55 Parish Council Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday18th March 2015

Councillors present: Richard Evans (Chairman), Trevor Lang, Jane Ballard, Paul Long and Sarah Douglas Pennant

Also present: Mrs J Ince (clerk), County Councillor Mary Evans, District Councillor Peter Stevens and one member of the public

1. Acceptance of apologies for absence Apologies were also received from Gordon Johnson Houghton and the reason for absence accepted.

2. Declaration of Interest in items on the agenda No councillors declared an interest in any items on the agenda.

3. Approval of the minutes of the meeting on Wednesday 21st January 2015 It was resolved that the minutes were correct. The Chairman then signed them.

4. Report from the Safer Neighbourhood Team No crimes have been reported in Stansfield since the last meeting. There has been a spate of burglaries of other buildings in the and area. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the Police via 101.

5. County Councillor's Report Mary Evans spoke about:  Highway's new online reporting tool. Emergency repairs should still be reported by telephone.  The meeting about the future of Clare Police station. 60 residents attended the meeting in Clare. The Officer in Charge would prefer the SNT to be based in Haverhill. They will have some space at the Fire Station for drop- ins. Residents were reassured that officers would not be taken away from the villages to work in Haverhill  The footpath to Stansfield Mill. SCC is going to get a contractor to put a step in next to the stile in at Horse Ford.  SCC has made a commitment that 80% of premises will have superfast broadband by the end of the year.  is the top county in the country for take up of superfast broadband, so SCC should get £2 million back from BT to put back into the Better Broadband scheme.

6. District Councillor's Report Peter Stevens spoke about the following:  The re-organisation of the bin scheme in some areas which has gone smoothly.  The consultation about the new operational hub at Hollow Road Farm.  St Edmundsbury Borough Council's new website  The Parish Conference on 26th March 2015  Locality budgets for smaller villages will be retained and will be able to be given direct to parish councils.  The Rural Communities Initiatives Fund is ring fenced for larger grants and there is still funding available.

7. Village Hall report Mary Evans has committed a grant of approximately £2,700 to carry out external works at the village hall. Fay Gridley has been working hard making blackout blinds for the hall so that films and theatre can be shown throughout the year.

8. Update on list of actions agreed at the last meeting The following actions are outstanding: a) Photograph the Council's assets (RE) b) Check headstones (SDP)

9. Finance a) Approval of payments It was resolved that the following payments would be approved:  HMRC - PAYE - LGA 1972, s111 - £2.20  J P Ince, expenses, LGA 1972, s111 - £13.30 and pay adjustment (difference between monthly standing order and correct monthly salary - £4.22. Total: £17.52  Local Council Public Advisory Service (LCPAS) - LGA 1972, s111 - £80.00  Stripey Cat's Studio - framing of the Magna Carta scroll - S137 - £68.00

It was also resolved that the clerk would be authorised to purchase the latest version of the website software used at a cost of approximately £50 and that Stansfield PC would pay one sixth of the cost. b) Statement of receipts and payments made since the last meeting It was resolved that the statement of receipts and payments would be approved. c) Review of all regular payments including the clerk's salary and approval of payments relating to these services for 2015-16 It was resolved that the following regular payments would continue to be paid in 2015 - 16: Stansfield Parish Council – 18th March 2015 56

