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HAYDON WICK PARISH COUNCIL
Minutes of the Policy & FinanceCommittee Meeting held on Tuesday 28thMarch2017at7.30pm at the Council Offices, Thames Avenue, Haydon Wick
In attendCouncillors S McDermott (Chair), C Armagan, L Brown, P Eagle, J Fuller, R Hailstone, D Smith and M Whelan
Assistant Clerk:Caroline Roberts
1APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Received from CouncillorsD Bower(work commitment) and P Martin (family illness)
All apologies accepted
2DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST FOR ITEMS ON THE AGENDA
None declared
3PUBLIC RECESS
There were no members of the public present
4MINUTES
4.1 To confirm and sign the minutes of themeeting held on Tuesday 22nd November 2016
Proposed: Councillor R Hailstone Seconded: CouncillorM Whelan
Agreed with one (1 abstention)
RESOLVED:that the minutes of thePolicy and Finance Committee Meeting held on Tuesday 22nd November 2016be signed as a correct recordsubject to a change of word in item one, second sentence of Clerks Report, replace “and” with “an”.
Removal of word “Down” last word in Councillor R Hailstone’s report and removal of the second “service 4” in Councillor J Fuller’s report.
4.2 To confirm and sign the minutes of themeeting held on Tuesday 28th February 2017
Proposed: Councillor D Smith Seconded: CouncillorM Whelan
Agreed with two (2) abstentions
RESOLVED:that the minutes of the Policy and Finance Committee Meeting held on Tuesday 28th February 2017 be signed as a correct recordsubject to a spelling amendment of “behavior” to “behaviour” in agenda item 7, second sentence.
5. CLERK’S REPORT & ACTION REVIEW
The Clerk updated Members on the following items;
- The Clerk advised the Committee of the names of Councillors who wish to sit on the co-option interview panel. It was agreed that they would be selected based on their availability and names of candidates chosen. Three Councillors would be chosen to sit on the panel with one in reserve.
- Noted that the year-end accounts will be carried out on 12th April. Documents have been received for the external audit which is arranged for 19th April.
- A copy of the Antisocial Behaviour Log – Councillor Reports was noted and advised that this would be emailed to all Councillors.
Action Review Summary
Noted
6EXEMPT ITEMS - EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC
Certain items are expected to include the consideration of exempt information and the Policy & Finance Committee is, therefore, recommended to resolve "That, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded during the discussion of the matters referred to in the items listed below, on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information, as defined in the respective paragraph of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information".
None
7 ARANGEMENTS FOR VILLAGE GREEN OPENING
After a discussion it was agreed to change the date of the opening of the Village Green
Play Areafrom 22nd April 2017 to a weekday during the last week prior to half term in
May. Date to be confirmed.
It was suggested that the Council approach Catherine Wayte School to ask if they
may be interested in selecting two children from each class to attend the opening.
The Clerk was asked to liaise with the Mayor’s Office to ascertain the date when the
new Mayor would be inaugurated.
Report back information at the next Amenities &Leisure meeting.
The Committee was advised of the wording for the plaques (as agreed by
Amenities & Leisure Committee).
8 REQUIRED CHANGES TO STANDING ORDERS
In the light of the decision to reform the Communications Committee into a working party of the Full Council with the proposed name of Community Engagement Group the Committee considered whether changes were required to Standing Orders.
It was proposed to amend Section 51 by adding the names of the Standing Committees and to add a new Section 63 detailing the two permanent advisory groups namely the Chairs Coordinating Group and the new Community Engagement Group.
After a discussion it was agreed that it was not necessary to make the above changesto the Standing Orderssection 51 and to add a new Section 63.
Following a further discussion it was agreed to recommend to the Full Council that the heading on page 14 be changed from “Committees and Sub-Committees” to “Committees, Sub-Committees and Advisory Committees/Groups
The meeting noted the need to review
Proposed: Councillor L Brown Seconded: Councillor C Armagan
Agreed: with one (1) abstention
RESOLVED: to recommend to Full Council that the heading on page 14 be changed from “Committees and Sub-Committees” to “Committees, Sub-Committees and Advisory Committees/Groups
9 REQUIRED CHANGES TO MEDIA POLICY
The meeting considered the required changes to the Media Policy following the
decision to make theCommunications Committee a sub-group of the Full Council
The agreed changes to the Media Policy are as follows subject to the new working party being named as the Community Engagement Group
Section 4 Contact with the Media, para 4.1
Change:
When responding to approaches from the media, the Chair of the Communications Committee is the authorised contact with the media in consultation with the Parish Clerk. However, if the subject of an enquiry relates to the work of one of the other Committees, the Chair of the Communications Committee may delegate the authorised contact role to the Chair of that Committee.
