2023 Parish Council Minutes of Meetings

Clerk: Mr S R Baxter | Email: clerk@norththoresby.com | Tel: 0781 444 3058 Address: North Thoresby Village Hall, The Square, North Thoresby, DN36 5QL
For the community….by the community…

FULL PARISH MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

11 September 2023 – 7pm

MINUTES

Present:

Councillors: Cllr. Buckenham (Chair), Cllr. Snell, Cllr. Berryman, Cllr. Howard, Cllr. Jones, Cllr. Spence.

Clerk and RFO: Mr S Baxter   Members of the public (MOP):  7

Meeting commenced at 7pm.   Meeting was held at the North Thoresby Village Hall, North Thoresby.

 
AGENDA ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND DECISION

1.   Chair’s welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the Meeting and thanked the whole community for attending.

2.   Members of the Public Participation - questions from the public at the discretion of the Chair

The only question raised:

Can you state why the agenda was changed from Tuesday 05 September (when it first published on the website and noticeboard) to a version published on the 07 September 2023?

The Clerk stated that the agenda had not been ‘changed’ as the member of the public stated - there was a minor amendment on the name on the agenda point 19 over a request by a member of the community due to a possible issue with data protection. Whilst the Council absolutely refutes any allegations of a data breach, and stand by the wording on the original agenda document, it was felt that as it would not change the actual agenda point discussion that a few words could be amended to satisfy. The Council does not agree it changed the agenda - it was a minor amendment on the wording of one agenda point, and certainly did not put at risk the legitimacy of the Parish Council Meeting.

No other questions raised.

3.   Proposal to exclude members of the public from Participation - but can observe

For the following agenda points members of the public can observe the meeting but cannot take part in any debate. Any persons not Councillors or the Clerk will be asked to remain silent

•   Motion to exclude members of the public from participation was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.
 
4.   Apologies from Councillors for any absence

The Clerk confirmed that he had received apologies from Cllr Gallop, Cllr Marshall and Cllr. Gale who had given their reasons for absence to the Clerk who wished to advise the Council it was proper but it was for the councillors to agree or not.  The Councillors were invited to make any responses to the apologies and if there was no objection, for the apologies to be accepted by way of a proposer, seconder and vote.

There were no objections by the Councillors to the absences of both Councillors.

•   Motion to accept the apologies of Cllr. Gallop, Cllr. Marshall and Cllr. Gale was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

5.   To grant dispensations to Councillors in regard to declarations of interest: To receive any declarations of interest in accordance with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and to consider any requests for dispensations

The Clerk confirmed that no declarations have been received from any Councillors prior to the Meeting - he asked all Councillors if they wish to offer any declarations for any subject of the Parish Council Meeting. The Clerk confirmed that none were offered and thus it can be considered that there is no pecuniary interest of any Councillors which would affect their voting of any motion on the agenda.

6.   To approve the minutes of the Full Parish Council Meeting on the 07 August 2023 as a true record: Draft minutes of the Full PC Meeting held on Monday 03 July to be approved as the accurate record of the meeting.

The minutes of the previous Parish Council Meeting had been distributed to the Councillors prior to the Meeting to allow for any inaccuracies to be brought to the attention of the Clerk.

No further notes or inaccuracies were stated by any Councillor and thus the Clerk offered the minutes to be formally accepted as a true and accurate record of the Meeting on the 07 August 2023.

•   Motion to accept that the minutes of the Full PC Meeting on the 07 August 2023 were an accurate record of the meeting was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

7.   Report of the closed session of the last Full Parish Council Meeting – agree report is accurate

The report on the closed session of the previous Parish Council Meeting had been distributed to the Councillors prior to the Meeting to allow for any inaccuracies to be brought to the attention of the Clerk.

No further notes or inaccuracies were stated by any Councillor and thus the Clerk offered the minutes to be formally accepted as a true and accurate record of the Meeting on the 07 August 2023. Cllr Howard wish to note that she abstained.

•   Motion to accept that the record report of the closed session of the Full Parish Council Meeting on the 07 August 2023 were an accurate record of the meeting was proposed, seconded and agreed by majority (Cllr Howard abstained). Motion carried.

8.   To approve the minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting on the 21 August 2023 as a true record: Draft minutes of the EOM held on 21 August to be approved as the accurate record of the meeting.

