|
JRW/303
TODWICK PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly held
in Todwick Church Hall
at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday 24th April 2007
Present
Councillor Pantry - Chairman
Councillor Langford - Vice Chairman
Councillor Cloke
Councillor Kettell
Councillor Palmer
Councillor Wolf
J R Walker - Clerk and Financial Officer
Mr. Hill
Mr. K Maitheson
Mr. B White
06/178 APOLOGIES
An apology had been received from Councillor Gregory who was unfortunately
still ill.
06/179 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF 26 APRIL 2005
There were no amendments
The minutes were signed as a correct record.
06/180 MATTERS ARISING
There were no matters arising.
06/181 URGENT ITEMS FOR LATER CONSIDERATIONS
There were no items for later consideration.
06/182 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Chairman presented his report.
Activities in the past 12 months had been dominated by progress on the
rebuild/refurbishment work on the Village Hall. The various efforts over
the previous 12 years had at last born fruit in year.
The site work in progress had meant that the Council meetings had been
held in the Church Hall. The Council was thankful that the facility was
available and that the Committee responsible for the Hall were so
accommodating.
All Councillors had been involved in the meetings with relevant
committees which had included Rotherham Borough Council (RMBC) training
sessions relating to Planning.
At the suggestion of an RMBC Officer it had been decided to expand the
7 Parishes meetings to include four other parishes, but they had yet to
attend a meeting.
The Area Assembly now had a two-tier structure and there were fears
that this would lead to a slowing down of communications
The Parish Plan has not prompted any action. RMBC were showing an
interest in encouraging the revival of Plans.
Councillor Cloke had attended the Transport Sub Committee meetings
which now seemed to achieve little other than the exchange of information.
Councillor Palmer had reported good progress in the area of work
covered by the Handyman - to whom the Council offered its thanks.
Councillor Paul Langford was thanked for his reliable support as Vice-
Chairman.
Regular contact with representatives of Yorkshire Rural Communities
Council (YRCC) had led to the successful application for a grant to
replace the fence on the west side of the small swing park. Work was now
in progress.
The Village Hall Building Works Committee was known to be very
appreciative of the knowledge and practicalities of the building process
shown by Councillors and the Clerk whom they invited to join their
meetings.
All-in-all it had been a year of progress in terms of involvement by
Councillors outside meetings which had led to an increase in the
capabilities as representatives of Todwick.
The Chairman offered his personal thanks to all Councillors for their
contributions.
The Clerk/Financial Officer was known to be embarrassed by praise but
was sincerely thanked for the professionalism of his work and his
willingness at all times.
The performance and achievement above had taken place despite a very
limited availability of Councillors, some of whom, for a variety of
reasons, had not been able to attend meetings. However, only one meeting
had been unquorate. Others had had to be re-scheduled. Further thanks were
given to those able to attend and the high quality of their decision
-making.
A total of six people were nominated as candidates for the new Council
to be elected on 3 May 2007. As the entitlement was for 9 Councillors, all
those nominated would be entitled to take their seats at the May Council
meeting. The co-option of others would follow.
Three Councillors with long service did not wish to stand for election
and their experience and knowledge of the village will be missed.
Mary Gregory had joined the Council in 1979 and served continuously
ever since, including four years as Chairman. Meetings without her
extensive local knowledge and incisive interventions when discussions were
losing accuracy or direction would seem strange. Her major contributions
were the acquisition of land now used as the small swing park on the North
side of the Church and the editorship of "The Informer", an
unrivalled publication amongst local councils.
Les Waller had had a lifetime interest in gardening and allotments and
brought his extensive knowledge to the Council in 1969. His sound
stewardship and management of the Allotments had ensured that the facility
was still available when they no longer existed elsewhere. He had also
been the prime mover in the creation of the bowls green, which was now the
home of the very successful Bowling Club. His contributions in Council
were purposeful and usually brief but to the point.
Brenda Waller had been on the Council on two occasions from 1984 to
1995 and from 1999 to 2007. For many years she was the Council
representative on the School Board of Governors and has always been a
strong supporter of youth activities (apart from football on the
Pastures). In addition she had been a ready contact both for residents and
RMBC. Via phone-calls and personal contact she fielded requests for help,
complaints and criticism, dispensed advice and where necessary alerted
RMBC of the need for action. He was confident this would not cease
immediately.
TPC established a series of prizes this past year for
- Best Garden
- Best Kept Allotment
- Young Sportsperson of the Year
- Young Volunteer of the Year
- Diligence for Todwick Junior and Infant School Pupils
and will be presenting these again in 2007.
During the past year Todwick Parish Council has also supported a number
of village organisations and events including the first Todwick Funday,
Music by Moonlight, Todwick Garden and Historic Trail and the
establishment of the Neighbourhood Watch new scheme.
The full Minutes of the Todwick Parish Council Meetings, Annual
Assembly Reports plus the Informer are available for viewing on the
Todwick web site www.todwick.org.uk
He thanked all Councillors for their support and the standard of debate
and decision making in the meetings.
