P&RC September 2023 Minutes
Bardney Group Parish Council
DRAFT Minutes from the Personnel & Review Sub-Committee Meeting
Bardney Committee Room, Village Hall Friday 8th September 2023 at 7pm
The meeting was held in the Committee Room at the rear of the Village Hall due to a booking conflict – all attendees were directed to the Committee Room
A recording notice was provided to inform that the meeting would be recorded to assist in accurate minute-taking.
Attendees
Cllr Samantha Wright (Chairman), Cllr Ken Hutchinson (Vice Chairman), Cllr Ruth Lane
Also present: Cllr Ian Fleetwood
Members of the Public
Two members of the public were present
Meeting started at 7.00pm with the Public Forum
1/ A member of the public asked why at a previous Council that a Councillor had asked him to speak up and that they couldn’t understand him. He stated that no wonder the Council was in it’s current state if Councillors over the last few years. The Chairman of the Committee stated that some Councillors utilised hearing aids and that there wasn’t a hearing loop involved.
2/Another member of the public interjected and said “we used to speak up at the old Council but they never had anybody there to listen to them”. How would he know?
3/ The first member of the public said he had been to several meetings of the previous Council and there followed a brief dialogue between the two members of the public regarding attendance at previous Councils. He continued to state that the Councillor at the previous meeting had stated that they couldn’t understand the question so how would they be able to vote on what the people of the village would want.
4/ The Chairman of the Council stated that if the audio in the meeting room could be improved by bringing all the seating together to create a better closeness, but it would not be possible to use the “bingo microphone” because there were too many Councillors on the Committee to pass it around. Possibly a hearing aid loop might be a future option.
5/ The first member stated that the running of the previous Council was questionable and especially the accounts because the Councillors at that time didn’t seem to understand the finances or the issues. The legality and wasting public money was stated if the Councillors had very little knowledge or ability to make decisions at that time.
6/ The Chairman of the Council stated that since May 18th he had strived to put some systems into place regarding accounting. There were no accounts visible anywhere since April 1st, there were no spreadsheets or accounting software installed. A new software accounting program has been put into place now and was performing well with good reporting.
7/ The Chairman of the Committee stated that if any Councillors were unsure of anything then they could obtain that information from the Office to ensure they were up to speed. The Chairman of the Council also supported this statement.
8/ The first member of the public stated that it was very obvious that the balances of the previous Council were going down quickly.
9/ The second member of the public asked why was the current Council wasting so much money. “Why had a report been written when the guy who wrote it wasn’t even qualified, and neither was the woman he brought with him! Neither were qualified to write this report! So why waste money?”
10/ The Chairman of the Council responded that the ‘Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils’ do governance reports for a good number of Councils across Lincolnshire, Bardney is not the only one.
11/ The member of the public interrupted and stated “that they are not qualified so it was a waste of money, and a waste of his money!”
12/ The Chairman of the Council continued to state that they were experienced and did have the correct qualifications.
13/ The member of the public insisted that the author of the report was not qualified to write the report. He may be Deputy Chief Executive but that doesn’t mean he is qualified. The woman he brought with him (name given) isn’t qualified either. That’s one waste of money! He continued to address the Chairman of the Council by asking how much he paid towards the running of that office seeing as he allegedly used it as a private office. He insisted that the Chairman did his County Council work in there.
14/ The Chairman of the Council stated clearly that he did not use the Office for the benefit of other organisations.
15/ The member of the public then stated that the Chairman of the Council should not be in that Office anyway, because the Chairman of the Council does not run the Office. He insisted that the Chairman should allegedly contribute towards the cost of the Office costs.
16/ The Chairman of the Council thanked the member of the public for their comments.
17/ The same member of the public then spoke about the lawnmower. He stated that he had been in touch with DVLA, and he stated that they had allegedly stated that the lawnmower as it was being used did not need registering and doesn’t need insuring as a road vehicle. This was another waste of money.
18/ The original member of the public stated that if the second member of the public had put the same amount of effort into previously running the Council than rather trying to currently disrespect the current Council then the Council would not be in it’s current state!
19/ The second member of the public then continued to say that if the District Councillor had supported the ‘old Council’ then it wouldn’t be in this state.
20/ The Chairman of the Council stated that it wasn’t appropriate for the two members of the public to address each other as they were doing, and that the purpose of the public forum was to ask questions of the Parish Council.
21/ The first member of the public stated that he had previously tried to engage with the other member of the public when the second member was a Councillor regarding the waste of money regarding the generator, but the second member of the public had previously refused to answer the questions.
22/ The second member of the public stated “That’s a fine way of dealing with questions!”.
23/ The Chairman of the Council reiterated that this is a Parish Council meeting and that the purpose at this time was to deal with questions regarding the Parish Council. If the member of the public would like to write to him regarding other Council issues he would answer them.
24/ The second member of the public then stated “I don’t want anything to do with him!”
The Chairman of the Committee welcomed everyone to the meeting.
135-23/24 Apologies for Absence
To receive and accept apologies where valid reasons for absence have been given to the Clerk prior to the meeting in accordance with Local Gov. Act 1972from, Sch 12, para 40.
Apologies from Cllr Robin Darby were accepted but no reason was offered.
136-23/24 Declarations of Interest
To receive any declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011 being any pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on the Members Register of Interests and any written requests for dispensation.
A minutes silence was held in respect of the first anniversary of the passing of The Late Queen Elizabeth II.
137-23/24 To approve as a correct record the notes of the meeting held on 24th August 2023 and to authorise the Chairman to sign the official Minutes.
PROPOSED Cllr Lane. SECONDED Cllr Hutchinson and carried UNANIMOUSLY.
138-23/24 To approve as a correct record the Confidential notes of the meeting held on 24th August 2023 and to authorise the Chairman to sign the official Minutes.
PROPOSED Cllr Hutchinson. SECONDED Cllr Lane and carried UNANIMOUSLY.
139-23/24 Chairmans Report.
The Chairman had nothing to report.
140-23/24 To agree and resolve the Office arrangements.
The Chairman stated that the Council were in the process of selecting a new Clerk/RFO. The current working arrangement had been split between the Councillors and the Acting Clerk/RFO due to being short-staffed. The Chairman has spent a lot of time doing Parish work because some of the other Councillors had been involved in private work commitments.
Another Councillor expressed their gratitude that the Council has a Chairman (of the Council) who has provided the level of commitment that he had. The Chairman of the Committee expressed their thanks to the other Councillors who had also contributed.
141-23/24 To resolve to move into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 due to the confidential nature of the business to be discussed in relation to the following matters:
PROPOSED Cllr Wright SECONDED Cllr Lane and carried UNANIMOUSLY.
7.18 pm Moved to closed session.
142-23/24 To note the outcome of interviews held on 31st August 2023
143-23/24 To agree the next steps and resolve to recruit a Clerk/RFO
144-23/24 To note any contact received from the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service
145-23/24 To note the date of the next Meeting (if applicable)
Meeting closed at 4:00pm.