Appendix 1
Cyngor Cymuned Pontyclun Community Council
Planning Applications
We have been requested by a resident to consider one planning application. He also wishes to attend the meeting to raise his views
The application is 20/1342/10 relating to the proposal for 11 affordable dwellings at the site of the old Primary School at Miskin
Action – members to consider this applications.
1 Appendix 1a
Clerk Pontyclun Community Council Pontyclun Community Centre Heol Yr Orsaf Pontyclun CF72 9TY
Fy Nghyf/My Ref: EichCyf/Your Ref: Dyddiad/Date: 14/12/2020 20/1342/10
Gofynnwch am/Please ask for: Giles Howard 01443 281130
DATBLYGIAD 11 affordable dwellings and associated works. ARFAETHEDIG/PROPOSAL: LLEOLIAD/LOCATION : FORMER MISKIN PRIMARY SCHOOL, SCHOOL ROAD, MISKIN, PONTYCLUN CYF GRID/GRID REF: 305502.02, 181422.97
DEDDF CYNLLUNIO GWLAD A THREF TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 / GORCHYMYN CYNLLUNIO GWLAD 1990 / TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING A THREF (GWEITHDREFN RHEOLI (DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT DATBLYGU) (CYMRU) 2012 PROCEDURE) (WALES) ORDER 2012
Annwyl Sir/Madam Dear Sir/Madam
Mae manylion cais cynllunio a ddaeth i law I enclose details of a planning application Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Rhondda Cynon received by Rhondda Cynon Taf County Taf, mewn perthynas â'r cais uchod, wedi'u Borough Council, in respect of the above hamgáu. Gofynnaf am eich sylwadau. proposal, and request your observations.
I weld cynlluniau ac ati ar gyfer y cais uchod Please view plans etc for the above ar-lein, ewch i www.rctcbc.gov.uk/planning a application online at chlicio ar 'Cymraeg' ar frig y dudalen. www.rctcbc.gov.uk/planning
Os nad ydw i'n clywed gennych chi o fewn 21 I will assume you have no comments to make diwrnod o ddyddiad y llythyr hwn, byddaf yn if I do not hear from you within 21 days of the tybio nad ydych am gyflwyno sylwadau. date of this letter.
Yr eiddoch yn gywir / Yours faithfully,
Jim Bailey Pennaeth Cynllunio / Head of Planning
2 Appendix 1a
3 Appendix 2
Cyngor Cymuned Pontyclun Community Council Croesawn ohebu yn Gymraeg a fydd gohebu yn y Gymraeg ddim yn arwain at oedi gormodol. Rhowch wybod inni beth yw'ch dewis iaith e.e. Cymraeg neu'n ddwyieithog
Swyddfa Cyngor Cymuned Community Council Office Canolfan Gymunedol Pontyclun Pontyclun Community Centre Heol yr Orsaf Heol yr Orsaf Pontyclun Pontyclun CF72 9EE CF72 9EE
Ffôn: 01443 238500 Telephone: 01443 238500 E-bost: [email protected] E mail: [email protected] Gwefan: www.pontyclun.net Website: www.pontyclun.net
Draft Minutes
Draft minutes of the Monthly Meeting of the Pontyclun Community Council held at 7.00 p.m. on Wednesday 9th December 2020.
PCC Member attendance at meetings 2019 2020 Member name Nov Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Sep Oct Nov Dec Martin Ashford Margaret Griffiths Paul Griffiths Neil Holley Anne Jackson Gwyn Jackson Kate Jones Karan Lane Alison Theaker Carole Willis Mike Davies
Present Gave Apologies Absent
1. To receive apologies for absence a. Councillor Kate Jones gave her apologies 2. Disclosure of personal and pecuniary interest in items of business listed below in accordance with the Code of Conduct. a. No new disclosures made 3. Public requests to the Council a. No members of public requested to join meeting 4. To Confirm minutes of the Council meeting of 11th November 2020 are a true record of the meeting a. Minutes accepted as a true record
4 Appendix 2 b. Matters arising i. RCT CBC advise they will be viewing the pavement in the centre of village to identify if suitable sites are present for street benches. They will advise in due course ii. Clerk advised that changes to Christmas decorations had been made as agreed by Council. Spend was approx. £450 under budget. In addition, about £440 has been spent repairing/replacing existing damaged equipment. Our Lights installers are investigating damage to one lamp post light which has not been put up. Gap left opposite Masonic hall. iii. Gifts for Café 50 users and towards our foodbank appeal were made totalling £286 (v budget £300) iv. Following receipt of additional advice regarding Covid guidelines/regulations the Council was not able to arrange a visit by Santa to Cefn y Hendy Christmas Market 5. To review Council Payments in November a. Payments noted and confirmed 6. To review Council services during Covid lockdown period a. Members noted position and did not wish to further extend opening of café 50 to groups 7. To consider request for support from Pontyclun Football club a. Members considered request and requested Clerk to put the club in contact with RCT sports department as they have experience in dealing with disabled sporting teams 8. To discuss report of the Administration Working group a. Members noted and agreed with recommendation not to progress with trying to close parking bays on Cowbridge Road b. Members delegated authority to Councillors Neil Holley and Mike Davies to finalise design for Covid street posters with the Clerk c. Members noted revised Place plan consultation document and agreed to progress this. Councillor Paul and Margaret Griffiths will now consider questions that the consultation should ask 9. To discuss report from Economy Working Group a. Members noted the Economy working group report b. It was noted that Chepstow has some banners/signs and members requested that the clerk asks to see how these were funded 10. To discuss report of the Environment working group a. Members noted the report b. Council resolved to complete signing of the Letter of agreement for Community garden to take effect from when we initially agreed in January 2020 c. Council agreed that the Community Garden team would not have to pay towards the cost of the new shed provided funds were used within the community d. Members agreed that new lease could be signed for land at Riverside Walk. Councillor Lane to draft a revised paragraph covering replacement of fencing to show that ongoing routine maintenance would be the responsibility of the Environment group and replacement that of the Council. The Council and Environment group to mutually agree when replacement was required. e. Council asked Clerk to investigate the ownership of the small triangle of land at the centre of Miskin and report back in due course. Action MM721 11. To discuss Planning applications a. Land to west of A4119 at Cefn y Hendy i. The Council discuss the request which is to allow more time to submit reserved matters. Whilst the Council reiterated its objection to the development itself, they could not identify a valid reason to object to extending the timescales for submission of reserved matters b. Proposed bungalow to rear of Lifestyle Express, Bryn Amlwg, Pontyclun i. Councillors expressed concerns regarding access issues here and in particular that the narrow access route would be shared by people walking to/from playground and schools ii. Councillors agreed that we would object on these grounds 12. To discuss report from Community Liaison Group a. Members noted the report b. Clerk to arrange publicity encouraging people to consider becoming a Councillor for now and again in about a year Action MM722 c. Members agreed to review our Infrastructure Levy proposals again in Spring 2021 13. To discuss the draft report of the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales a. Members discussed draft report and agreed that they would continue to offer Councillors payment of actual expenses. They also agreed that no payments would be made for senior Council positions. 14. To approve transfer of Phone box in Miskin to the Community Council a. The Council approved the purchase of the phone box and Clerk is to arrange the signing of the relevant paperwork 15. Grant requests a. A grant of £200 was agreed for the Yarnmongers 16. To discuss accident near Pontyclun Park a. Members noted that the accident had occurred and expressed their deep regret
5 Appendix 2 b. Members noted that a young girl had tripped whilst walking along the fence line of the Park (on the roadside of the fence). Her mother advises that she tripped over part of the remains of the old fence and landed on another part causing bruising c. The lady contacted RCT who believing the issue related to Highways came out and removed the old fence parts d. The Council noted that we were aware parts of the old fence had not been removed when the new fence was installed; however, at the time following an inspection it was believed that it was safe e. The Council agreed to write to Mrs Thomas, the mother of the child to express our regret at the accident. The Clerk was asked to circulate the final proposed letter to Councillors before it was sent f. Members noted that Mrs Thomas has indicated that she may claim against the Council and the Clerk has advised our insurers accordingly g. The Clerk will carry out a further inspection of the site with RCT staff and Chair is to be invited to join if possible
6 Appendix 3
Cyngor Cymuned PONTYCLUN Community Council
Internal and External audit arrangements
External Audit report for 2019-20 We have now received our completed Audit report and annual return for 2019-20. This is the final report from BDO and had been delayed due to Covid issues
There are 2 minor issues identified. They wish to draw our attention to them so that we do not do the same in future years
1. On the annual return the Clerk omitted to tick the N/A box for Charitable trusts in 2018-9 2. We maintain a list of spending under S137. They identified that at least 1 of the items on this year’s did not need to be on the list as we had specific powers under S19 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 to make this grant.