To:
When responding to approaches from the media, the Chairman of the Council is the authorised contact with the media in consultation with the Parish Clerk. However, if the subject of an enquiry relates to the work of a Committees, this role may be delegated to the Chair of that Committee.
Section 10 Newsletters and Magazines, para10.5
Change:
Articles for publication may be compiled by any member of the Council but should be submitted to the Clerk to verify content is within Council Policy before submission to the Communications Committeefor review and recommendation for publication.
To:
Articles for publication may be compiled by any member of the Council but should be submitted to the Clerk to verify content is compliant with Council Policy before submission to the Community Engagement Group for review and recommendation for publication.
Section 10 Newsletters and Magazines, para10.7
Change:
The Communications Committee will oversee the editing and production of the newsletter.
To:
The Community Engagement Group will oversee the editing and production of the newsletter.
Section 8, para 8.1
Change:
In the case of an urgent letter or press release being required in advance of the Council
or Committee meeting, this may be issued by the Parish Clerk with the agreement of the
Chair of the Communications or relevant Committee following circulation of a draft
version to other Members for comment.
To:
In the case of an urgent letter or press release being required in advance of the Council
or Committee meeting, this may be issued by the Parish Clerk with the agreement of the
Chairman of the Council or relevant Committee following circulation of a draft version to other Members for comment.
Section 8, para 8.2
Change:
In the case of urgent actions being required in the absence of the Members and Officers
with specific roles and responsibilities under this policy, the following delegations shall apply:
- The assistant Media Officer may act in the absence of the Media Officer;
- The Parish Clerk may act in the absence of the Media and Assistant Media Officer.
To:
In the event of the Parish Clerk being unable to contact the Chairman of the Council or
relevant Chair of Committee, he/she is authorised to act in their absence.
It was agreed to recommend to Full Council in April 2017 that the required changes are
made to the Media Policy as detailed above, are implemented and that the name of the working party be confirmed as the Community Engagement Group
Proposed: Councillor L Brown Seconded: Councillor M Whelan
Agreed with one (1) abstention
RESOLVED: to recommend to Full Council that the changes to the
Media Policy as detailed aboveare implemented and that the name of the working party be confirmed as the Community Engagement Group
10 PANEL FOR TRANSFER OF WORK
The Clerk advised that a panel of Councillors has been created to meet with the Borough Council to discuss the proposed documentation for the Transfer of Work. Councillors who have come forward are Councillors R Hailstone, L Brown and J Stooke. In addition, Councillors P Eagle and D Smith have also expressed an interest in joining the panel. It was noted that any recommendations from the panel will be referred to Full Council for approval.
11 SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING
The meeting considered a training proposal for all Councillors on the use of social media.
It was suggested that two sessions are run, one during day and one in evening and to make it mandatory for all Councillors to attend whether they use social media or not as the lessons apply to all forms of communications. There is scope to possible offer spaces to other Councils at acost to recoup some of the £750 charge per session.
After a discussion on the content of the document, the proposal to hold Social Media
Training was not seconded so was not put to the vote.
12 COUNCILLOR REPORTS
Councillor D Smith Reported Stage Coach operating a new bus service
(no.3) with effect from beginning of April, from Abbey Meads
to GWR hospital.
Councillor R Hailstone Noted that the removal of Bring Sites by Swindon Borough Council has generated a lot of public concern. Asked that a press release be issued in local press, Council website and magazine to explain it was SBC’s decision to remove and not the Parish Councils.
Councillor P EagleNoted that the Swindon Evening Advertiser printed a small notice about the Full Council meeting agenda in last week’s edition, but failed to point out the important agenda items.
Councillor M Whelan Reported that GLL had removed the use of the lockers for the Young at Heart Group’ provisions. Also expressed his intention to resign from the Gentle Walk for people with disabilities.
Councillor C ArmaganEnquired about the reduction of the build-out on Blunsdon Road/Thames Avenue. It was advised that work was due to be scheduled in to reduce this by about one metre. Work also to be carried out on the Avonmead junction buildout.
13ITEMS FOR THE NEXT AGENDA
Update on proposed extension to Council Offices
14EXEMPT ITEMS
None
Meeting ended at8.50pmSigned______Chair