The minutes of the previous Parish Council Meeting had been distributed to the Councillors prior to the Meeting to allow for any inaccuracies to be brought to the attention of the Clerk.
 
No further notes or inaccuracies were stated by any Councillor and thus the Clerk offered the minutes to be formally accepted as a true and accurate record of the Meeting on the 21 August 2023.

•   Motion to accept that the minutes of the EOM on the 21 August 2023 were an accurate record of the meeting was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

9.   To approve the minutes of the HR Commitee Meeting on the 21 August 2023 as a true record: Draft minutes of the HR Meeting held on 21 August to be approved as the accurate record of the meeting.

The minutes of the HR Commitee Meeting had been distributed to the Councillors prior to the Meeting to allow for any inaccuracies to be brought to the attention of the Clerk.

No further notes or inaccuracies were stated by any Councillor and thus the Clerk offered the minutes to be formally accepted as a true and accurate record of the Meeting on the 21 August 2023.

•   Motion to accept that the minutes of the HR Meeting on the 21 August 2023 were an accurate record of the meeting was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

10. Updates from Clerk - from previous Meetings

a)   Asbestos Survey

The Clerk confirmed that the Asbestos Survey had been carried out with the preliminary response being quite positive in the safety of the Village Hall. The main element was that while the asbestos is ok to remain, it is imperative that it is not touched or any attempt at cleaning. The VH Manager was on site during the survey and agreed to follow the guidance of the surveyor.

The full report will be released from the Surveyor upon payment received - there is not expected to be any serious issues raised.

b)   Training for Councillors

Following the agreement at the recent HR Committee Meeting, and requests from various Councillors for training, I can confirm these training courses had been booked for the next few months.

Strong encouragement for the remaining Councillors who had not submitted requests to review the courses on the ERNLLCA website and let the Clerk know. There are very good courses which may be suitable for a range of Councillors.

c)   PPE Equipment for staff

The Council approved the clerk’s recommendation to ensure that all staff had the right PPE for their roles - especially the Village Hall Manager. This was approved further at the HR Committee. These items have been procured and the Council can be assured that only a few items are left to obtain that were highlighted as required.

d)   Village Hall financials - updates

It was confirmed that a review of the Village Hall financial activities has shown that the hiring income is above what was budgeted for and from projections the Council could expect an increase of circa. £1k on what was budgeted. This is down to the resumption of bookings and the good work of the Village Hall Manager to attract bookings. The increase in projected income will ease any financial concerns the Council have in regard to the overall budget.
 
e)   Parish Council Banking - updates

It was confirmed the new Unity Trust Bank account had been opened and the majority of the funds had been transferred from the old Lloyds Bank Account - some funds were left to cover direct debits not transferred and older cheque payments. The new Unity Bank had now been the source of the payment to staff as well as any invoice or contractor. The system has been applauded for it’s simplicity and ease and will ensure that the in future the proper controls are in place to ensure that the issues found with the previous administration in regard to individuals being able to pay items solely cannot be repeated.

A second reserve bank account had also be opened and once the forecast amount needed for the remaining part of the financial year had been agreed, the remaining funds would be transferred to the reserves account. This would hopefully happen in late October or November 2023.

f)   Tree Survey

It was confirmed by the Clerk that following a complaint of the state of the trees next to the Village Hall, and the fact they were due a bi-annual survey, he had sought some costs from appropriate contractors to undertake the full survey. The main point on the trees is that they have TPOs on all and thus the Council must be very cautious in how any work is undertaken on the trees.

He confirmed that the costs and permission to proceed would be presented to the Council at the Full PC Meeting in October 2023.

g)   Internal Auditor

Following the decision by the Council upon the review of the previous financial year’s internal audit report and to note that they felt that the report was not as clear, professional or adequate as desired, the Clerk confirmed that he has been reviewing other Internal Auditor options.

He confirmed that the costs and permission to proceed would be presented to the Council at the Full PC Meeting in October 2023.

h)   Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy

The clerk confirmed that upon a request by the Finance Committee to ensure that the current administration operates within as clear, legal, transparent mandate, and to promote professionalism in the way the resources of the PC are managed, an Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy has been written and will be discussed at the next Finance Committee Meeting in the next few weeks. This Policy will ensure that there is no hiding place for any Corruption and that all Councillors, staff and volunteers operate within a strict protocol.