The Council should now accept the report which will be published on our website
Action – Members to accept External report for 2019-20 Interim Internal Audit report for 2020-21 Our Internal auditor has completed their half yearly interim review of this year. Because of Covid the review has been done remotely with us supplying papers electronically.
The report is attached, notes that administratively we have coped with Covid well and has no action points.
The Council now needs to accept the report.
Action – members to accept Interim report for 2020-21 Future audit arrangements The Auditor General is the statutory external auditor of most of the Welsh public sector. This means that he audits the accounts of county and county borough councils, police, fire and rescue authorities, national parks and community councils, as well as the Welsh Government, its sponsored and related public bodies, the Senedd Commission and National Health Service bodies. The Auditor General’s role includes examining how public bodies manage and spend public money, including how they achieve value in the delivery of public services. In practice for us that means that we have a regular audit regime around published themes. This audit consists of an Internal audit arranged by us and an annual external audit arranged by Audit Wales (AW). For the last few years this external audit has been completed by BDO (from their Bristol Offices)
Since 2008 the Auditor General has identified significant and systemic failings in financial management and governance across the sector leading them to conclude that the audit arrangements need to be changed
The auditor has consulted on changes and has now published his findings which will be implemented. These can be seen here Future arrangements
7 Appendix 3
The new arrangements can be summarised as –
Internal audits will continue as now – being a review of processes, risks and also a detailed examination of transactions
External audits will now be done in-house by AW staff
The external audit will be in two parts
1. In two out of three years, AW will do a high-level review of processes and risks. This will include us having to physically take our papers to a central location 2. In the third year AW will also undertake a review of transactions, physically checking invoices and payment approvals 3. There will be a published schedule of when we will have a transactional review. For us it will be for the financial year 2021-22 and every three years afterwards. This would only change if they identified issues which need addressing urgently.
This change of arrangements will mean that in the year that AW checks transactions there will be an increase in Audit costs for the extra work undertaken.
8 Appendix 3a
ISSUES ARISING REPORT FOR Pontyclun Community Council Audit for the year ended 31 March 2020
9 Appendix 3a
Pontyclun Community Council 2
Introduction
The following matters have been raised to draw items to the attention of Pontyclun Community Council. These matters came to the attention of BDO LLP during the audit of the annual return for the year ended 31 March 2020.
The audit of the annual return may not disclose all shortcomings of the systems as some matters may not have come to the attention of the auditor. For this reason, the matters raised may not be the only ones that exist.
The matters listed below are explained in further detail on the page(s) that follow;
Issues Raised ● Accounting Statements - Trust Funds Disclosure Note ● Expenditure powers - S137 power incorrectly used
10 Appendix 3a
Pontyclun Community Council 3
The following issue(s) have been raised as there are minor errors on the annual return which we wish to draw to the attention of the body so they do not occur again in future years.
Accounting Statements - Trust Funds Disclosure Note
What is the issue?
The council has not answered box 14 for 2019 in error in the Accounting Statements of the annual return. We believe based on the prior year's information that the council should have answered 'N/a'.
Why has this issue been raised?
The disclosure on the annual return has not been completed, as we believe that the council is not the sole trustee of any charities.
What do we recommend you do? The council should ensure in future years that it answers 'No' or 'N/a', to show that the council does not act as the sole trustee for and is not responsible for managing trust funds or assets.
Further guidance on this matter can be obtained from the following source(s): Governance and Accountability in Local Councils in Wales - A Practitioners' Guide, OVW/SLCC
11 Appendix 3a
Pontyclun Community Council 4
The following issue(s) have been raised to assist the body. The body is recommended to take action on the following issue(s) to ensure that the body acts within its statutory and regulatory framework.
Expenditure powers - S137 power incorrectly used
What is the issue?
Payments were made to one or more of the following: a local social, sports or youth club(s) which could have been authorised under S19 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976, power to provide recreational facilities within and outside of the area.
Why has this issue been raised?
The council incorrectly recorded items as Section 137 payments when other statutory powers existed. A payment cannot be recorded under S137 if another statutory powers exists.
What do we recommend you do? The council must ensure in future years that it reviews the list of statutory powers available to council to establish if a power exists before relying on S137 to authorise a payment. The statutory power being used to authorise expenditure should be recorded alongside the item to demonstrate the council has properly followed its standing orders and financial regulations.
Further guidance on this matter can be obtained from the following source(s): Governance and Accountability in Local Councils in Wales - A Practitioners' Guide, OVW/SLCC One Voice Wales representative, One Voice Wales website - (www.onevoicewales.org.uk) Audit Briefing, Spring 2010, BDO
No other matters came to our attention.
For and on behalf of BDO LLP
Date: 10 November 2020
12 Appendix 3b Gommunity and Town Councils in Wales Annual Return for the Year Ended 31 March 2020
LANGUAGE PREFERENCE
Please indicate how you would like us to communicate with you during the audit. Note that audit notices will be issued bilingually. EE T|GH Ëqñq i ENGLISH It r^ WELSH r f B¡LINGUALLY lr,r
THE ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT PROCESS
Section 12 of the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 requires community and town councils (and their joint committees) in Wales to make up their accounts each year to 31 March and to have those accounts audited by the Auditor General for Wales. Regulation 14 of the Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2014 states that smaller local government bodies i.e. those with annual income and expenditure below [2.5 million must prepare their accounts in accordance with proper practices. For community and town councils and their joint committees, proper practices are set out in the One Voice Wales/Society of Local Council Clerks publication Governance and accountability for local councils in Wales - A Practitioners' Guide (the Practitioners' Guide). The Practitioners' Guide requires that they prepare their accounts in the form of an Annual Return. This Annual Return meets the requirements of the Practitioners' Guide. The accounts and audit arrangements follow the process as set out below.
RFO/Clerk prepares The body approves the External auditor completes audit and: accounting Annual Return by 30 June. statements and This is evidenced by the Annual Governance Chair signing the box Either: Or: Statement. lnternal below Part 2 of the Annual lf no amendments are required, lf amendments are required, audit completes Governance Statement. certifies the Annual Return and reports issues (including internal audit report. RFO/Clerk sends the sends it back to the body for amendments) to the body. The RFO certif¡es return Annual Return and copies publishing by 30 September. body amends the Annual Return, (below Part 2 of the of requested evidence to the RFO re-certifies and the body Annual Governance the external auditor acting re-approves before sending it back Statement) before on behalf of the Auditor to the auditor. The auditor then 30 June and General for Wales. certifies the Annual Return and presents the return sends it back to the body for to the body. publishing by 30 September.
Please read the guidance on completing this Annual Return and complete all sections highlighted pink including BOTH sections of the Annual Governance Statement.
APPROVING THE ANNUAL RETURN
There are two boxes for certification and approval by the body. The second box is only required if the Annual Return has to be amended as a result of the audit. You should only complete the top box before sending the form to the auditor.
The council must approve the Annual Return BEFORE the accounts and supporting documents are made available for public inspection under section 30 of the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004,
The Auditor General for Wales' Audit Certificate and report is to be completed by the auditor acting on behalf of the Auditor General. lt MUST NOT be completed by the Glerk/RFO, the Chair or the internal auditor. Audited and certified returns are sent back to the body for publication and display of the accounting statements, Annual Governance Statement and the Auditor General for Wales' certificate and report. 13 1 Appendix 3b Accounting statements 2019-20 lor: Name of body: I6fr0;i;ffiCwø _Ø ø ¡,lC Statement of income and expenditure/receipts and payments ' ----'--1 -- I 1. Balances 82611 g72gg I totat balances and reserves at the beginning of the year as brought forward : recorded in the financial records. Must agree to line 7 of the ,L preVtOUS year (+) 2. lncome '113/.10 1 18480 Total amount of income received/receivable in the year from from local local taxation (precept) or levy/contribution from principal bodies. taxation/levy
3. (+) Totalother 30825 25358 Total income or receipts recorded in the cashbook minus receipts amounts included in line 2. lncludes support, discretionary and revenue grants.
