ECCLESHALL PARISH COUNCIL – POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE – Wednesday, March 6th 2024

A meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee was held on Wednesday, 6^th March 2024, following the Planning committee meeting, at 7.45pm.

Present were:-

Councillor R. Taylor (Chair)                        Councillor G. Dale

Councillor S. Perren

Mrs S. J. Worden (Clerk)

No members of the Public

Observers: Cllrs. Reid and Feneysey

1).   Apologies:-

Apologies were received from Cllrs. Hill, Hall and Wilkins.

2).    Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday December 6^th 2023:-

The minutes, which had previously been noted by the Council, were agreed and signed.

3).   Budget update 2023/24 and approval of any virements and earmarking:-

Prior to the meeting, the Clerk circulated an updated report detailing balances and expenditure to date against the budget. It was noted that there had been no large changes to the expected year end expenditure.

This report was discussed and accepted by members.

Members considered the proposed virements for 2023/24 and resolved to recommend approval of the following:

Virements (for overspend over £500)

• £926 from Projects (4600) to Elections (4290)

4).   Consideration and recommendation for the final budget 2024/25:

Members were provided with a draft budget for consideration. Changes had been made to reflect additional expenditure resolved since the last committee meeting and revised predictions based on confirmed service costings. This included release of the earmarked funding for the cancelled Eagle Street Art project, and additional funds allocated for projects such as Beech Road, as well as potential new projects under negotiation. Members also resolved to recommend approval to purchase of a new PC base unit at a cost of approximately £675 for the Clerk, due to age and technical issues with the current PC.

It was resolved to recommend approval of the proposed budget for 2024/24 at £128,258.00

Members considered the proposed earmarking for 2024/25 and resolved to recommend approval of the following:

Additional Earmarking:

• £153.22 – to the new consolidated Open Spaces reserve (unspent budget)
• £6,000 – to Neighbourhood plan reserve (from Neighbourhood plan budget line)

5).   To receive any updates to the Forward Plan review:

The draft Forward Plan will be updated to reflect the final budget and plans for the upcoming year once this is approved at the main Parish Council meeting on the 20^th March. It is planned to bring the final version to the Parish Council for approval at the April meeting.

6).   To receive the latest update from the Public Sector Deposit Fund

The update was received and noted by members.

8).   Consideration of Grant Requests:

The following grant applications were considered and it was resolved to recommend allocation of funding from the remaining budget as follows:

• Eccleshall Community Amateur Dramatics – £750
• Katharine House Hospice – £500
• Eccleshall Football Club – £750

With regards to the application by Positive Mindset Counselling, members wished to understand more about the service and the potential uses of the grant for targeting those most in need before considering a grant allocation and its purpose. It was agreed to invite representatives to a Parish Council meeting to find out more information.

9).   Items for next meeting:-

Any items for the next meeting can be forwarded to the Clerk.

10).  Date of next meeting:-

Wednesday 5^th June 2024, following the Enhancements committee meeting.

There being no further business, the Chairman declared the meeting closed at 8.15pm.