2015- Regular payments 2016 Frequency Insurance £195.00 Annually Subscriptions: SALC £0.00 Annually Community Action Suffolk £30.00 Annually LCPAS £80.00 Annually Services Strimming of Chapel grounds £230.00 Annually Village Hall Rental £180.00 Annually Contribution towards the cost of Broadband £168.00 Annually Donations Stansfield PCC - donation towards cost of maintaining churchyard £45.00 Annually Clerk's phone £33.00 Annually Fidelity (clerk's workplace pension) £10.00 Monthly Clerk's salary £214.00 Monthly d) Review of the income and expenditure for 2014/15 against the budget and discuss the level of reserves for general and earmarked expenditure. Councillors reviewed the income and expenditure for 2014/15 against the budget. The Council will have a budget deficit of approximately £500.00. This figure includes £250 allocated to cover any election costs. The Council is over budget because of the cost of purchasing a new notice board. e) Review of the Council’s Financial Regulations Orders to ensure that they are being complied with New Financial Regulations based on the NALC model to introduce procedures to allow for electronic banking were introduced on 21st May 2014. f) Appointment of a councillor to check the accounts and complete the checklist of internal controls including salary details and PAYE tax codings It was resolved that Sarah Douglas Pennant would check the Council's accounts this year. g) Approval of the revised risk assessment based on the model provided by BDO LLP It was resolved that the revised risk assessment would be approved. The Chairman then signed it. h) Appointment of a councillor to inspect the Council’s property for damage or defects by 30th April 2015 and complete the inspection checklist. It was resolved that would Sarah Douglas Pennant would inspect and photograph the Council's property and complete the inspection checklist. i) Review the register of fixed assets and insurance values Councillors reviewed the assets register. It was resolved that the laptop would be removed from the insurance. j) Liability insurance The Council has the following levels of liability cover: Public liability cover: £6,000,000 Personal accident: £25,000 Fidelity guarantee: £25,000 Employer's liability (clerk only) £10,000,000 k) Appointment of an internal auditor to complete section 3 of the annual return It was resolved that Simon Iron would be appointed as internal auditor again this year. l) Review of the effectiveness of the internal audit The Council reviewed the effectiveness of the internal audit. It was resolved that the internal audit was effective and that audit regulations would be met. m) Review the Council's Standing Orders The Council's Standing Orders were reviewed and updated on 19th November 2014 to add in changes brought in by Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations 2014 Act. n) Precept request No precept information has been received yet. o) Letter to Lloyd amending monthly standing order for clerk's salary

Stansfield Parish Council – 18th March 2015 57 It was resolved that the clerk's salary would continue to be paid by standing order and that the monthly standing order for the clerk's salary would be amended following the pay increase agreed at the last meeting. The letter to Barclays was signed by Sarah Douglas Pennant and Jane Ballard. p) Reserves At year end, the estimate bank balance is £2,713, less the money allocated for election costs (£250) and the money allocated to the cricket club (up to £450). Predicted reserve: £2,013 BDO LLP recommends that reserves should be at least 50% of the Council's annual precept request of £4,951 so they are a little bit low.

11. Planning FHDC and SEBC's Joint Development Management Policies Local Plan Document has now been adopted. This supersedes some of the policies in the St Ed Replacement Local Plan 2016.

12. Parish Council elections on 7th May a) Nomination forms 3 councillors completed their nomination forms. b) E-mail from SEBC re cost of a contested election Stansfield Parish Council will be expected to pay approximately £200 for a non-contested election and between £500 and £666 if contested. c) Letter from SEBC about their next Community Governance Review and asking if there are any issues in Stansfield future development/parish boundary) which will have an impact on Stansfield. It was resolved that the Council would ask if Elm Farmhouse, and 3 other properties could become part of Stansfield as geographically they are nearer to Stansfield and have social ties to the village.

13. Highways/rights of way issues/Transport issues a) Suffolk County Council's online reporting tool Suffolk County Council has a new online tool for reporting Highways issues. It was resolved that details would be included in the next newsletter. b) Repeater signs for Plough Hill The clerk was asked to request repeater signs for Plough Hill as they have been damaged by a vehicle. Jane Ballard agreed to report two large potholes on the road from Stansfield to .

14. Village issues The pub is doing really well under new management.

15. Correspondence: a) E-mail from SEBC re the Parish Conference which will take place on Thursday 26th March at 6pm in Honington Village Hall. Items on the agenda include highways issues and speeding. No councillors wished to attend. b) Letter from SCC re their Education and Learning Infrastructure Plan The letter was circulated to councillors. c) E-mail from Newstalk requesting a donation It was resolved that no donation would be made and that residents would be asked at the Annual Parish Meeting which charity they would like to support. d) E-mail from the Spinal Injuries Association asking the Parish Council to help advertise their fund raising event the Great British Fish and Chip Supper 2015 on Friday 15th May 2015 It was resolved that details of the event would be included in the next newsletter. e) E-mail from Simon Pickering re youth provision in Stansfield It was resolved that the clerk would respond to his request for information and that the Council would be willing to advertise any activities set up.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.40pm.

Signed ………………………………… (Chairman) Dated ………………………………………………………

Stansfield Parish Council – 18th March 2015