JRW/303

TODWICK PARISH COUNCIL

Minutes of the Annual Parish Assembly held in Todwick Church Hall
at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday 24th April 2007

Present

• Councillor Pantry - Chairman
• Councillor Langford - Vice Chairman
• Councillor Cloke
• Councillor Kettell
• Councillor Palmer
• Councillor Wolf

J R Walker - Clerk and Financial Officer

• Mr. Hill
• Mr. K Maitheson
• Mr. B White

06/178 APOLOGIES

An apology had been received from Councillor Gregory who was unfortunately still ill.

06/179 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF 26 APRIL 2005

There were no amendments

The minutes were signed as a correct record.

06/180 MATTERS ARISING

There were no matters arising.

06/181 URGENT ITEMS FOR LATER CONSIDERATIONS

There were no items for later consideration.

06/182 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

Chairman presented his report.

Activities in the past 12 months had been dominated by progress on the rebuild/refurbishment work on the Village Hall. The various efforts over the previous 12 years had at last born fruit in year.

The site work in progress had meant that the Council meetings had been held in the Church Hall. The Council was thankful that the facility was available and that the Committee responsible for the Hall were so accommodating.

All Councillors had been involved in the meetings with relevant committees which had included Rotherham Borough Council (RMBC) training sessions relating to Planning.

At the suggestion of an RMBC Officer it had been decided to expand the 7 Parishes meetings to include four other parishes, but they had yet to attend a meeting.

The Area Assembly now had a two-tier structure and there were fears that this would lead to a slowing down of communications

The Parish Plan has not prompted any action. RMBC were showing an interest in encouraging the revival of Plans.

Councillor Cloke had attended the Transport Sub Committee meetings which now seemed to achieve little other than the exchange of information.

Councillor Palmer had reported good progress in the area of work covered by the Handyman - to whom the Council offered its thanks.

Councillor Paul Langford was thanked for his reliable support as Vice-Chairman.

Regular contact with representatives of Yorkshire Rural Communities Council (YRCC) had led to the successful application for a grant to replace the fence on the west side of the small swing park. Work was now in progress.

The Village Hall Building Works Committee was known to be very appreciative of the knowledge and practicalities of the building process shown by Councillors and the Clerk whom they invited to join their meetings.

All-in-all it had been a year of progress in terms of involvement by Councillors outside meetings which had led to an increase in the capabilities as representatives of Todwick.

The Chairman offered his personal thanks to all Councillors for their contributions.

The Clerk/Financial Officer was known to be embarrassed by praise but was sincerely thanked for the professionalism of his work and his willingness at all times.

The performance and achievement above had taken place despite a very limited availability of Councillors, some of whom, for a variety of reasons, had not been able to attend meetings. However, only one meeting had been unquorate. Others had had to be re-scheduled. Further thanks were given to those able to attend and the high quality of their decision-making.

A total of six people were nominated as candidates for the new Council to be elected on 3 May 2007. As the entitlement was for 9 Councillors, all those nominated would be entitled to take their seats at the May Council meeting. The co-option of others would follow.

Three Councillors with long service did not wish to stand for election and their experience and knowledge of the village will be missed.

Mary Gregory had joined the Council in 1979 and served continuously ever since, including four years as Chairman. Meetings without her extensive local knowledge and incisive interventions when discussions were losing accuracy or direction would seem strange. Her major contributions were the acquisition of land now used as the small swing park on the North side of the Church and the editorship of "The Informer", an unrivalled publication amongst local councils.

Les Waller had had a lifetime interest in gardening and allotments and brought his extensive knowledge to the Council in 1969. His sound stewardship and management of the Allotments had ensured that the facility was still available when they no longer existed elsewhere. He had also been the prime mover in the creation of the bowls green, which was now the home of the very successful Bowling Club. His contributions in Council were purposeful and usually brief but to the point.

Brenda Waller had been on the Council on two occasions from 1984 to 1995 and from 1999 to 2007. For many years she was the Council representative on the School Board of Governors and has always been a strong supporter of youth activities (apart from football on the Pastures). In addition she had been a ready contact both for residents and RMBC. Via phone-calls and personal contact she fielded requests for help, complaints and criticism, dispensed advice and where necessary alerted RMBC of the need for action. He was confident this would not cease immediately.

TPC established a series of prizes this past year for

1. Best Garden
2. Best Kept Allotment
3. Young Sportsperson of the Year
4. Young Volunteer of the Year
5. Diligence for Todwick Junior and Infant School Pupils

and will be presenting these again in 2007.

During the past year Todwick Parish Council has also supported a number of village organisations and events including the first Todwick Funday, Music by Moonlight, Todwick Garden and Historic Trail and the establishment of the Neighbourhood Watch new scheme.

The full Minutes of the Todwick Parish Council Meetings, Annual Assembly Reports plus the Informer are available for viewing on the Todwick web site www.todwick.org.uk

He thanked all Councillors for their support and the standard of debate and decision making in the meetings.