4. G) Staff costs 87321 95162 Total expenditure or payments made to and on behalf of all employees. lnclude salaries and wages, PAYE and Nl (employees and employers), pension contributions and related expenses eg. termination costs.
5. (-) Loan 0 0 Total expenditure or payments of capital and interest made interesUcapital during the year on external borrowing (if any). repayments
6. (-) Totalother 42226 45117 Total expenditure or payments as recorded in the cashbook payments minus staff costs (line 4) and loan interesUcapital repayments (line 5).
7. (=) Balances 97299 100858 Total balances and reserves at the end of the year. Must equal carried forward (1+2+3) - (4+5+6). Statement of balances
8. (+) Debtors and 0 0 lncome and expenditure accounts only: Enter the value of stock balances debts owed to the body and stock balances held at the year-end.
9. (+) Total 97299 r00858 All accounts: The sum of all current and deposit bank accounts, cash and cash holdings and investments held at 31 March. This must investments agree with the reconciled cashbook balance as per the bank reconciliation.
f 0. C) Greditors 0 0 lncome and expenditure accounts only: Enter the value of monies owed by the body (except borrowing) at the year-end.
ll. 1=¡ Balances 0 0 Total balances should equal line 7 above: Enter the total of carried forward (8+9-10).
12. Totalfixed 309077 312499 The asset and investment register value of all fixed assets and assets and any other long-term assets held as at 31 March. long-term assets
13. Totalborrowing 0 0 The outstanding capital balance as at 31 March of all loans from third parties (including PWLB).
14. Trust funds NtlÀ The body acts as sole trustee for and is responsible for disclosure note managing (a) trust fund(s)/assets (readers (-. (:- n rî should note that the c figures above do not include any trust transactions).
14 2 Appendix 3b
Annual Governance Statement (Part 1)
We acknowledge as the members of the Council, our responsibility for ensuring that there is a sound system of internal control, including the preparation of the accounting statements. We confirm, to the best of our knowledge and belief, with respect to the accounting statements for the year ended 31 March 2020, that:
4EI@E EGTEGIi IGS NET ffi 1. We have put in place arrangements for: Properly sets its budget and , 6,12 . effective financial management during the year; manages its money and prepares and rã r and approves its accounting statements as prescribed by law. . the preparation and approval of the accounting statements. 2. We have maintained an adequate system of internal Made proper arrangements 6,7 control, including measures designed lo prevent çr and accepted responsibility for and detect fraud and corruption, and reviewed its safeguarding the public money effectiveness. and regources in its charge. 3. We have taken all reasonable steps to assure Has only done things that it has 6 ourselves that there are no matters of actual or the legal power to do and has potential non-compliance with laws, regulations and {î r' conformed to codes of practice and codes of practice that could have a signifìcant standards in the way it has done so financial effect on the ability of the Councill3oardl Committee to conduct its business or on its finances. 4. We have provided proper opportunity for the Has given all persons interested 6,23 exercise of electors' rights in accordance with the o r the opportunity to inspect the body's requirements of the Accounts and Audit (Wales) accounts as set out in the notice of Regulations 2014 audit. 5. We have carried out an assessment of the risks Considered the fìnancial and other 6,9 facing the Council/Board/Committee and taken risks it faces in the operation of appropriate steps to manage those risks, including {ä f the body and has dealt with them the introduction of internal controls and/or external properly. insurance cover where required. 6. We have maintained an adequate and effective Arranged for a competent person, 6,8 system of internal audit of the accounting records independent of the financial controls and control systems throughout the year and have ç I and procedures, to give an objective received a report from the internal auditor. view on whether these meet the needs of the body.
I 7. We have considered whether any litigation, Disclosed everything it should have 6 liabilities or commitments, events or transactions, I about its business during the year year-end, have a including place occurring either during or after the fr it events taking after fìnancial impact on the Council/Board/Committee the year-end if relevant.
and, where appropriate, have included them on the I accounting statements. 8. We have taken appropriate action on all matters Considered and taken raised in previous reports from internal and external appropriate action to address audit. fi f, issues/weaknesses brought to its ; attention by both the internal and : external auditors. I
9. Trust funds - in our capacity as trustee, we have: Has met all of its responsibilities 3, 6 o discharged our responsibility in relation to the where it is a sole managing trustee accountability for the fund(s) including financial I of a local trust or trusts.
i reporting and, if required, independent I examination or audit. i i " Please provide explanations to the external auditor on a separate sheet for each 'no' response given; and describe what action is being taken to address the weaknesses identifìed. 15 3 Appendix 3b
Annual Governance Statement (Part 2) 4@ VGF NITA
'l . We have prepared and approved minutes for Has kept and approved minutes in accordance with all meetings held by the Council (including its Schedule 12,Paragraph 41 ofthe Local committees) that accurately record the É(*r Government Act 1972. business transacted and the decisions made by the Council or committee. 2. We have ensured that the Council's minutes Has made arrangements for the minutes to be (including those of its committees) are available for public inspection in accordance with available for public inspection and have been section 228 ofthe Local Government Act 1972 and published electronically. çrî has published the minutes on its website in accordance with section 55 of the Local Government (Democracy) (Wales) Act 2013.
* Please delete as appropriate
Cou nci l/Board/Com m ¡ttee app roval and certif icatio n
The Council/Board/Committee is responsible for the preparation of the accounting statements in accordance with the requirements of the Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2014 and for the preparation of the Annual Governance Statement.
Certification by the RFO Approval by the Council/Board/Committee I certify that the accounting statements contained in this Annual I confirm that these accounting statements and Return presents fairly the fìnancial position of the Council, and its Annual Governance Statement were approved by the
income and expenditure, or properly presents receipts and Counci l/Board/Com mittee u nder minute reference : payments, as the case may be, for the 31 March 2020 Minute ref: i*r^¿ to?Þ l{,Jr¡ ì "" RFO sig Chair of meeting signature: Name: Julius Roszkowski Name: 4* 0o, Date: ti/t Date: tlf ^!iltu />- l, /W.
Gouncil/Board/Committee re-approval and re-certification (only required if the Annual Return has been amended at aud¡t)
Certification by the RFO Approval by the Council/Board/Com mittee I certify that the accounting statements contained in this Annual I confirm that these accounting statements and Return presents fairly the fìnancial position of the Council/Board/ r Annual Governance Statement were approved by the Committee, and its income and expenditure, or properly presents Council/Board/Committee under minute reference: receipts and payments, as the case may be, for the year ended 31 March 2020. Minute ref:
RFO signature: Chair of meeting signature:
Name: Name:
Date: Date:
16 4 Appendix 3b
Auditor General for Wales' Audit Certificate and report The external auditor conducts the audit on behalf of, and in accordance with, guidance issued by the Auditor General for Wales. On the basis of their review of the Annual Return and supporting information, they report whether any matters that come to their attention give cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met. We certiff that we have completed the audit of the Annual Return for the year ended 31 March 2020 of:
Poxlf YCLuN (or../lMvNrTY CottNou
External auditor's report
[Except for the matters reported below]* On the basis of our review, in our opinion, the information contained in the Annual Return is in accordance with proper practices and no matters have come to our attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met.
[[-hese matters along with]. Other matters not affecting our opinion which we draw to of.ì-o the body and our recommendations for improvement are included in our report to the body dated
Other matters and recommendat¡ons
On the basis of our review, we draw the body's attention to the following matters and recommendations which do not affect our audit opinion but should be addressed by the body.
Ptease see enctosed report ,r,tfiüiîrï"o q,8ç ' ,\çr'lte¡t
(Continue on a separate sheet if required.)