The Policy will be presented to the Council in the October Parish Council Meeting.

i)   Email (Use and Management) Policy

From a review of the way that the Council email system has been operated since the introduction of the new email system approved at the Meeting in July, it was felt that a proper policy and procedure should be written to ensure that all users of Council email operate within an agreed framework. This is to protect the Council and to ensure that personal data is properly secured. It would also ensure that all users’ emails accounts can be suspended upon decision of the Council or if they leave the Council. This would also ensure that all users must adopt the agreed IT procedure of how emails can be recovered.

The Policy will be presented to the Council in the October Parish Council Meeting.
 
11.   Financial Transparency - for discussion and agreement

The Clerk confirmed that it was good business practice for transparency that the financial transactions of the Council to be published, and while technically the statutory requirement of transparency under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 is not required (as the turnover of this Parish Council will be in excess of £25k), it was good practice to show the community the financial activity.

The Clerk recommendation was the following to be published:

•   Bank reconciliation - showing the financial resources in the bank
•   Budget Monitoring - showing how the Council is performing in each budget line against the actual
•   List of payments over £100

The above would not show individual staff salaries but show the overall staffing costs including pension and HMRC liabilities. This would be to be ensure that the Parish Council does not breach any individual data protection for individual staff members.

•   Motion to agree to the Clerk’s recommendations on the transparency of the financial activity of the Council without breaching data protection was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

12.   Financial Committee consideration and banking - for discussion and agreement

The Clerk stated that the banking now with Unity Bank plc was working very well and that all had agreed on the ease and flexibility. He continued that the Finance Committee would be Meeting to discuss the individual roles for the banking operation to ensure that the Council always had a back up option in regard to inputting and authorising.

The Clerk confirmed that the new bank had specific controls for proper governance - something that was missing from the previous administration. It was confirmed that for any payments by the Council, this could now never be done by one person - it now involved three people (one inputter and two authorisers

- all of whom would have to be different people)

It was recommended by the Clerk that as the Chair of the Finance Committee was not at the Meeting, to move this agenda item to the next Meeting to allow her a proper input. The Chair agreed with the recommendation.

13.   Mobile phone for hall hire contact - consideration of how to proceed to ensure coverage

The Clerk stated that from an investigation into the monthly charge from EE, it was found that the previous administration had not ensured that the mobile phone account was not put into a business account and in the PC name - it was still in a personal name. Cllr Snell has now been able to cancel this contract to stop any unnecessary charging - she was thanked for her diligent work.

The Clerk is now looking into what options are available to ensure that if the Village Hall Manager is away or not available then we can have a further options. These options may include replacing the mobile phone option or possibly having the main phone as the land line which then forwards the call to the appropriate person.

The Chair and Council agreed that a land line may be a good option as this would allow an emergency contact option for any major events or large scale emergencies for the community.

The Clerk stated that he would come back to the Council with options at the next PC Meeting.
 
14.   Financial update from the Clerk - to include update on the budget position

The Clerk confirmed that the financial reports for August 2023 had been emailed to the Council for their review. This would ensure that the Councillors had an opportunity to review the details to saBsfy themselves. These reports were on the agreed format of the internally designed composition which would allow as much scrutiny as the Councillors needed.

The main points of the financial update (as at the 31 August 2023):

•   There was £28,628.81 across three bank accounts (2 x Lloyds and 1 x Unity)
•   The Lloyds Bank accounts would be closed within the next month and all funds remaining in these accounts transferred to the Unity accounts
•   The budget (which was very surprisingly agreed as a deficit budget by the former administration) was now forecast to be a surplus one now various savings were found from a proper review of the budget lines. It was found that there were savings in excess of £5k from some budget areas although a few budget lines may be larger than feared. But overall the picture was far more positive than feared but still needed close supervision to ensure the community funds are spent wisely and with value of money in mind.
•   There was no provision in the budget for any pension contributions - this was surprising and would need to be considered in the next year’s budget
•   The staffing costs budget line was forecast to be met with possibly a small overspend - these costs could not have been forecast due to change of staff
•   Very early work on the 2024/25 budget have begun to ensure that it was done properly and in good time.  The budget would be a balanced and prudent one.

