29 April 2025 - DRAFT Finance Committee
Minutes of the Ruskington Parish Council Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday 29 April 2025 at 6.00pm at Ruskington Parish Office.
Present: Cllr O Ditch (Chairman of the Committee), Cllr Bain, Cllr S Cotter, Cllr G Cox, Cllr Trolley
In attendance: Kirsty Sinclair (Deputy Clerk & RFO), Kathryn Locke (Clerk to Council)
No members of the public or press were present.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 6.00pm and welcomed the delegates.
1. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.
All Councillors were present.
2. To receive declarations of interest and to consider applications for dispensations in relation to DPIs.
None were declared at this time.
3. To approve as a correct record the notes of the last meeting held on 7 January 2025.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to approve the notes as accurate Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Cox, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
The Chairman signed the Minutes.
4. To receive the end of year financial report from the RFO.
The RFO provided an update on Council finances. At the end of the 2024-2025 financial year expenditure was within the agreed budget but reserves were extremely low due to unexpected expenditure such as emergency repairs. Out of the £11,422 in reserves, £9,148 was CIL money to be used for eligible community projects. Extra, unforeseen income of £6,200 had been received throughout the year. The RFO answered questions on the budget and reserves.
4.1. To review the AGAR forms for recommending to Council.
These had been circulated prior to the meeting and had been reviewed by the internal auditor. The RFO was updating the variances in preparation for the Council meeting on 13 May 2025.
4.2. To receive the end of year internal audit, if available.
The end of year internal audit had been completed but the report was awaited. The AGAR form had been signed and returned by the internal auditor.
4.3. To discuss and make recommendations on the schedule of reserves for recommending to Council.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the RFO’s recommendations be approved. These included - transferring £10,000 of the precept into reserves as soon as possible and transferring a further £10,000 when the second half of the precept was received in October 2025. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
4.4. To review Council’s budget monitoring process and consider using virement, as and when required.
Action: The Committee resolved to recommend to Council that, following Council approval, finances could be moved between allocated budget as required to avoid overspend. Cllr Ditch and Cllr Bain to work with the RFO to create a template to highlight any overspends, underspends, or other anomalies for monthly council meetings. Quarterly finance committee meetings to be held in April, July, October and January to review the budget and reserves in detail. Proposed by Cllr Cox, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
4.5. To consider ways of raising income for the parish council.
The Committee considered that ways to raise income for the parish council and community investment was restricted, but events and fund-raising activities could be held, and funding opportunities could be explored. Cllr Bain agreed to research sources of funding.
5. To review / approve the asset register.
This had been circulated prior to the meeting and the RFO answered questions.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend the asset register to Council for approval, following an amendment to remove the billy goat leaf blower that was disposed of. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Cllr Cox and approved unanimously.
6. To review the insurance policy and receive information on the introduction of Martyn’s Law for public venues and events.
Information had been circulated prior to the event and Cllr Ditch gave a brief overview of Martyn’s Law and the reasons behind this. The Clerk advised of a couple of items on the insurance document that required removal (the changing rooms were listed twice, and Council no longer has a storage unit at Parkfield playing fields.)
6.1. To consider an independent valuation of the parish council owned properties (parish office, changing rooms and pavilion) as recommended by the insurance company and internal auditor to inform the insurance policy from 1 June 2025.
Two quotes had been received.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED that other quotes were to be obtained and to recommend to Council that the quote offering the best value for money be approved. Proposed by Cllr Cox, seconded by Cllr Cotter and approved unanimously.
7. To review the following and make recommendations to Council: -
The documents had been circulated prior to the meeting.
7.1. Council’s Financial Regulations (revised in April 2025 following changes to the Procurement Act 2023 and the Procurement Regulation 2024 which came into force on 24 February 2025).
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the revised Financial Regulations be approved. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Cotter and approved unanimously.
7.2. Standing Orders (revised in April 2025 to reflect changes to Financial Regulations).
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the revised Standing Orders be approved. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
8. To confirm the date for the next committee meeting as Tuesday 1 July 2025.
Action: The date for the next Finance Committee meeting was confirmed as Tuesday 1 July 2025 at 6pm.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.33pm.