External auditor's name: Ë00 l-LP $outlr ampton
External auditor's signature: Date \-\r,þ For and on behalf of the Auditor for Wales
* Delete as appropriate
17 5 Appendix 3b
Annual internal audlt report to:
t{ame of borly: . f¿ontydun Communlty Gounclt
Thc Councll/BoarüCommltþe's lntcmal audlt, ac'tlng lndepcnden$y and on thc barls of an aescssm€nt sf rlsk, hae lncluded canylng out a gdeú{ve assessmont of complhnco wlth relcìrent procaduros and conÛ'ols expec'led b b€ ln oporatþn durlng the finarrclalyear cndlng 31 March 2020. The lntcmal audlt has bæn carlcd out ln accordance wiüt the Councll/Board/Commlttee's noods and planned covcragc. On thc bacls of thr findlngs in thc arcas cxamlncd, thc lntcmal audlt conclucion¡ arc summarlsad ln thle tablc. Set out bslow are tñc obfcctlvce of lntemal conbol and the lnbmalaudlt conduEions on whcüter, ln all eþnlllcant r€sp€cb, the bllorlng conbd obJecttucs rrerc bclng achlevcd $roughoú the frnanclal year to a standard adcquate to mect üe nccd¡ of thc CounclUBoarÜCommlttec. I Eß@I rE NI'AI ffi f. Approprlaþ books of acæunt h$re bccn poporly kçt ütpughout tltc ycar.
Flnandal regulalionc harc bcc¡l 2. I Pþain rafüto lnþmaiAuUli,Rcpo¡t paymeltb mot mm eupporbd by datöd 06106/2Û20 lnvolcce, oçcndlt¡rc rvar apptoved c and VAT unc approprlably acæunþd lbr. 3. Thc body a$æscd thc rþniñcant plc¡¡çp rlllrb lntcmd Audit Roport rlJß to edìlürlæ ltr oblecütqc o . d*ø o8rq5n020 and revlcu¡d the adcquaoy of anangomcnt3 to nenaec ücqc. ¿1. Thc annual prcccpt/levyÍuoourtc Plcgse rtlffito hFmat AuE¡t Rcporl dcm¡nd ruqulrumcnt rpulbd fon¡ AateoWqOaOeO an adcquaþ btxlgüry procacs, C pmgræe agalnst thc budgpt wæ reguhrly monllorud, and reseruea nrn apprcprlab 6. Expcôd lncomc rvaa tully rsoclvcd, bascd on oorllct prlcos, proprrly racordcd and prompüy bankcd, and VATwa¡ apprçrlatcly ¡coounþd br.
8. Pcüy carh paymcnb wcro No æ-[r cartr ¡yptqr in opbtaüon propcrly urpporbd by rccolpta, , expcndlt'r¡rc was approì/€d and VAT appropd¡tely accounbd for. 7. Salarlcs to qnploycca and Plcætltc¡cflo lntcmal ellowËncos to mombc¡e u,tlc pald , datcd 00/09'l?0-20 ln eccold¡ncc wlür mlnutcd appmvab, and PAYE and {l requlnmcntc walu propsrly i -appllêd. 8. Alsôtmd lnwúTrcnt flgbtcß Ptce¡c. rcñr lq lntcmsl Audlt Rcpot rrcß corfl plcto, acdJmtc, c 'detados/oõtzo2o ' end propcrly malnbhcd.
6 of .¡/ o( 18 Appendix 3b
EE@B vtß tNkr INÌ'A\ ffi 0. Pcrk¡diosrd ycsr-cnd berl( aæount : Pþecc.Afsrtô int målAudltRcpo¡t prcperly (Õc c a rccondllaüong vuan carþd detsd 0S/0-5f2020 or¡t f 0. Accor¡nüng sbHnenb pr€par€d Fþass fêfÖrto lntsmàlAt¡Cìt Report ycarwerc pepared during the . dated 03/06/2020 on the coÍEd accountirB bæb i (tecaþb and peymlnË/in@me and e¡çcndlt¡p), agned Yriü üo Õ ca r ca¡hbooh ueto etpporbd by an adequata audlt trail frorn undedylng Éoordr, and rrrhclt appropriaþ, debþrs and cædito¡o rarc propêrly reg(d. lî. Tru¡ttundc (krdrldlng úadtablc trusb). Tho Coundl/Boad/ I C Õ ( CormltÞehaa r¡etlt¡ rcspombililir¡c as e trutbc.
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19 Appendix 3b
Guidance notes on completing the Annual Return 1. You must apply proper practices when preparing this Annual Return. Proper practices are set out in the Practitioners' Guide. 2. Make sure that the Annual Return is fully completed ie, no empty red boxes. Please avoid making any amendments to the completed return. lf this is unavoidable, cross out the incorrect entries, make sure the amendments are drawn to the attention of the body, properly initialled and an explanation for them is provided to the external auditor. Please do not use correction fluid. Annual returns that are incomplete or contain unapproved and/or unexplained amendments or correction fluid will be returned unaudited and may incur additional costs. Ask your auditor for an electronic copy of the form if required. 3. Use a second pair of eyes, perhaps the Chair or a member, to review your Annual Return for completeness before sending the originalform to the auditor. 4. Make sure that your accounting statements add up, that the balance carried forward from the previous year (line 7 of 2019) equals the balance brought forward in the current year (line 1 oî 2020). Explain any differences between the 2019 figures on this Annual Return and the amounts recorded in last year's Annual Return. 5. Explain fully any significant variances in the accounting statements. Do not just send in a copy of your detailed accounting records instead of this explanation. The external auditor wants to know that you understand the reasons for all variances. lnclude a detailed analysis to support your explanation and be specific about the values of individual elements making up the variances. 6. Make sure that the copy of the bank reconciliation you send to your auditor with the Annual Return covers all your bank accounts and cash balances. lf there are no reconciling items, please state this and provide evidence of the bank balances. lf your Council holds any short{erm investments, please note their value on the bank reconciliation. The auditor should also be able to agree your bank reconciliation to line g in the accounting statements. More help on bank reconciliations is available in the Practitioners'Guide. 7. Every council must send to the external auditor, information to support the assertions made in the Annual Governance Statement even if you have not done so before. Your auditor will tell you what information you need to provide. Please read the audit notice carefully to ensure you include all the information the auditor has asked for. You should send copies of the original records (certified by the Clerk and Chair as accurate copies) to the external auditor and not the original documents themselves. 8. Please do not send the auditor any information that you are not specifically asked for. Doing so is not helpful. 9. lf the auditor has to review unsolicited information, repeat a request for information, receives an incomplete bank reconciliation or explanation of variances or receives original documents that must be returned, the auditor will incur additional costs for which they are entitled to charge additional fees. 10. Please deal with all correspondence with the external auditor promptly. This will help you to meet your statutory obligations and will minimise the cost of the audit. 11. Please note that if completing the electronic form, you must print the form for it to be certified by the RFO and signed by the Ghair before it is sent to the auditor. ffi Accounts Do the papers to be sent to the external auditor include an explanation of significant variations from last year to this year?
Does the bank reconciliation as at 31 March 2020 agree to Line g?
Approval Has the RFO certified the accounting statements and Annual Governance Statement (Regulation 15 (1)) no later than 30 June 2020?
Has the body approved the accounting statements before 30 June 2020 and has Section 3 been signed and dated by the person presiding at the meeting at which approval was given?
Ail Have all pink boxes in the accounting statements and Annual Governance Statement been sections completed and explanations provided where needed?
Has all the information requested by the external auditor been sent with this Annual Return? Please refer to your notice of audit and any additional schedules provided by your external auditor
ilt$ Accounts Have the amended accounting statements been approved and Section 3 re-signed and re-dated as evidence of the Board's approval of the amendments before re-submission to the auditor?
20 B Appendix 3c
Pontyclun Community Council
Internal Audit Report 2020-21 (Interim)
Claire Lingard Consultant Auditor
For and on behalf of Auditing Solutions Ltd
21 Appendix 3c 2
Background
Statute requires all town and parish councils to arrange for an independent internal audit examination of their accounting records and system of internal control and for the conclusions to be reported each year in the Annual Return.
This report sets out the work undertaken in relation to the Internal Audit for the 2020-21 financial year; the Interim review which took place on the 25th November 2020.
