & RESOURCES COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON
TUESDAY 12th SEPTEMBER 2023
PRESENT: Cllr. Pethurst (in the Chair), Cllrs. Bunyan, Fletcher, Gilbert and Hatcher.
Apologies: Cllr. Fairweather.
Declaration of Interests, Dispensations and Predetermination:
Members are required to declare any interests, dispensations or predetermination on items on this agenda in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct. Members are reminded that changes to the Register of Interests should be notified to the Clerk.
39/23: Internal finance check:
Cllr. Pethurst confirmed that the internal finance check had been completed and everything was in order, all paperwork had been signed and initialled.
40/23: Authorisation of payments made after the August meeting:
A list of payments totalling £16,094.67 made after the August meeting, is filed with these minutes.
41/23: Transfers of monies between accounts:
The Clerk confirmed that no transfers had been necessary.
42/23: Invoices for Payment:
A list of payments to be made in September had been circulated, a copy of which is filed with these minutes. This includes the deposit for Storm Windows and the NDP Referendum expenditure. Cllr. Fletcher thanked Cllr. Pethurst for the amazing job that he and his wife had done advertising the referendum.
Cllr. Pethurst proposed the payments be approved as presented, this was seconded by Cllr. Gilbert and agreed.
These included:
Policy and Resources £8,172.89
Properties & Burial Grounds £1,165.00
Environmental Management £ 972.97
Community Development £ 30.00
General Funding £8,439.68
Transfer of reserves £6,010.32
Total £24,790.86
Two members are required to log in to the account and authorise the payments.
43/23: Cyber Insurance:
The committee considered the quotes and cover supplied by Coalition and CFC. Following a detailed discussion Cllr. Pethurst proposed accepting the quote from Coalition of £328.16, with a maximum liability of 250K. This was seconded by Cllr. Gilbert and approved.
Cllr. Fletcher offered to seek further guidance from a contact who he has in the industry.
44/23: Policies:
a) Asset Register Policy & b) Business Continuity Plan
The Clerk advised that there are no proposed amendments to either of the adopted policies, the review is simply in line with the approved annual review scheme.
As there were no further suggested amendments, Cllr. Fletcher proposed the Asset Register Policy and Business Continuity Plan be approved. This was seconded by Cllr. Hatcher and agreed.
45/23: Sissinghurst Public Toilet Cleaning & Utility Costs:
Following receipt of a contract, it was decided not to proceed with Churchills. The Clerk advised that the cleaning contract had been handed to F&C Cleaners, the company who clean Cranbrook toilets. There will be no increase in costs.
The Clerk confirmed that the water and waste supply has been added to the Everflow contract.
The committee reviewed the electricity quotes that had been circulated prior to the meeting. They were surprised at the estimated costs. A better understanding of the electricity requirements of the building will be assessed and reported back at the next meeting.
46/23: Moorepay Payroll Update:
The Clerk advised that Moorepay are updating their system. There are some changes in costings, however the proposed changes will result in a £12 reduction per month for CSPC. The updated system will enable payslips to be downloaded and will also have an area for employees to access copies of pay slips. P6Os etc. There is a one-off fee of £200 to migrate the data. Cllr. Pethurst proposed that the migration fee was accepted, this was seconded by Cllr. Bunyan and agreed.
47/23: Community Centres/Medical Centre:
Cllr. Fletcher presented the article taken from the recent edition of The Cake.
He advised that there are two upcoming meetings, one is with members of the Cranbrook Sports Club who are exploring options for building a new club house. The other is with the Integrated Care Board.
Many of the issues the parish is experiencing – housings, schooling, doctors, community areas – are interlinked.
There are currently various options regarding buildings in the community. The recent community assets survey has provided evidence to register the technical block, 6th Form Block and tennis courts as Assets of Community Value. There are government grants available for adapting community assets. Whilst researching Land Registry documents to determine who currently owns the assets of interest, it has come to light that the old High Weald Academy site has been split into two title numbers. Cllr. Bunyan agreed to share copies of the planning documents that were originally submitted for the 6th Form Block
There are several Chairman from surrounding parishes who are planning on attending the education meeting on October 4th. Borough and County councillors have been approached for support.
Cllr. Fletcher reminded members that the KCC Kent Family Hub services consultation closes on 13th September. The proposal includes withdrawal of some commissioned youth services (including the youth club provision in Cranbrook) and changes to Childrens Centres.
In response to a question from Cllr. Bunyan regarding the White Horse building, Cllr. Fletcher reported that the fate is still unknown. Cllr. Hatcher advised that local businesses are unhappy with metal boardings. Efforts to approach the owners to request permission to paint the boardings is on-going.
48/23: Staffing:
Cllr. Pethurst proposed accepting the purchase price of £84 for conference attendance for the Clerk, to attend the KALC Annual Clerks Conference, September 27th 2023, in Ditton. This was seconded by Cllr. Hatcher and agreed.
49/23: Grant Applications:
No applications had been received.
50/23: Items for Information:
Cllr. Bunyan requested an update on the Fernham Homes development. Cllr. Fletcher advised he had received a copy of a letter that Fernham have sent to Whiteways estate, informing them that works will commence on the 18th September. Fernham have agreed to pay the tennis club legal fees. Cllr. Hatcher advised that the yellow lines have been painted at the entrance to the Fernham site in Sissinghurst.
Cllr. Bunyan requested an update on the grant for benches. Cllr. Fletcher advised that he has now collated the information that he needs to respond to the grant provider.
Cllr. Hatcher requested an update on the demolition of the dental surgery. Cllr. Fletcher advised that we are at the mercy of UKPN. Cllr. Gilbert offered to make enquiries to UKPN.
Cllr. Pethurst advised that he intended to investigate whether the advertising costs for the NDP referendum can be expensed to TWBC.
