7 October 2025 - DRAFT Finance Committee
Minutes of the Ruskington Parish Council Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday
7 October 2025 at 6.30pm at Ruskington Parish Office.
Present: Cllr O Ditch (Chairman of the Committee), Cllr Bain, Cllr D Conway, Cllr B Harrison, Cllr Trolley.
In attendance: Kirsty Sinclair (Deputy Clerk & RFO), Kathryn Locke (Clerk to Council)
Apologies: Cllr G Cox
No members of the public or press were present.
The Chairman opened the meeting at 6.34pm and welcomed the delegates.
1. To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence had been given to the Parish Clerk prior to the meeting.
Cllr Cox had been unable to attend the meeting and had sent valid apologies.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to accept Cllr Cox’s apologies. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
2. To receive declarations of interest and to consider applications for dispensations in relation to DPIs.
No declarations were made at this time.
3. To approve as a correct record the notes of the last meeting held on 1 July 2025.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to approve the notes of the last meeting as accurate Minutes. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
The Chairman signed the Minutes.
4. To receive / consider the end of year external audit report for FY 2024-2025 from PKF Littlejohn. The Information had been circulated prior to the meeting and was displayed on the Council’s website and noticeboard as required. Council had carried out proper practices, and no concerns were noted.
4.1. To consider the length of time to display the Notice of Conclusion of Audit, along with the certified AGAR (Sections 1, 2 & 3). The previous statute required 14 days.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that the Notice of Conclusion of Audit, along with the certified AGAR (Sections 1, 2 & 3) were displayed for fourteen days. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
5. To receive and review the accounts and schedule of reserves at the mid-point of the financial year.
Information had circulated prior to the meeting and the RFO gave an overview. Due to grants and donations received, the income exceeded that expected in the budget setting. There was an overspend but that included one-off costs and annual payments. Just over £100.00 had been allocated from reserves to the improvement of the path in the Garden of Remembrance. No concerns about the budget were raised.
6. To review /approve the Council’s regular payments list (standing orders and direct debits).
The list had been circulated prior to the meeting and was reviewed at the meeting.
6.1. To consider the RFO setting up a direct debit for the HMRC payments.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED that the RFO arrange a direct debit for HMRC payments. Proposed by Cllr Harrison, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
7. To review the Annual Investment Strategy and agree any recommendations for making to Council.
This was reviewed. The RFO recommended transferring money from the reserves into a sixty-day fixed period savings account to gain interest. Council already had a Lloyds bank savings account and opening another account with Lloyds would be straightforward.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED that the RFO seek the best savings account for transferring money from the reserves into, and to recommend this to Council. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, seconded by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
8. To review the bank signatories and agree any recommendations for making to Council.
The current signatories were Cllr Ditch, Cllr Trolley and Cllr Bain. The RFO recommended a further signatory be agreed to ensure payments were authorised in a timely manner.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that Cllr Harrison be added as a bank signatory. Proposed by Cllr Ditch, approved by Cllr Bain and approved unanimously.
9. To consider the grant applications received from Ruskington community groups and agree the awards for recommending to Council at its meeting on 14 October 2025.
One grant application with the requested information had been received. This was from the 1st Ruskington Scouts with request for £500.00. It was unclear what the donation would go towards, but a shortage of tents for a Poacher camp was noted.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that a grant of the £500.00 be awarded to the 1st Ruskington Scouts. Proposed by Cllr Conway, seconded by Cllr Trolley and approved unanimously.
10. To receive an update on the s106 claim and Deed of Variation for the Flaxwell Fields development on Lincoln Road.
The Clerk gave a brief update. NKDC would provide an update on the Deed of Variation when this was finalised. The money available was £191235.46 and the end date for making a claim was 11 December 2034.
11. To receive the allotment fees from 1 October 2026 as approved by Council on 9 September 2025 for informing the budget for FY 2026-2027. (£45.00 per plot, plus £50.00 refundable deposit for new allotment holders and for existing allotment holders who lease additional plots.)
This was for information only. The RFO updated the budget line for the allotments for FY 2026-2027 accordingly.
12. To consider the budget requirements for FY 2026-2027 based on the Council’s action plan, approved project expenditure, required health and safety inspections, and requests for projects, equipment, maintenance and event planning from Council’s committees.
The RFO had commenced the budget for FY 2026-2027 based on financial information already available or costs approved by Council. This was reviewed, questions were raised and answered. Ideas for projects, events, and equipment were discussed and the budget lines adjusted accordingly. Events and equipment would have its own budget line. At this time there was a 4.8% increase in the budget for the upcoming financial year. This would be adjusted as more information became available and figures for upcoming income and expenditure were known.
13. To resolve whether to exclude the public and press, in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admissions to Meetings) Act 1960, to discuss the staffing matters below.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to move into closed session to discuss the staffing matters below. Proposed by Cllr Trolley, seconded by Cllr Harrison and approved unanimously.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 7.33pm. The meeting re-convened at 7.33pm.
14. To consider correspondence and a draft final invoice from the contractor undertaking the renovation of the lychgate and agree the next steps for recommending to Council.
An overview of events was provided. All information had been sent to the National Lottery Heritage Fund on 6 October 2025 for its consideration.
Action: To await the outcome of the National Lottery Heritage Fund decision before considering the best way to move forward.
15. To consider the recommendations from the HR Cttee regarding staff pay, sick pay, and working hours for FY 2026-2027, if available.
This was deferred until recommendations from the HR Committee were available. The HR Committee to arrange a meeting before the ordinary meeting on 11 November 2025 to consider staff pay and hours so a recommendation could be made to Council.
16. To consider the requirements for a third, part time, caretaker, if available.
This was deferred until recommendations from the HR Committee were available. The HR Committee to arrange a meeting before the ordinary meeting on 11 November 2025 to consider the need for a third caretaker so a recommendation could be made to Council.
17. To consider recommendations from the HR Cttee regarding staff pensions for FY 2026-2027, if available.
This was deferred until recommendations from the HR Committee were available and the latest figures for the reserves were available from the RFO. The HR Committee to arrange a meeting before the ordinary meeting on 11 November 2025 to consider staff pensions so a recommendation could be made to Council.
18. To adjust the budget as required to include any financial recommendations from the staff wages and pension resolutions, above, for recommending to Council.
Action: The budget would be adjusted once the financial recommendations for staff were resolved.
19. To consider the correspondence from the Energy Ombudsman, dated 19 September 2025, concerning the exit fee from an electricity supplier, and recommend a response.
The RFO gave an overview and information had been shared prior to the meeting. One meter had been released to the new energy provider.
Action: The Committee RESOLVED to recommend to Council that it abides by the recommendation of the ombudsman and to await notification of the new exit fees from the current provider before deciding the best way forward.
20. To agree the dates for the next two Finance Committee meetings (budget and precept setting).
Action: The next two committee meeting date were agreed as Tuesday 25 November 2025 and Tuesday 6 January 2026.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8.08pm.