Internal Audit Approach
In commencing our review for the year, we have again had regard to the materiality of transactions and their susceptibility to potential mis recording or misrepresentation in the year-end Statement of Accounts / Annual Return. Our programme of cover, which has been modified in light of the Covid- 19 directives under which Councils are required to operate, is designed to afford appropriate assurance that the Council has appropriate and robust financial systems in place that operate in a manner to ensure effective probity of transactions and to afford a reasonable probability of identifying any material errors or possible abuse of the Council’s own and the national statutory regulatory framework. The programme is also designed to facilitate our completion of the ‘Internal Audit Report’ as part of the Council’s Annual Governance and Accountability Return process, which requires independent assurance over a number of internal control objectives.
Overall Conclusions
We have followed up the suggestions and formal recommendations made in our FY2019-20 reports and acknowledge that the members have noted and considered these in their deliberations and have implemented these as appropriate. The Council has continued to make significant business processes and performance improvements, even in these challenging times. We have reviewed the Council’s modified practices implemented to comply with Public Health Wales’ Covid-19 directives, and report that, on the basis of the work undertaken to date in the current year, the Council continues to operate robust and effective internal controls in all areas examined to date. Resultantly, no recommendations for improvement have been made as a result of this review.
We have noted that the Council has complied, as far as it is possible to do so, with Public Health Wales Covid-19 directives amended from time to time, maintaining a consistently high standard of service provision. The Council has also taken all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of its Staff, Members, Clients and members of the public utilising the Council’s facilities. All modified and exceptional working practices have been formally Reviewed, Resolved and Recorded in the Council’s Minutes and the Council is complimented for its management processes in this regard.
We commend not only the Clerk/RFO for his continued professional management and administration of the Council’s finance and governance functions, but also the Staff and Members who have worked tirelessly to maintain services for their constituents during these unprecedented and challenging times. Once again, the manner in which the requested electronic documents and backup files were presented by Clerk/RFO and his team for audit was exemplary, making this remote interim review process as straightforward as possible during these unprecedented times.
We ask that members consider the content of this report and acknowledge that the report has been formally reviewed and adopted by Council.
This report has been prepared for the sole use of Pontyclun Community Council. To the fullest extent permitted by law, no responsibility or liability is accepted by Auditing Solutions Ltd to any third party who purports to use or rely, for any reason whatsoever, on this report, its contents or conclusions.
22 Appendix 3c 3
Detailed Report
Review of Accounting Records & Bank Reconciliations
Our objective here is to ensure that the accounting records are being maintained accurately and that no anomalous entries appear in cashbooks or financial ledgers. We have: ➢ Agreed the opening trial balance detail with that in the 2019-20 Statement of Accounts; ➢ Ensured that the ledger remains “in balance” at the present date; ➢ Ensured that the cost and expenditure coding structure remain appropriate for purpose; ➢ Noted that the Council continues to maintain a Barclays Bank credit card under the Welsh Government Scheme; ➢ Checked detail in cashbook 1, which contains the transactions on the Business current account with Lloyds Bank, agreeing the detail for the months of April, May and June 2020 to the underlying bank statements; and, ➢ Similarly reviewed the monthly bank reconciliations for the months of April, May and June 2020 to ensure that there are no long-standing reconciling items or other anomalous entries.
Conclusions
There are no matters arising in this area of our of our review warranting formal comment or recommendation. We take this opportunity to commend the Clerk/RFO and his Assistant for the excellent standard of accounting records maintained during this period where access to the Council’s offices, and interactions between staff and members have been extremely restricted due to the Public Health Wales Covid-19 directives.
Review of Corporate Governance
Our objective here is to ensure that the Council has a robust series of corporate governance policies, procedures and documentation in place; that Council and Committee meetings are conducted in accordance with the adopted Standing Orders and that, as far as we may reasonably be expected to ascertain, no actions of a potentially unlawful nature have been or are being considered for implementation.
We noted that Standing Orders (SOs) were last reviewed in May 2019 and Financial Regulations (FRs) have been reviewed in May 2020, at the Annual meeting of the Community Council using the model documents supplied by One Voice Wales. We have also commenced our review of the minutes of the Full Council and Working Group meetings for the year to the 31st October to establish, whether any issues exist that may have an adverse effect, through litigation or other causes, on the Council’s current or future financial stability.
We have also noted that the External Auditor’s Report and Certificate was received shortly after this internal audit had been conducted.
Conclusions
There are no matters arriving in this area of our review warranting formal comment or recommendation. We shall continue to assess the Council’s approach to corporate governance during the year-end review. Pontyclun CC (Interim) FY2020-21 25-Nov-20 Auditing Solutions Ltd 23 Appendix 3c 4
Review of Expenditure
Our aim here is to ensure that: - ➢ Council resources are released in accordance with the Council’s approved and amended Covid-19 procedures and budgets; ➢ Payments are supported by suitable documentation, either in the form of an original trade invoice or other appropriate form of document confirming the payment as due and/or an acknowledgement of receipt, where no other form of invoice is available; ➢ All discounts due on goods and services supplied are identified and appropriate action taken to secure the discount; ➢ The correct expense codes have been applied to invoices when processed; and, ➢ VAT has been appropriately identified and coded to the control account for periodic recovery.
We have reviewed the procedures in place for processing payments and are pleased to note that there was clear evidence of all payment documents being subject to proper scrutiny by members with each invoice being properly coded and initialled.
Due to the remote nature of this Interim Audit, due to the Covid-19 directives, we have tested a sample of payments processed in the financial year to 30th September 2020 on the basis of all payments in excess of £750 and every 20th payment irrespective of value. Twelve payments were examined, totalling £5,298.04 and representing 26.2% of all non-pay payments and representing an approximately 43% reduction in expenditure over the previous financial year: (prior year - £9,314.53 and representing 27% of all non-payroll related payments) with no issues arising.
We note that VAT returns are prepared in Rialtas Alpha and submitted to HMRC. We have reviewed and agreed the first two reclaims prepared and submitted to date in 2020-21 to the underlying Alpha accounting records.
Conclusions
There are no issues arising in this area of our review warranting formal comment or recommendation: We shall extend our test sample to include transactions for the remainder of the year during our final review of the year to examine the content of the final two quarters’ VAT reclaims and ensure the accurate disclosure of the year-end VAT debtor value.
Review of Assessment and Management of Risk
Our aim here is to ensure that the Council has put in place appropriate arrangements to identify all potential areas of risk of both a financial and health and safety nature, whilst also ensuring that appropriate arrangements exist to monitor and manage those risks to minimise the opportunity for their coming to fruition. We have: - ➢ Examined the Council’s current insurance policy covering 2020-21, to ensure that appropriate levels of cover are in place, noting that subsequent to a formal review that the Council’s cover is now been placed with BHiB: Employers, Products and Public Liability remain set at £10 million with Officials Indemnity cover at £500,000, Legal Expenses at £100,000, Fidelity Guarantee at £250,000, Liable & Slander at £250,000 and Business Interruption cover at £50,000, all of which we consider appropriate for the Council’s current requirements;
Pontyclun CC (Interim) FY2020-21 25-Nov-20 Auditing Solutions Ltd 24 Appendix 3c 5
➢ Noted that the Council continues to employ a strict Risk Management regime and has a full Risk Management Policy in place for the main Health & Safety and Business operations of the Council, and a separate policy for the Council’s Play and Recreation area. We also note from the recorded Minutes that the Council’s approach to Covid-19 Risk Management has been formally reviewed in each Council meeting with updates issued from RCT and Public Health Wales, which have been amended from time to time, reviewed in a timely manner; and, ➢ Examined the Council’s arrangements for the regular inspection of playgrounds and recreation areas, noting that these have been closed for extended periods during the financial year to the 30th September due to Covid-19 directives issued by Public Health Wales and requests from RCT. These areas have only been reopened after due consideration to the Health & Safety of Council Staff, Members and Constituents, was given by the Clerk/RFO and Members and appropriate risk mitigation measures having been put in place in accordance with Public Health Wales directives.
Conclusions
There are no matters arising in this area of our review warranting formal comment or recommendation. We are pleased to note that the Clerk has advised the Annual Review and Readoption of the Council’s Risk Registers is scheduled to take place in February 2021.
