ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE – Wednesday, September 4^th 2024

A meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee was held on Wednesday, 4^th September 2024, following the Planning committee meeting, at 7.45pm.

Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chair)                                    Councillor G. Dale

Councillor D. Hill                                                        Councillor D. Feneysey

Councillor D. Hall                                                       Councillor S. Perren

Councillor C. Wilkins

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)Observer: Councillor A. Reid

One member of the Public

1).    Apologies:- No apologies were received.

2).    Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday July 3^rd 2024:-

The minutes, which had previously been noted by the Council, were agreed and signed.

3).   Budget update 2024/25:

Prior to the meeting, the Clerk circulated an updated report detailing balances and expenditure to date against the budget. It was noted that there has been no extraordinary expenditure.

This report was discussed and accepted by members.

4).   To consider preliminary planning for the budget and precept 2025/26:

The Clerk will be approaching the respective committees to request their budgetary plans for the next financial year, to include in the draft budget which will be considered at the next meeting in December.

A member asked if there was any data available to show that the parish council’s percentage allocation of expenditure on administration was comparable to other parish councils. It was noted that the administration category within the accounting structure is a very broad category that covers all of the operating costs of a parish council. Whilst the Clerk can confirm from liaison with other clerks/councils that the percentage expenditure is similar, there are no official reports available that analyse and provide data on this subject. Whilst overall percentages may be similar, the fact that parish councils vary considerably in their size, responsibilities, activities and how they categorise and allocate the expenditure, this makes it difficult to undertake detailed comparisons and analysis. For example, Eccleshall PC includes their community grants budget within administration, which could be listed elsewhere in other councils, or they may not have a grants scheme at all.

If the clerk is made aware of any reports they will be shared with the committee.

5).    Consideration of Grant Requests:

There were no grant requests to consider.

6).   To receive the latest update from the Public Sector Deposit Fund:-

There was no updated report to consider since the last meeting.

7).   Items for next meeting:-

Any items for the next meeting can be forwarded to the Clerk.

8).  Date of next meeting:-

Wednesday 4th December 2024, following the Enhancements committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.05pm.