Wednesday 15 May 2019

Held at 7.30pm in Helperby Village Hall

Present: Cllr Chris Owens (Chairman), Cllr Andy Cuthbert (Vice Chairman), Cllr Andy Topps, Cllr Peter Mitchell, Cllr Nigel Denison, Cllr Mark Darwin, Roger Clements (Clerk), Cllr Sowray (NYCC), Cllr Jill Mortimer (HDC) and 35 members of the public.

1. Elect the Chairman of the Council
   1. Cllr Mitchell proposed Cllr Owens as Chairman and Cllr Owens was elected unanimously. The Chairman made his Declaration of Acceptance of Office and all Members made theirs. The Chairman welcomed parishioners to the first meeting of the new Council which he hoped would now represent effectively all parts of the village community.
2. Elect the Vice-Chairman of the Council
   1. Cllr Cuthbert was elected Vice Chairman.
3. Receive Apologies for Absence
   1. All Cllrs were present but Mrs Windross (Clerk) had sent her apologies.
4. Declarations of Interest
   1. No declarations were made.
5. Minutes of the final meetings of Brafferton Parish Council and Helperby Parish Council
   1. The minutes of the final meetings of both parish councils were accepted and signed for archiving.
6. Clerks’ reports
   1. Clerk (RC) outlined how the clerks could be contacted and stated that emails sent to braffertonhelperby.pc@gmail.com would be received by both clerks.
7. Finance
   1. Summary of accounts at 31 March 2019
      1. Accounts at the point of dissolution on 31 Mar 19 showed Brafferton PC to have a cash balance of £6,311 and Helperby PC a cash balance of £4,781; these sums are transferred to the new Council.
   2. Budget FY 2019/20 – Chairman outlined the Council’s budget for the FY 2019/20 which totalled £10,020 and which had led to a precept demand of £10,000. This document and those referred to below at 7.4 – 7.7 will be published on the Council’s website at https://www.braffertonhelperbypc.org.uk/
   3. Certify Brafferton Parish Council (BPC) and Helperby Parish Council (HPC) as exempt form external audit for fiscal year 2018/19 – confirmed and signed by the Clerk and Chairman.
   4. Annual Internal Audit Reports for 2018/19 included at page 4 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2018/19 for BPC and HPC – noted as complete with no adverse comments.
   5. Approve Section 1 – Annual Governance Statement 2018/19 for BPC and HPC on page 5 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Returns 2018/19 – approved and signed by Chairman and Clerk.
   6. Approve Section 2 – Accounting Statements 2018/19 for BPC and HPC on page 6 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Returns 2018/2019 – approved and signed by Chairman and Clerk.
   7. Approve the publication of documents required by Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, the Local Audit (Smaller Authorities) Regulations 2015 and the Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities by BPC and HPC – all documents were complete and ready for publication on the council website.
   8. Local Auditor for FY 2019/20 – it was resolved that C&G Associates, Thirsk were to be the council’s auditor.
   9. Payment of Insurance premium – it was resolved to place the council’s insurance with Came & Co Insurance Brokers at a premium to be confirmed.
   10. Payment of election charge – it was resolved to pay the election charge of £100 as a single payment.
   11. Allotments Position Statement – no statement was available.
   12. Ratify grounds maintenance contracts from Brafferton PC and Helperby PC, vis:
       1. St Peter’s lych gate and Pinfold grass areas – agreed as per Brafferton PC contract dated 25 Nov 18 with A Metcalfe.
       2. Urban verges – agreed as per Brafferton PC/Helperby PC contract dated 25 Nov 18 with N Buchanan.
       3. Hedge cutting – agreed as per Helperby PC informal arrangement with A Metcalfe
       4. Common grass – agreed as per Helperby PC informal arrangement with R Revely
       5. Gully clearance – agreed as per Helperby PC informal arrangement with Kyle & Upper Ouse Drainage Board and Ure Drainage Board
       6. Litter pick – agreed as per Helperby PC informal arrangement with B White.
   13. Brafferton PC and Helperby PC notice boards – see Item 10.7.
   14. Subscription payments FY 2019/20 – YLCA, SLCC, CPRE and Community First Yorkshire – it was resolved to subscribe to all four organisations. Clerk to raise cheque for signature upon receipt of each invoice.
   15. Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) – within the totals transferred to the new Council (see Item 7.1.1) a CIL contribution of £194.70 had been passed on from Brafferton PC and another of £2,062.25 from Helperby PC. (CIL contributions may only be spend on infrastructure projects)
   16. Clerks’ pay and PAYE procedures – it was resolved to implement the NJC national salary award for clerks from 1 April 2019 and to pay each Clerk’s net salary by monthly Standing Order and make a quarterly payment to HMRC for the PAYE amount notified by HMRC. For Pay Months 3, 6, 9, and 12 a payment for ‘pay in lieu of holiday’ will be made at the rate agreed in each Clerk’s Terms of Employment; additionally, back pay from 1 April 19 will be included in the 2019 Pay Month 3 payment.
   17. Council Signatories – the Council’s cheques and other financial actions are to be authorised by any two of Cllrs Owens, Darwin and Cuthbert. It was resolved to adhere to the following HSBC rules in the returned Mandate for Local Authority:
       1. A bank account be continued with HSBC UK Bank plc and the Bank is authorised to: pay all cheques and act on other instructions for payment on behalf of the Council; to deliver any item held on behalf of the Council by the Bank in safe keeping against the written receipt or instructions and to accept as fully empowered to act on behalf of the Council in any other transaction with the Bank any two of the Cllrs at 7.17 above.
       2. The Council agrees that any debt incurred to the bank under this authority shall in the absence of written agreement with the Bank to the contrary be repayable on demand.