06/183 CLERK & FINANCIAL OFFICER'S REPORT
Clerk had undertaken all the duties placed on him at the previous
assembly. Clerk thanked all members for their help/assistance over the
last year. He gave particular thanks to the Chairman who had again worked
tirelessly on behalf of parishioners.
He was particularly grateful for the Chairman's attendance at a wide
variety of meetings and events. One result of which had been the
acquisition of grant aid to renew fencing at the Children's Playground.
He regretted that Councillor Mary Gregory had been unable to attend
what would have been her last Council Meeting. She had been a considerable
help to him throughout his period as Clerk and had been a wonderful
servant on behalf of the village. It was wholly through her negotiation
skills and legal expertise that it had been possible for the Council to
purchase the Children's Playground.
She had an unrivalled knowledge of the village and had taken a keen
interest in the young and older residents. Her innovation in publishing a
newsletter so many years ago provided documentary evidence of her hard
work and commitment to the village as a whole. She had been instrumental
in ensuring the satisfactory maintenance of the local public rights of
way.
It was most regrettable that Councillors Brenda and Les Waller would
no longer be members. Les had contributed to much of the council's
affairs. Without his contribution and that of the late Mr. Bradley, it was
most unlikely that the bowling green and clubhouse would have been in
existence. He had effectively managed all aspects in respect of the
allotments for many years.
In more recent years Brenda had been of considerable help to Les with
regard to the allotments. She had always made a significant contribution
and amongst other things had secured the erection of the youth shelter at
the recreation ground as well as managing various contracts. She had taken
the lead in public transportation matters.
06/184 APPROVAL OF THE ACCOUNTS FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2006/7
All members had been provided with a copy of the accounts for financial
year 2006/7 together with an explanation of significant variances. He gave
details of the duties carried out during the year, explained the accounts
for financial year 2006/7, compared them to those for 2005/6 and answered
questions.
Resolved to approve the Accounts for Financial Year 2006/7, the
Explanation of Significant Variances and Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual
Return.
Chairman and signed and dated the approved accounts, previously
signed by the Clerk.
06/185 ANNUAL RETURN/ STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE - FINANCIAL YEAR 2006/7
Members confirmed having responded positively to each of the following
statements and agreed to its meaning as it affected council.
| |
Agreed - Yes or No
|
'Yes' means that the council:
|
|
1. We have approved the statement of accounts which has been
prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Accounts and
Audit Regulations and proper practices
|
YES
|
Prepared its statement of accounts in the way prescribed by law
|
|
2. We have maintained an adequate system of internal control,
including measures designed to prevent and detect fraud and
corruption and reviewed its effectiveness.
|
YES
|
Made proper arrangements and accepted responsibility for
safeguarding the public money and resources in its charge
|
|
3. We have taken all reasonable steps to assure ourselves that
there are no matters of actual or potential non-compliance with
laws, regulations and codes of practice which could have a
significant financial effect on the ability of the council to
conduct its business or on it finances.
|
YES
|
Has only done things that it has the legal power to do and has
conformed to codes of practice and standards in the way it has done
so.
|
|
4. We have provided proper opportunity for the exercise of
electors' rights in accordance with the requirements of the Accounts
and Audit Regulations.
|
YES
|
Have given all persons interested the opportunity to inspect and
ask questions about the council's accounts.
|
|
5. We have carried out an assessment of the risks facing the
council and taken appropriate steps to manage those risks, including
the introduction of internal controls and/or external insurance
cover where required.
|
YES
|
Considered the financial and other risks it faces in the
operation of the council and has dealt with them properly.
|
|
6. We have maintained an adequate and effective system of
internal audit of the council's accounting records and control
systems.
|
YES
|
Arranged for a competent person, independent of the financial
controls and procedures, to give an objective view on whether these
meet the needs of the council.
|
|
7. We have taken what we consider to be appropriate actions on
all matters raised in reports from internal and external audit.
|
YES
|
Has taken appropriate action in response to matters brought to
its attention by internal and external audit.
|
|
8. We have considered whether any litigation, liabilities or
commitments, events or transactions, occurring either during or
after the year end, have a financial impact on the council and,
where appropriate has included them in the statement of accounts.
|
YES
|
Disclosed everything it should have about its business during the
year including events taking place after the year end if relevant.
|
|
Trust Funds in our capacity as the sole managing trustee
we have discharged our responsibility in relation to the
accountability for the fund(s)/assets, including financial reporting
and, if required, independent examinations or audit
|
YES
|
Has met all of its responsibilities where it is a sole trustee of
a local trust or trusts.
|
Resolved to
- Accept the specific answers given in the Statement of Assurance
submitted as part of the Annual Return and submitted to the External
Auditor
- Approve the Statement of Accounts.
06/186 PUBLICATION SCHEME - FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION ACT 2000
Resolved to
- Adopt and maintain the Publication of Information Scheme presented
by the Clerk and Financial Officer
- Publish the document by displaying on the public notice board
06/187 RISK ASSESSMENTS
Resolved that all necessary risk assessments had been identified and
safeguards were in place to protect against those risks.
06/188 COMMITTEE REPORTS
There were no significant matters to report.
06/189 URGENT ITEMS
There were no urgent items
The Meeting closed at 8.03 p.m.
|