Review of Budgetary Control & Reserves
Our objective here is to ensure that the Council has a robust procedure in place for identifying and approving its future budgetary requirements and the level of precept to be drawn down from the Borough Council. We have noted / ensured that: ➢ At the time of the interim audit, a comprehensive budget setting and precept determination process was being undertaken by the Clerk and Members; ➢ The Clerk/RFO has produced a Budget setting and Review policy which ensures a transparent and consistent approach to the Budgetary and Precept determination process; ➢ Members receive regular reports identifying the budget position throughout the year; ➢ The Council has formally approved the establishment of specific reserves; and, ➢ The utilisation of reserves and the return of unused balances to the General Fund are reported to the Council at regular intervals.
We have examined the latest budget performance detail, as set out in the Alpha accounts with no unexplained or unanticipated variances existing warranting further enquiry.
Conclusions
There are no issues arising in this area of our review warranting formal comment or recommendation: We have reviewed the Clerk/RFO’s Budget Setting and Review Policy document and regard this as an exemplary Corporate Governance and Financial Planning document, which ideally should be produced and employed by all Councils to ensure a consistent and transparent approach to the Budgetary and Precept determination process. We shall extend our review in this area, including testing the Council’s General Reserve, the budgets assigned to each of its EMRs and the examination of any significant budget variances During the year-end audit.
Pontyclun CC (Interim) FY2020-21 25-Nov-20 Auditing Solutions Ltd 25 Appendix 3c 6
Review of Income
The Council receives income from a relatively limited range of sources in addition to the annual Precept, primarily by way of Caterer rent, Grass Cutting, VAT reclaims, A Footpath Grant, Café 50 hire for groups, donations and donations from groups and individuals.
Our aim here is to ensure that income due to the Council is identified and recovered within a reasonable timeframe, and that fees have been levied in accordance with the approved scales of fees and charges.
We have visually examined the Alpha nominal ledger income transaction reports for the year to the 30th September ensuring that, as far as we are reasonably able to ascertain, all income due to the Council has been received appropriately and that no significant miscodings have arisen.
We have noted that the Council’s budgeted income for the 2020-21 financial year has been significantly impacted by Covid-19 in two key areas:
1. As Café 50 has not been able to open the Council has received reduced rent from the caterer and there have been no hire fees from groups whatsoever. This has reduced the Council’s projected income for FY2020-21 by approximately £2,500. There will be an offset in reduced utility bills in due course, as less Gas/Electricity and water has been used, however the relevant bills will not be received till 2021.
2. The Council usually receives grants and donations from various bodies to help support Café 50. The Community shop was the main donor. The shop was forced to close, due to the Covid- 19 directives, reducing their income. Any capacity the shop had to donate was channelled into what it perceived to be more urgent local requirement.
Resultantly, the Council’s projected income has reduced by approximately £3,500-4,000 as at the date of the Interim Internal Audit.
Conclusions
There are no issues arising in this area of our review warranting formal comment and recommendation: We shall extend our review of income streams during the year-end review, to assess, with the Clerk/RFO, the financial impact of the Covid-19 directives on the Council’s day to day operations.
Petty Cash Account
The Council does not operate a petty cash account, all incidental expenses being identified on reclaims submitted monthly by staff, which are subject to the normal expenditure approval controls.
We note that a Visa debit card remains in use for ad-hoc purchases and to take advantage of internet pricing, which is held securely for utilisation by the Clerk. Statements are settled in full each month, with the statements and supporting documents presented to members for the same level of scrutiny as other trade payment documents.
Pontyclun CC (Interim) FY2020-21 25-Nov-20 Auditing Solutions Ltd 26 Appendix 3c 7
We have noted previously that a Barclays Credit card has been obtained and may also be used for ad-hoc purchases.
Review of Staff Salaries
In examining the Council’s payroll function, we aim to confirm that extant legislation is being appropriately observed as regards adherence to the Employee Rights Act 1998 and the requirements of HMRC legislation in accounting for the deduction and payment over of income tax and NI contributions, and meeting the requirements of the local government pension scheme. To meet that objective, we have: ➢ Checked to ensure that the Council has reviewed and approved appropriate pay scales for staff by reference to scanned copies of original letters confirming salary/SCP levels; ➢ Noted that the National Pay Award for FY 2020-21 was approved with effect from the 1st April 2020, retrospectively, on the 9th September 2020; ➢ Noted that the difference between the FY2019-20 and FY2020-21 National Pay Award and increase in SCP grades (backpay), deductions and pension contributions will be applied in the next available payroll; ➢ Checked all staff salaries paid in June 2020, agreeing the gross amounts paid to the approved FY2019-20 pay scale by reference to each employee’s contract of employment; ➢ Ensured that PAYE, NIC and superannuation deductions have been made accurately by reference to the June 2020 payroll detail following central government’s budget changes; ➢ Checked that any overtime or variable hours payable to casual employees is appropriately supported by authorised timesheets; and, ➢ Ensured that individual salaries and the total payments to HMRC and the Pension Fund Administrator are in accord with the June 2020 payroll detail.
Conclusions
There are no matters arising in this area of our review warranting formal comment or recommendation.
Investments and Loans
The Council has no funds invested, other than by way of the Business Current Account with Lloyds Bank plc. Similarly, the Council has no loans either repayable by, or to it. Subsequently, there are no issues arising in this area of our review warranting formal comment or recommendation.
Pontyclun CC (Interim) FY2020-21 25-Nov-20 Auditing Solutions Ltd 27 Appendix 4
Cyngor Cymuned PONTYCLUN Community Council
Council services in Covid 19 constraint period
With Government regulation/ guidelines in place relating to Covid 19 in taken steps to protect our staff and residents from potential infection. We are closely looking at and following RCT CBC practice and relevant government advice, updating as things change.
Action required - none
Café 50
• Under current Welsh Government rules/guidelines Café 50 is closed to groups and there is no lunch service • The current lockdown has been extended to end January and therefore the Clerk recommends that Council waits till February meeting to review opening
Parks
• Ivor Woods has remained fully open at all times • The Park and Playground are fully open since 20th July
Office
• The Council Office is closed to walk in visitors though we have been available to meet on a prebooked basis since September – so far, no meetings have been requested • When Café 50 reopens we will reopen the Office to general public at the same time as staff will need to be on site to help supervise.
Public Toilet
• Public toilet reopened in late July and remains open • We are currently cleaning twice a day. Usage continues to be low – estimated 10-20 people a day
Other Outside work
• We are now in Winter season where Ray only works one day a week • The main caretaker has still not had a confirmed date for his operation. Due to Covid this is now lot likely to take place till Spring at the earliest and will affect our Spring/Summer work
28 Appendix 5
Council Budget, Precept and Council Tax 2021-22
Report of the Administration Working Group
Purpose of the Report
To provide the Council with the information necessary for its decisions on the Budget, Precept and Council Tax for 2021-22
Recommendation
The Council agrees the budget recommended by the Administration Working Group as set out in Column 5 of Appendix 1 and a consequential precept of £128455 which will lead to a Band D Council Tax of about £36.79 per property which is an increase of 5.2% on this year.
Background
Each year the Community Council must agree a precept, i.e. the amount that it requires RCT County Council to collect from the residents of Pontyclun in the council tax contribution to the Community Council’s planned expenditure.
The Community Council is required to agree its precept alongside its agreement on budgeted expenditure and income for the coming year, taking account of whether its reserves are more or less than sufficient to meet their purposes.
Comparisons and Trends
Between 2012-13 and 2017-18 the Community Council maintained no growth in the precept of £110,000 through a series of cost savings which included:
- A reduction in the number of hours and the grade of the post of Clerk - A reduction of 3 manual posts to 2 - The relocation of the public conveniences - The reduction in the number of hanging baskets from 70 to 24 - The elimination of rental payments on the car park - The withdrawal of shop front Christmas Trees
Since then the Council has agreed to increase its precept each year to reflect inflationary increases. Last year the precept was £122100 at £34.97 per band D. This compares with approx. £65 in Llanharan, £80 in Llanharry and £43 in Llantrisant.