       3. The Clerk (the Responsible Financial Officer) is authorised to supply the Bank when necessary with lists of persons authorised to sign, give receipts and act on behalf of the council, and that the Bank may rely upon such lists.
       4. These resolutions be communicated to the Bank and remain in force until changed by a resolution of the Council and a copy, certified by the Chief Executive (the Chairman) and the Clerk is received by the Bank.
       5. The Council accepts the account and banking relationship with the bank will be governed by and subject to the HCBS Bank UK plc Business Banking Terms and Conditions.
8. Highways and Transport
   1. Cllr Sowray described progress by NYCC Highways towards the re-surfacing of Main Street and the village portion of Raskelf Road. Initially, a patching programme was planned for FY 2018/19. However, when additional money from Central Government came available the scope of the work increased and re-design and fresh tendering forced a move of the project to FY2019/20; it is now scheduled for completion in the period August/September 2019. Cllr Sowray did not have detailed knowledge of the plan but understood it to involve re-surfacing of a stretch of Raskelf Road eastwards to approximately adjacent to the chicane, with the balance of this road plus Main Street patched to a high standard. There was some disappointment from Council and public at this description but Cllr Sowray affirmed that this was as far as the budget would permit.
9. Planning Matters
   1. Planning Application 19/00323/FUL proposed replacement windows at School House, School Terrace, Brafferton – the Council had no objections to the application.
   2. Planning Application 19/00782/FUL proposed alteration of roof space into residential accommodation at 3 The Oaks, Brafferton – awaiting a decision by Hambleton District Council.
10. Business Matters
    1. Council meeting dates: third Wednesday of each month selected. Chairman noted advice in “The Good Councillor’s Guide” that Cllrs had a duty to attend meetings in response to the Clerk’s summons
    2. Declarations of election expenses from candidates – completed declarations were handed to the Clerk for onward passage to Hambleton DC Electoral Services.
    3. Training courses for new councillors – Cllr Denison requested a booking for the YLCA New Cllr course on 1 June 19 (Afternote: Cllr Darwin confirmed himself available for the same course).
    4. GDPR Privacy Consent Form – all Cllrs completed the form
    5. Co-opting of one additional councillor – it was resolved to seek a volunteer to be co-opted onto the Council. The process to be initiated by an advertising campaign which would set out the necessary qualifications to be a councillor and invite applicants to apply with a brief summary of their suitability, skills and any special interests to the Council by the Closing date of 10 June 19. Candidates would then be invited to the Council meeting on 19 June 19 where a decision will be made and the successful candidate immediately co-opted onto the council. Council and members of the public present noted that the Council currently had no female members and hoped potential female members would come forward for consideration.
    6. Clerk to the Council – Chairman stated that having two Clerks was not a viable situation for a small council (both Clerks had been transferred to the Council under the terms of the Hambleton District Council Reorganisation Order which merged the parishes of Brafferton and Helperby). He described the process to properly resolve the issue which is recommended by ACAS. It was resolved to commence the process which will have several stages as follows:
       1. An employer’s panel will be formed comprising Cllr Owens (formally of Brafferton PC), Cllr Cuthbert (formally of Helperby PC) and an independent HR professional from Community First Yorkshire.
       2. An ‘At Risk’ meeting between employer and employees to explore options, if any, to avoid a redundancy. If redundancy is unavoidable then the meeting will move on to discuss the criteria by which a selection will be made.
       3. A week later a further meeting will be held to carry out the assessments.
       4. Ideally within 2 days, the panel will hold a further meeting with the lower scoring post holder to: review assessments; confirm that the individual’s post was selected for redundancy; the notice period and the basis for redundancy payment. A letter setting out the details will follow which will confirm that the individual has a right of appeal.
       5. Finally, the successful post holder will be formally appointed as Clerk to B&HPC.
       6. Two areas of costs to the Council were anticipated: costs of the HR professional (estimated at £800) and the Statutory redundancy payment which could exceed £1000 depending on the individual’s length of service.
    7. Re-titling of both existing parish council notice boards and re-siting of old Brafferton PC notice board – deferred to the next Council meeting.
    8. Council Standing Orders, Financial Orders, GDPR Privacy Notices, Complaints Procedures, Council Risk Assessments and procedures for handling requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 – all orders and policies had been issued to Cllrs before the meeting. It was resolved to adopt them all. In respect of Risk Assessments, Clerk summarised a recent court case which had led to new advice to councils with regard to the risk assessment of trees and the associated regime which should include regular inspection of ‘High Risk’ trees by tree specialists. Clerk(s) to ensure assessment includes all relevant trees in the Parish and to obtain quotes for such inspections for the next meeting.
    9. Council representatives:
       1. YLCA Hambleton Branch – Cllr Topps
       2. Hambleton Parish Liaison meetings (biannual at County Hall) – tbd
       3. Village Hall – Cllr Denison
       4. Neighbourhood Watch – organisation in abeyance
       5. Helperby & Brafferton War Memorial Committee – Cllr Mitchell
       6. Easingwold & Villages Community Forum – Cllr Denison
11. Correspondence
    1. None presented.

Date of next meeting – Wednesday 19 June 2019