Draft minutes of the Finance & Policies Committee meeting
held on 22nd August 2022
at 7pm at Combe Martin Community Centre.
Present: Cllrs. S Coomber, C Galloway, M Richards, and T Seldon and P Walker
Also in attendance: Andrew Wyer (Clerk) and 1 member of the public
F&P/1/22 Election of Chairman
Cllr. Galloway was ELECTED Chairman of the committee.
F&P/2/22 Apologies
There were no apologies.
F&P/3/22 Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
F&P/4/22 Public Participation
A query was raised about why Barton Gate Lane appears in the Assets register while
lanes such as Mill Weir Lane did not. The Clerk explained that there is a financial
agreement in place for Barton Gate Lane, so it counts as an asset, while other lanes do
not have a financial agreement, so don’t appear.
F&P/5/22 Standing Orders
There were no changes proposed so it was RESOLVED to recommend to Council that
they adopt the Policy.
F&P/6/22 Financial Regulations
All references to “Finance Officer” had been removed with no other changes to the
current policy so it was RESOLVED to recommend to Council that they adopt the Policy.
F&P/7/22 Asset Register
The previous edition of the register had been updated to reflect the changes in 2021/22.
Cllr. Walker was unhappy with the classifications “Income Generation” and “Community
Asset” and will suggest alternatives ahead of the next meeting. It was RESOLVED to
recommend to Council that they adopt the revised register.
F&P/8/22 Subscriptions and Direct Debits
The Clerk advised that he made good use of the NALC, DALC and SLCC subscriptions he
was unsure about the remaining three. It was RESOLVED to recommend to Council that
they adopt the Subscriptions, but members would investigate the benefits of two of
them and would advise Council prior to confirming the list. It was RESOLVED to
recommend to Council that they approve the list of Direct Debits, and the Clerk was
advised to transfer all suppliers who bill us each month onto Direct Debits where
possible.
F&P/9/22 Statement of Internal Controls
All references to “Finance Officer” had been removed with no other changes to the
current policy so it was RESOLVED to recommend to Council that they adopt the revised
Statement.
F&P/10/22 Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy
All references to “Finance Officer” had been removed with no other changes to the
current policy so it was RESOLVED to recommend to Council that they adopt the Policy.
F&P/11/22 Complaints Policy
There were no changes proposed so it was RESOLVED to recommend to Council that
they adopt the Policy.
F&P/12/22 FOI Publication Scheme and Data Protection Policy
The Clerk explained that the FOI publication scheme was produced by the Information
Commissioner for use and just needed to be filled in with the relevant Councils
information. It was RESOLVED to recommend to Council that they adopt the FOI
publication Scheme.
The Clerk explained that the Data Protection Policy was produced by NALC with
specialists advise to ensure it complied with current legislation. It was available to NALC
member Councils to download and use. It was RESOLVED to recommend to Council that
they adopt the Data Protection Policy.
F&P/13/22 Employment Policies
The Clerk explained that like the Data Protection Policy, NALC had numerous
Employment Policies available for the Council to use. It was RESOLVED to recommend to
Council that they adopt the following policies: Annual Leave, Anti-bullying &
Harassment, Emergency Dependants, Equality / Diversity, Expenses, Flexible Working,
Homeworking, Lone-Working, Maternity, Disciplinary, Grievance, Paternity, Performance
Improvement, Sickness, Training / Development, and Whistleblowing.
F&P/14/22 Safeguarding Policy
The Committee asked the Clerk to review the current policy and to bring the current or revised policy to the next full Council meeting as an Agenda item.
F&P/15/22 Memorial Plaque Policy
The Committee felt that “donation” should be replaced with “contribution”, which the
Clerk agreed to do, so it was RESOLVED to recommend to Council that they adopt the
amended Policy.