The Councillors discussed the financial detail and the financial report presented to them and agreed that it was great to see the proper organisation and oversight was in place - and crucially that all spend was carefully monitored as it was community funds. They thanked the Clerk for the significant hard work to restore and create proper financial reports which the Council could rely on to make financial decisions.

•   Motion to agree the financial report and financial points of note from the Clerk was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

15.   General expenditure for approval - to formally agree that the payments are acceptable:

The Clerk confirmed that he had sent details of the expenditure to the Councillors for their review. He confirmed that the expenditure that was marked as ‘withheld - confidentiality’ had been sent to all Councillors for their note. The expenses for the safety clothing was previously agreed at the HR Committee and the office equipment was agreed at a previous PC Meeting. The expenditure of the Asbestos Survey was agreed at the previous Meeting.

The Council discussed the payments and the need for each payment that met the needs of the Council. They agree that all payments were legitimate and happy to authorise the payments.

The clerk confirmed that these payments were the start of the monthly payments to be made via the new bank account - all paid through bank transfers with no cheques.

•   Motion to formally agree to the proposed list of expenditure was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

16.   Planning applications and results - to discuss and agree the decision on each

Cllr Snell as the informal Chair of the Planning Committee stated she has been able to review the application for the work on the trees with TPOs.

From her assessment she feels that the trees are in need of some work and for the health of the trees it would be appropriate to support the application.

The Council discussed the detailed review from Cllr Snell and agreed with her assessment and recommendation that the application should be supported.

•   Motion to formally  SUPPORT the application (0086/23/TPA)  was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

17.   Complaints to the External Auditor by a member of the community - update from the Clerk

The Clerk stated that he had received a formal complaint from a member of the community in regard to records of the Parish Council. The complaints were in regard to the asset register’s details that had been been included in the end of the financial year’s formal submission to the External Auditor. The Clerk stated that he was surprised a complaint had been submitted as no inspection had been undertaken.

This Clerk stated that a statement had been published on the website of the Parish Council to explain the consequences of the complaints that had been submitted - the main element was that because of the complaint the External Auditor may launch a full investigation which the Parish Council would have no choice but to pay for; the costs could in well run into many thousands of pounds.
 
The Clerk confirmed that the Parish Council had been in contact with the External Auditor who had dismissed the first complaint as there was no legitimacy to it. The second complaint was based on detail on the asset register which the Council had unfortunately trusted the former administration which turned out to be incorrect.

Going forward the Clerk had confirmed that new documentation had been submitted to the External Auditor and was awaiting their preliminary conclusions.

Upon a question from the Council, the Clerk confirmed that the complaints to the external auditor had cost the Council many hundreds of pounds as the work needed to address these issues as well as having to review all the work of the previous administration meant that the Clerk had to spend days of work going through the documents as well as preparing for the records inspection. The Clerk stated that this amount could have been used for community support.

The clerk also stated that the complainant had made a statutory request to review the records of the Parish Council (as is their statutory right) but then despite the Parish Council ensuring everything was available to inspect and had arranged various personnel to ensure the records were secure, and had to pay the Clerk for their time to make all the preparations, the complainant had failed to attend with no notice or reason. This again cost the Council (and thus community) in excess of £100 for the time taken for preparation and attendance and travel costs. Again this amount could have been used for community support.

18.   Christmas working group - agreement to what can be organised and costs

The Clerk stated that it was a request from a Councillor to review the options for the Council for this Christmas. This included the options for turning on the lights, the carol singing from the local school children and the tractor drive.

Cllr Howard volunteered to look into the options of changing the times of the school children attending (possibly to a Saturday) and to ascertain what other involvement the Parish Council could have.

The Councillors agreed with Cllr Howard reviewing the options and that it would be appropriate to bring the matter to the next PC Meeting in October 2023 for a decision on action and expenditure.

19.   Bench relocaMon and cost of maintenance

The Chair stated that he had received a request from the team who volunteer to look after the bench and surrounding area in the memorial garden. They had asked if the bench could be moved back as the current location means the bench is covered in bird mess and the time taken to clean the bench is increasing - but by moving it back a small margin it would hopefully reduce the bird mess as it would be away from some tree branches that attract birds. The bench is currently concreted in and thus would need careful consideration and cost.

The Clerk asked that the safety of individuals be considered as the bench will be heavy as well as the cost of the moving of the bench as it would need funding.