06/183 CLERK & FINANCIAL OFFICER'S REPORT

Clerk had undertaken all the duties placed on him at the previous assembly. Clerk thanked all members for their help/assistance over the last year. He gave particular thanks to the Chairman who had again worked tirelessly on behalf of parishioners.

He was particularly grateful for the Chairman's attendance at a wide variety of meetings and events. One result of which had been the acquisition of grant aid to renew fencing at the Children's Playground.

He regretted that Councillor Mary Gregory had been unable to attend what would have been her last Council Meeting. She had been a considerable help to him throughout his period as Clerk and had been a wonderful servant on behalf of the village. It was wholly through her negotiation skills and legal expertise that it had been possible for the Council to purchase the Children's Playground.

She had an unrivalled knowledge of the village and had taken a keen interest in the young and older residents. Her innovation in publishing a newsletter so many years ago provided documentary evidence of her hard work and commitment to the village as a whole. She had been instrumental in ensuring the satisfactory maintenance of the local public rights of way.

It was most regrettable that Councillors Brenda and Les Waller would no longer be members. Les had contributed to much of the council's affairs. Without his contribution and that of the late Mr. Bradley, it was most unlikely that the bowling green and clubhouse would have been in existence. He had effectively managed all aspects in respect of the allotments for many years.

In more recent years Brenda had been of considerable help to Les with regard to the allotments. She had always made a significant contribution and amongst other things had secured the erection of the youth shelter at the recreation ground as well as managing various contracts. She had taken the lead in public transportation matters.

06/184 APPROVAL OF THE ACCOUNTS FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2006/7

All members had been provided with a copy of the accounts for financial year 2006/7 together with an explanation of significant variances. He gave details of the duties carried out during the year, explained the accounts for financial year 2006/7, compared them to those for 2005/6 and answered questions.

Resolved to approve the Accounts for Financial Year 2006/7, the Explanation of Significant Variances and Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual Return.

Chairman and signed and dated the approved accounts, previously signed by the Clerk.

06/185 ANNUAL RETURN / STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE - FINANCIAL YEAR 2006/7

Members confirmed having responded positively to each of the following statements and agreed to its meaning as it affected council.

	Agreed - Yes or No	'Yes' means that the council:
1. We have approved the statement of accounts which has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations and proper practices	YES	Prepared its statement of accounts in the way prescribed by law
2. We have maintained an adequate system of internal control, including measures designed to prevent and detect fraud and corruption and reviewed its effectiveness.	YES	Made proper arrangements and accepted responsibility for safeguarding the public money and resources in its charge
3. We have taken all reasonable steps to assure ourselves that there are no matters of actual or potential non-compliance with laws, regulations and codes of practice which could have a significant financial effect on the ability of the council to conduct its business or on it finances.	YES	Has only done things that it has the legal power to do and has conformed to codes of practice and standards in the way it has done so.
4. We have provided proper opportunity for the exercise of electors' rights in accordance with the requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations.	YES	Have given all persons interested the opportunity to inspect and ask questions about the council's accounts.
5. We have carried out an assessment of the risks facing the council and taken appropriate steps to manage those risks, including the introduction of internal controls and/or external insurance cover where required.	YES	Considered the financial and other risks it faces in the operation of the council and has dealt with them properly.
6. We have maintained an adequate and effective system of internal audit of the council's accounting records and control systems.	YES	Arranged for a competent person, independent of the financial controls and procedures, to give an objective view on whether these meet the needs of the council.
7. We have taken what we consider to be appropriate actions on all matters raised in reports from internal and external audit.	YES	Has taken appropriate action in response to matters brought to its attention by internal and external audit.
8. We have considered whether any litigation, liabilities or commitments, events or transactions, occurring either during or after the year end, have a financial impact on the council and, where appropriate has included them in the statement of accounts.	YES	Disclosed everything it should have about its business during the year including events taking place after the year end if relevant.
Trust Funds in our capacity as the sole managing trustee we have discharged our responsibility in relation to the accountability for the fund(s)/assets, including financial reporting and, if required, independent examinations or audit	YES	Has met all of its responsibilities where it is a sole trustee of a local trust or trusts.

Resolved to

1. Accept the specific answers given in the Statement of Assurance submitted as part of the Annual Return and submitted to the External Auditor
2. Approve the Statement of Accounts.

06/186 PUBLICATION SCHEME - FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

Resolved to

1. Adopt and maintain the Publication of Information Scheme presented by the Clerk and Financial Officer
2. Publish the document by displaying on the public notice board

06/187 RISK ASSESSMENTS

Resolved that all necessary risk assessments had been identified and safeguards were in place to protect against those risks.

06/188 COMMITTEE REPORTS

There were no significant matters to report.

06/189 URGENT ITEMS

There were no urgent items

The Meeting closed at 8.03 p.m.