29 Appendix 5
The Context for 2021-22
Because of the effects of Covid there are a number of significant budget changes. Some are beneficial to our budget and others adverse.
Details on the significant changes are outlined below together with recommendations from the group.
The working group is making some recommendations regarding assumptions and our services. Without incorporating these and just implementing an inflationary cost increase our precept would need to increase by 12.66%
Income
The Officers have planned on the assumption that groups will start return from April and that lunches will also start to be served from then. If this assumption proves incorrect then the general reserve will be used to support our services
In past years the Community Shop has given us a grant of £2500 towards running Café 50. No grant was paid this year due to Covid.
Our Chair has spoken to them and whilst there are Covid issues the Community shop team feel confident that they should be able to resume a grant to us during our next financial year. The Admin group recommends that this is assumed in our figures.
Action – does the Council agree to include a potential Community Shop grant in our budget calculations?
Staffing Costs
The Council had agreed to implement an increased cleaning regime once Café 50 reopened. This would have been an additional 1 hour per day. At that time, it was not expected that a vaccine would be available and we did not have any usage data for the public toilets.
As we now expect that our Café 50 users are likely to be vaccinated before returning and we know that the usage of the public toilets is less than 30 people a day – and more typically 10-20, the Administration Working Group recommends that the additional cleaning regime is not implemented. For the initial reopening we grant funding to cover any additional cleaning costs for about 2 months and this should be enough.
Not implementing this additional cleaning will save £3200 in direct staffing costs about £350 in additional holiday cover required.
The staffing cost increases are therefore due to pay scale/rises only.
Action – do members agree with this recommendation regarding ongoing cleaning?
30 Appendix 5
Car Park in Heol yr Orsaf
The Community Council has a lease on the car park in Heol yr Orsaf. Whilst there is no rent to pay this does make us liable for non-domestic rates on the car park and its maintenance.
The projected rates for 2021-22 at the car park are around £1700
The fence at the car park requires significant repair; the lines need repainting and the sink hole needs refilling. All these would require expenditure within the next year or two.
The current car park lease expires on 31st March 2021 and the Administration working group recommends that the Council does not renew the lease.
Handing back the car park would mean that RCT would implement its normal parking arrangements which in normal times should mean that free parking would continue but be restricted to 4 hours at a time.
With likely increased working from home in a post Covid world and the additional parking having been added by the Rugby Club, the group felt that this should not cause too much of an issue with users going forward.
Members should note that on surrender of the lease RCT could ask us to make the fence and line painting good so a one off cost might arise.
Action – do members agree with recommendation not to renew our lease on the car park? If so, do they wish us to continue to keep the area tidy as we do now?
General budget increases
Where actuals are known they are used in projections, otherwise we have assumed inflation at 2%, Staff pay rises based on the Chancellor’s public spending announcements in the autumn statement and RCT related bills to rise at 4%
Café 50 Service charge
The Café 50 lease allows for a service charge. RCT have advised us that they will start charging next year but as yet have not provided any indications. The Clerk has included £1k in budget to support this expenditure
Utilities charge
Our utilities are billed to RCT who then periodically recharge to us. The last time they billed us it was for 2018 and our budgets for 2020 and now 2021 are based on this. RCT advise that they expect to bill us for 2019 and 2020 early in 2021 and this is included in this year’s budget figures.
The Administration working group recommends that we plan for this on the assumption that we will only be open for 9 months of the year and reduce the projected spend to £3375
31 Appendix 5
Training budget
Due to Covid issues it is unlikely that members or staff will be undertaking any face to face training in the next year so the group recommends reducing the combined training budget from £1k to £500
Maintenance and Minor Projects (excluding Trees)
This budget is for the maintenance & repair work which the Council undertakes. By its very nature this is volatile as will largely depend on wear and tear, weather and vandal damage.
The Working group recommends retaining this budget at same level as last year – this will be 4th year at same level
Tree costs
Last year the Council agreed to set a total annual budget of £3k per year (nominally split £1k budget and £2k to earmarked reserve). Any money not spent from this to be added to the earmarked reserve towards future years.
The group recommends continuing this policy
Website
The Administration Working Group recommends that this budget is reduced from £450 to £300. The Council’s website was upgraded this year and the new hosting is cheaper for the supplier and subject to us paying annually upfront they have agreed this significant reduction
Software/ Hardware
The Administration Working Group recommends that this budget is increased by £100 to cover cost of bi-annual domain name for e-mails which is due in early 2022
Health & Safety/Cleaning costs
Budget proposed reflects increases in costs relating to additional Covid safety measures which are expected to remain in place (e.g. Hand sanitisers; wipes for groups etc.) and an increase in costs for holiday/sickness cover for cleaner.
Administration, Stationery etc.
It is recommended that this budget is reduced by 10% to reflect savings from reorganising processes.
Printing
Budget reduced here to reflect the expiry of our photocopier lease and that we will purchase the machine.
This was agreed by the Council in the autumn.
32 Appendix 5
Licenses
The Council has an obligation to put in places licences for the playing of music and videos. The Council has an EMR which was used to fund this for 2 years and will cover this in part for 2021-22. A small budget of £200 will be required to balance the cost
Planting
The working group recommends retaining existing budget for a further 12m to reflect that the Council agreed earlier this year to continue existing planting regime.
Community Events
Whilst no events were held this year, we did reallocate our budget towards purchasing additional lights.
The Administration Working Group recommends that we plan to undertake a Picnic in the Park and Christmas festival in the next year to same specification as 2019-20.
As we have some additional lights the group recommends increasing this budget by £200 to cover any additional costs this might incur.
Café 50
The Administration Working Group considered the option of closing Café 50 which it was told would save up to £5000. It recommends that we continue to provide this valued facility.
Footpath maintenance
Members will recall that we have an agreement with RCT CBC that we look after our local footpaths with RCT only doing the larger tasks. They give us a grant of £480 a year towards this however we spend over £10k a year on maintenance.
One option would be to cancel this agreement and implement cost savings accordingly. The group noted that this would lead to a deterioration of the paths and do not recommend this.
The group recommends that our representatives at the RCT/Community Council’s liaison group lobby for an increase in grant that is more reflective of the actual costs
Action – do members agree with this recommendation?
Council Office
The group noted that for most of 2020 the Office staff have worked from home and the Office has been closed to visitors.
As such we could review the need to have a physical office.
33 Appendix 5
The group considered that permanently closing the Office would save about £1-1.5k per annum, however decided that having a physical presence was important to our residents and this should continue.
Ear Marked Reserves
1. The Clerk has advised that in order to meet its agreed targets for an ear marked reserve which can continuously replenish the Council’s assets, then the revenue contribution to the ear marked reserve should be £12700 and the Working group recommends this transfer
2. The group noted that there is no reserve to replace the Christmas lights as and when they need replacing. So far as lights were new minor repairs have been funded within maintenance and Community events budgets and this will continue.
This year we have had to spend nearly £500 to replace damages and the group recommends creating an earmarked reserve specifically to fund replacement going forward. The fund should be allocated £500 a year until it reaches £5k giving us a fund which would enable to fund the replacement lights over time
3. The Administration working group also noted that the Council has agreed to replace the floral planters over the next 5 years. The cost of this will be up to £7k and the group recommends that this is transferred from General Reserve into an earmarked reserve so that ongoing budgeting is easier to administer.
4. As the Council agreed to change our lease on the Riverside walk to make us responsible for the large Tree work and to maintain the fencing the Group recommends that the Pontyclun Park Earmarked reserve is widened in scope so it also covers this area. No change required at this time to current policy of setting aside funds.
Action does the Council agree with these recommendations regarding earmarked reserves
General Reserve
The General Reserve is forecast to be around £35k after the creation of a “planters” reserve and above our policy range which is £25k-£50k. The Council has already agreed a number of capital projects which will be funded from the reserves including parking initiatives, new signs and benches which if fully implemented without grant funding, will reduce the reserve by £3-5k
The Council has previously recognised the risks of using the reserve for funding on-going revenue commitments and the Administration Working Group has not recommended such a course of action this year and is recommending that the precept fully cover the difference between Income and expenditure (including transfers to EMRs)
34 Appendix 5
Requests by the public for action by the Council
The Officers have received one formal request from a resident of Brynsadler requesting that we consider some Christmas lighting/decorations there.