The Council agreed to allow the Chair to speak to the interested parties in more detail as well as speaking to the Village Hall Manager who has knowledge of the initial bench basing.

The Chair stated he would ask the item be brought back to the next PC Meeting at which he would hopefully have more information to provide to the Council.
 
20.   Further Freedom of Information requests from Mr T Shaw - cost of requests

The Clerk stated there had been further correspondence from the Information Commissioners Office about FoI requests by Mr Shaw. It was alleged that previous multiple requests from Mr Shaw had not been replied to which the Council rejected as they had been responded to. However to ensure that the Council met it’s legal obligations under the FOI Act 2000, the request were undertaken again.

Asked by a question from the previous Meeting of the Parish Council to which the Clerk was asked about the costs of Mr Shaw’s FOI requests, the Clerk confirmed that the costs to the Council for these FOI requests were now in the hundreds of pounds - money which could have been used for community purposes. But the Council did not have a choice as Mr Shaw had used the FOI Act 2000 to request the details and the Council was legally obliged.

The Clerk stated that the requests are under statute and the Council have no choice but to reply unless any criteria of the exception is met. But there are always costs in time and resources.

The Council discussed the issue and agreed it was very disappointing that while the Council recognises the legal right under the Freedom of Information Act 1998, that these requests had the result of costing the council and thus the community a lot of money just to meet the requests.

21.   Fencing discussion and fire risk assessment charge - update and decisions on how to proceed

The Chair briefly went over the detailed discussions at the EOM on the 21 August 2023 which was centred on what the Council should do about the grant received from the National Lottery for the fencing that the previous administration made - albeit with unclear detail in the application. He continued that this action had the effect of bringing the alleged risk to the forefront and now the current administration had to mange it properly and within the relevant legislation.

The Chair stated that he had been in contact with the Fire Service and the Health & Safety Executive - both said that they do not give advice in regard to these areas as in effect they are the prosecuting authority and thus people could defend themselves (if risks weren’t managed) by blaming the advice from the authorities. But the Chair did say that the qualifications and experience that he has from his previous career were equal to what any statutory body would expect from a person undertaking a full risk analysis.

The Clerk confirmed what was asked by the EOM in regard to full fire and safety assessment; he had received various quotes from external contractors on them undertaking the necessary reviews. The costs ranged from £450 to £700.

The Chair stated that while his experience and qualifications are extensive, he was aware of a person in the community, Mr Berryman, who had equal experience and qualifications (albeit on a slightly different area) that was willing to help with any fire risk assessment review for no costs.

The Chair stated that in his opinion, there were three options:

i)   He would undertake the full fire risk review

ii)   The Council would engage with a suitable contractor to undertake the review but would cost the Council at least £450.

iii)   The Chair would undertake the fire risk assessment review with Mr Berryman

The Council discussed the various options and thanked Mr Berryman for his volunteering and the Chair for his commitment. They also appreciated the work done by the Clerk to seek alternative options if it was needed.   But overall, the Council had full confidence in the ability, knowledge and qualifications of the
 
Chair as well as Mr Berryman who would not only undertake the review diligently and properly, but at no cost to the Council.

•   Motion to agree that the Chair of the Parish Council (Cllr. Buckenham) and Mr Berryman would undertake the full fire risk assessment and report back to the Parish Council at the next meeting was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

22.   Care of the large flower tub near the halfway house

The Chair stated he has been made aware that person in the community who looked after the large flower tub near the centre of the village, has now stated it was becoming too much and has asked for help from the Parish Council. It was hoped that some arrangement could be made to continue the maintenance of the flower tub as it was an asset to the community’s appearance.

The Council discussed the issue and it was hoped that some discussions could be had with the nearby public house to ascertain if they could help with the watering element.

The Council would ask Cllr Gallop to review the possibility of asking the public house to consider helping with the watering. This would then be brought back to the Council for further consideration of what actions can be undertaken to continue the management of the flower tub.

23.   Displaying Minutes on the Noticeboard - discussion on how to publicise hard copies of minutes

The Chair and the Councillors stated that they were aware there are a lot of members of the community that enjoy reading the minutes and who are not all IT literate. Previous minutes had been published on the noticeboard but as there are Council minutes, plus Committee minutes, it now means that there are too many minutes pages to fit on the noticeboard.

