30 July 2024 – Minutes (Draft)

THAME TOWN COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the Corporate Governance Committee held on 30 July 2024 at 6.30pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall.

Present:

Cllrs D Bretherton (Deputy Chairman), P Cowell, D Dawson (Deputy Mayor), A Dite, M Dyer (Chairman), D Dodds, H Fickling, A Gilbert (Town Mayor), S McGarry, H Richards and P Swan

Officers

M Sturdy, Town Clerk
L Fuller, Committee Services & Processes Officer

 

1) Apologies for Absence

Apologies for absence received from Cllr Champken-Woods  (personal).

Apologies were also received from the Corporate Services Manager & Responsible Financial Officer (RFO).

 

2) Declarations of Interest and Dispensations

Regarding Item 16 (Town Council Asset), several Councillors declared an interest in the asset in question. As the matter for discussion related to approving a budget for the Town Council to take legal advice, it was agreed that the interest would not preclude those Councillors from voting, and that the Town Clerk would progress a dispensation for relevant Councillors for future meetings where the asset is discussed.

 

3) Public Participation and Public Questions

There were no applications to address the Committee.
There were no questions put to the Committee.

 

4) Minutes

The Minutes of the Policy & Resources Committee Meeting held on 27 February 2024 were received.

The Minutes of the Corporate Governance Committee Meeting held on 14 May 2024 were received.

RESOLVED that:

  1. The minutes of the Policy & Resources committee meeting held on 27 February 2024 are confirmed as a correct record, and signed by the Chairman.
  2. The minutes of the Corporate Governance committee meeting held on 14 May 2024 are confirmed as a correct record, and signed by the Chairman.

 

5) Financial Update

Members received the budget summary and balance sheet up to 31 May 2024 and noted the financial updates.

There was some discussion regarding budget line ‘107 Grants’ (expenditure). The Town Clerk clarified that the £6,500 expenditure is the annual Citizens Advice grant. The £10,500 budget estimate reflects this grant, plus £4,000 for free use although this is an accounting process rather than an expenditure. Whilst it is correct that the annual community grants scheme did not run this year, the budget that would normally have been allocated has been moved to a different budget line to help offset the fundraiser role.

Members were pleased to see that Town Awards income had exceeded the amount budgeted. The lower expenditure is possibly due to not all invoices / expenditure having been paid as at 31 May 2024.

Overall Members agreed that the budget summary reporting document needed reworking and simplifying.

On the balance sheet, how long was left on the Town Hall public works loan? The Town Clerk would check but believed this to be a long time.

Post-meeting note: The outstanding amount at June 2024 is £136,088 and will be paid off by 29/05/2039 – Current interest rate is 4.1%.

 

6) Financial Overspends

It was noted that there have been no financial overspends against budget line items (greater than the agreed de minimis of £100 / 5%) recorded since April.

 

7) Banking Update

The report regarding the Lloyds’ revised interest rates & charges was noted.

Members requested that the Corporate Services Manager & RFO provide clarification on the process of reviewing the Town Council bank accounts and interest rate to ensure best value.

 

8) Investment Update

The summary of the investment performance was noted.

It was noted that Page 2 of the investment performance noted two large withdrawals which should read December 2023.

There was some discussion as to the return of investment, particularly considering the fees charged by the current investment company, Rathbones, and whether an alternative investment location would generate a higher return. It was noted that whilst some banks are offering a 4%-4.5% return, this may not be the best choice long term due to fluctuating interest rates.

Discussion moved to the Investment Policy and choice of investment company, which was discussed further under Item 10.

 

9) Utilities Report

The report was noted. Members were pleased to see utility costs were falling.

Members asked about energy saving plans. The offices were fitted with LED lighting last year which is believed to have contributed to lower electricity consumption. Discussions are ongoing with local groups Low Carbon Hub and Phoenix Energy to establish feasibility for Solar PV panels on council buildings. The Environment and Assets Committee will lead on this work.

 

10) Investments Policy

The proposed Investments Policy and accompanying appendix were noted. These were the result of several working group meetings with most members of this committee; the focus being to ensure investments would not bring reputational risk to the council.

Although the policy does not state ‘property’ as a specific investment criterion, paragraph 19 states that investment cannot be made in land or property outside the parish therefore implying that land or property in the parish can be invested in. There was a suggestion to have greater emphasis on supporting locally beneficial investments.

It was questioned whether there was a conflict in investing in companies that are investing in renewable energy if those companies are predominantly based in the fossil fuel industry. The proposed exclusionary investment criteria cover high impact fossil fuels such as coal.

After a lengthy discussion, it was agreed the Investment Policy needed further review before it could be adopted. This review should compare the investment strategies of other councils, investigate alternative investment solutions which may include other investment management companies and/or giving the council greater control over its investments, and confirm that the policy conforms with statutory guidance. It was noted that the group reviewing the policy should also include Members not in the original working group.

RESOLVED:

  1. To not adopt the proposed Investment Policy.
  2. To review further the proposed Investment Policy.

 

11) Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

The CIL monitoring report was noted.

RESOLVED:

  1. That the Town Council would like South Oxfordshire District Council to continue to automatically transfer its CIL share for payments in 2024-25, rather than hold the monies on the Town Council’s behalf.

 

12) Risk Management

The risk management index was received.

Members were reminded that they are accountable for the health and safety of the workforce, so it is important that Members are aware of the risk assessments in place and were invited to view / review any of these at any time.

 

13) Town Hall Utilisation (including Free Use / De Minimis Delegated Authority)

The report of the utilisation of the Town Hall (including Free Use 2024-25 and equivalent cost granted by the Town Clerk through Free Use / De Minimis delegated authority) was received.

Members noted the poor utilisation of the Town Hall. The free use budget of £4,000 could be reviewed to reflect the actual free use provision. It was noted the free use report had listed the Healthy Thame Fair twice.

 

14) Grants

Annual grants (Devolved Services) to Thame Senior Friendship Centre, Citizens Advice, Thame Youth Projects and Red Kite Family Centre have been released for 2024-25 and the organisations reminded to send a report detailing how their grant has been spent.

The letter of thanks from St Mary’s Church with regards to the Town Council’s Grant awarded in 2023-24 was noted.

 

15) Exclusion of the Public

MOVED:

  1. That under Section 1, Paragraph 2 of The Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business because publicity would be prejudicial to the public interest by reason of the confidential nature of the business to be transacted.

 

16) Town Council Asset

Members were asked to approve a budget for legal advice relating to a Town Council asset.

Given the complicated nature of the matter, Members agreed that obtaining legal advice was a sensible course of action.

RESOLVED:

  1. To approve the allocation a £1,500 budget towards legal and specialist fees to confirm the position of the Council in relation to the freehold and lease of the Town Council asset.
  2. To approve that the next step be to obtain legal advice.

 

The meeting concluded at 7:34pm.

 

 

Signed ………………………………

Chairman, 24 September 2024