The Working group noted that the Council has for a number of years focussed its Christmas lighting in Pontyclun where they will act as an attraction for people to use our Community shops. The group recommends that this continues, however, where, similar to Groesfaen, a local community group is created to help improve the area we consider supporting that groups efforts if requested to do so.
Action – do members agree with this recommendation?
35 Pontyclun Community Council 2021-22 budget Appendix 5a
Expenditure - excluding items paid from reserves Ear Marked Reserves position Recommended Policy 2019-20 2020-21 Proj. Spend Amount in fund Transfer in Item 2021-22 Reserve amount by end recommends in 2020/21 expected at year end 2020-21 Actual Budget Projected As is budget 2021 – if different to trf Staffing costs 95092 96085 95700 98320 Street furniture 300 1200 7000 700 500 Café 50 Service charge 0 0 0 1000 Pontyclun park 17654 22000 4350 3000 Utilities 32 4500 6750 3350 Trees 2000 2000 500 2000 Street lighting 109 120 120 120 Hardware/ Software 1976 1250 250 0 Refuse 972 1050 1050 1100 Vehicle 10000 2000 2000 Non domestic rates 1982 2150 2150 600 Machinery/tools 3332 4300 800 800 Vehicle running costs 1115 1500 1400 1500 Elections 5650 1600 1600 Tree costs 7000 1000 1000 1000 Café 50 4000 1000 9500 1500 1500 Grass cutting 1642 1700 1700 1700 Office 300 100 100 Maintenance & minor Toilets 3000 1000 1000 projects 2269 3500 1000 3500 Sinking fund to Café 50 RCT Homes 200 250 pay for licences at 0 0 Planting 1475 1630 1630 1630 café 50 Sinking fund to Mens Shed 110 636 pay for specified 0 0 activities/Groups Tools & Equipment 14 700 500 700 groups Penhrys Pilgrimage sign 1000 One off to pay for sign 0 0 H&S / Protective equip 421 550 950 800 grant Contact the 100 One off for event 0 0 Cleaning costs 604 800 800 800 elderly/Reengage grant Christmas decorations Telephony/Broadband 925 960 1030 960 fund Insurance 1076 1250 1400 1450 TOTALS 12800 12500 Website 500 450 450 300 One off and capital items Software/Hardware 793 600 850 700 Training 108 1000 200 500 Community spend - from General reserves Travel expenses 70 100 50 50 2020-21 2021-22 Licences 0 0 0 200 Item Planned Expected spend bids Subscriptions 1249 1280 1280 1330 Place plan 250 500 Office rent 3794 3880 3840 3920 Parking initiatives 1500 0 1500 May wish to wait to see usage post covid printing 1047 1100 1100 800 Signage 500 430 0 Initial spend on Walking Audit cost 1084 750 750 750 routes 500 0 0 Admin & stationery 361 770 700 700 Floral display 2000 2000 2000 From EMR Remembrance Sunday 125 125 75 125 Gate at Park 1000 can defer for a year Community Grants 2460 2500 2500 2500 Lobby in café 50 3000 if we get grant
Christmas Decorations Community Meetings 0 50 0 50 Brynsadler 1000 Community Events 3453 3600 3600 3800 Café 50 picnic tables 1540 0 Café 50 Covid stuff 740 0 Café 50 Doors 4240 0 Total costs 129772 133700 132575 134255 Street Benches 1000 700 may delay into 2021-22 Café 50 Tables/Chairs 3000 Replace fencing at rear INCOME of park 10000 From EMR Fencing at Riverside walk 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 (placeholder) 3000 Item Actual Budget Projected Banners for lampposts As is budget (placeholder) 3000 Caterer rent 3470 3300 1360 3300 Grass cutting 300 300 300 300 Total 5750 10150 27500 Other income 1231 350 100 0 Café 50 hire 2557 2350 500 2000
Donations 3411 3000 200 2700
Grants received 9720 9720 14020 9720 Footpath grant 0 480 480 480 Fundraising events 290 500 0 500 Total income 20979 20000 16960 19000
Net expenditure 108793 113700 115615 115255
Transfer to earmarked reserves in annual budget 9250 12500 12500 13200 increase Precept 118890 122100 122100 128455 5.20%
From General reserves -847 4100 6015 0
36 Appendix 6
Cyngor Cymuned PONTYCLUN Community Council
Council payments summary 1. List of Payments made in December is attached for confirmation and noting
Action –
Council to note & confirm payments made in December
37 Appendix 6a Date: 05/01/2021 Pontyclun Community Council Page 1
Time: 11:43 Current Bank A/c General
List of Payments made between 01/12/2020 and 31/12/2020
Date Paid Payee Name Reference Amount Paid Authorized Ref Transaction Detail
01/12/2020 Screwfix Direct Ltd DD 41.17 Trade Waste December'20 01/12/2020 Rhondda Cynon Taf C.B.C. DD 41.17 Trade Waste December'20 01/12/2020 Screwfix Direct Ltd DD 41.17 Trade Waste December'20 01/12/2020 Rhondda Cynon Taf C.B.C. DD 41.17 Trade Waste December'20 01/12/2020 Screwfix Direct Ltd DD -41.17 Trade Waste Dec'20 01/12/2020 Screwfix Direct Ltd DD -41.17 Trade Waste Dec'20 02/12/2020 Catertech Services Ltd FPO 84.00 Waste Disposal Call Out Fee 03/12/2020 Land Registry VISA 3.00 Land Title Search 04/12/2020 Tesco VISA 78.05 Sweets+Bags+Decorations 07/12/2020 British Telecom DD 59.99 Office Broadband+Phone Nov'20 07/12/2020 MPLC BCARD 209.81 Licence Dec'20 to Dec'21 07/12/2020 Tesco VISA 40.00 x4 Gift Card Top Ups 07/12/2020 Tesco VISA 200.00 x20 Gift Cards Top Up 07/12/2020 Mammoth Retail Group Ltd BCARD -26.11 x8 Boxes of Gloves 07/12/2020 Tesco BCARD 60.35 Fuel for Community Van 07/12/2020 Amazon Markeplace BCARD 15.88 x24 Toilet Cistern Blocks 07/12/2020 Floodlighting&Electr Serv Ltd FPO 176.40 PA Testing 2020 09/12/2020 Floodlighting&Electr Serv Ltd FPO 141.00 Groesfaen Xmas Tree Lights 09/12/2020 SLCC Enterprises Ltd FPO 105.00 Fees 2021 09/12/2020 SLCC Enterprises Ltd FPO -105.00 Membership 2021 09/12/2020 SLCC Enterprises Ltd FPO 185.00 Membership 2021 10/12/2020 Floodlighting&Electr Serv Ltd FPO 552.00 Xmas Lights 2020 10/12/2020 Floodlighting&Electr Serv Ltd FPO 1,440.00 Xmas Lights 2020 11/12/2020 Virgin Mobile DD 8.40 Assist Ctaker Mobile 14/12/2020 Y-CAM Solutions Ltd VISA 32.89 Video Service 2021 16/12/2020 British Telecom DD 6.00 Caretaker Mobile Dec'20 16/12/2020 Yarnmongers (Dragonsavers) FPO 200.00 Grant awarded @16 Dec'20 16/12/2020 JMP Group Ltd FPO 500.00 Cafe 50 Door+Installation 16/12/2020 Rhondda Cynon Taf C.B.C. FPO 1,543.33 Er+EE Pens Conts Dec'20 16/12/2020 Rhondda Cynon Taf C.B.C. FPO -1,543.33 Er+EE Pens Conts Dec'20 17/12/2020 Rhondda Cynon Taf C.B.C. FPO 1,543.33 Er+Ee Pens Conts Dec'20 21/12/2020 HMRC BP 1,003.95 Tax+NI Conts Dec'20 21/12/2020 Swalec DD 9.90 03 Nov'20 to 01 Dec'20 29/12/2020 Rhondda Cynon Taf C.B.C. DD 166.00 Car Park Rates Dec'20 29/12/2020 Lloyds Bank PAY 7.00 10 Oct'20 to 09 Nov'20
Total Payments 6,779.18
38