The Council did however recognise that while the publishing of the minutes on the noticeboard may not be specifically required legally, it was the Council’s moral duty to ensure availability for anyone in the community who is not able to access them online.

The Clerk stated that the moral aspect was very important and that if any one wants copies emailed, posted or hand delivered, this could be arranged free of charge. Thus if anyone wants copies all they need to do is ask! Plus copies can be left in the Village Hall if that was more convenient.

The Council wanted to ascertain if there were other places copies of the minutes could be left to ensure that people could obtain copies and read at their leisure. The Council appreciated the great idea from a member of the community about the possibility of leaving copies in the old phone box, and possibly in the local Morrisons store, or possibly at the local public house.

The Council agreed that these options would be investigated further and that the results of the options would be reported back to the Council for further discussions and agreement.

24.   Planning Committee Members and ToR - proposal confirm members of Chair

The Clerk stated that he had previously sent a provisional document detailing the recommended Terms of Reference for the Planning Committee. This would ensure that the Council and the community were aware of the actions of the Planning Committee who would be advising the Full Council on the planning applications received and the impact on the community.

It was also proposed that Cllr Berryman would join the Planning Committee and that Cllr Snell could be the appointed Chair of the Planning Committee.  This would in effect formalise the Committee.
 
The Clerk stated it was more appropriate if there was third member of the Committee but as the Committee was only advisory to the Council, they could operate in the short term with just two members.

•   Motion to agree the Terms of Reference for the Planning Committee, to appoint Cllr Berrymen onto the Committee and to confirm the role of Chair of the Committee would be Cllr Snell was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously. Motion carried.

25.   Grant application for Soups from ELDC and to name Cllr contact - update from Cllr Howard

The Clerk confirmed that Cllr Howard had been successful in applying for social grant for ELDC for the Soups and Lunch programme she helps to run in the Village Hall. The Clerk confirmed that the application was co-sponsored by himself to ensure that the grant meets the legal obligation of the council’s operations.

Cllr Howard stated that the grant was through the Social Isolation Grant scheme and that the monies granted would now allow the lunchtime programme (she helps to run) be more financially stable too and would in effect guarantee the programme for at least 18 months. It would also allow games and activities to be purchased to allow any attender to stay for longer to again help with the point of the programme in ensuring the reduction of the isolation of often older members of the community.

The Council thanked Cllr Howard and that it was great news that the grant application as successful. They agree the programme was very important to the community and glad the grant would help. The Council felt that if plants that took less maintenance could be used it would also help.

It was agreed that Cllr Gallop would ascertain with the public house if they could offer any assistance and that he would then report back to the Council with an update.

26. Correspondence

The Clerk confirmed that the Council had received various correspondence from the local community and persons formerly associated with the Parish Council - all of which had been replied as needed. There was correspondence in regard to the change of banks and payroll bureau as well as from the pension fund provider and now the former local association of councils. He confirmed that all urgent and important correspondence had been forwarded to the Councillors through a reply.

The Council briefly discussed the correspondence from various sources and thanked the Clerk.

Cllr Howard raised the issue about various local road closures for work by Anglian Water. They had now given notice and told all that the road closures would be for longer than initially described - something the Clerk confirmed he had not been made aware of by either Anglian Water or ELDC.

27.   To agree the date of the next PC Meeting - Monday 02 October 2023 at 7pm The Council agreed with the recommended date for the next PC Meeting.

•   Motion to agree the next PC meeting on the 02 October 2023 at 7pm was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

28.   To resolve: Whether the Council will move into closed session to consider the following confidential and legal matters in accordance with the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960.

The Clerk stated that due to the following agenda points being confidential and Meeting the criteria of the aforementioned Act, he recommended that the Council consider moving the Meeting into a  closed session.
 
•   Motion to resolve to move the PC Meeting into a closed session with no public access was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously. Motion carried.

For the following points members of the public left the meeting as the meeting will be a closed session.

29.   Staffing Matter  - for discussion and agreement

Details of the discussion were noted and included in a separate report which will not be disclosed due to confidentiality and data protection obligations.

•   Motion to agree to the Clerk’s recommendation was proposed, seconded and agreed unanimously.  Motion carried.

The Chair closed the Meeting at 9pm.