FINANCE COMMITTEE

Minutes of the meeting of the Finance Committee held at 7.30pm on Thursday, 17 October 2002 at The Institute. Councillor Lewis, Chair, presided over Councillor Chambers and the clerk. There were no members of the public present.

015 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE were received from Councillors Anderson, Fisk and Stevens.

016 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST None.

017 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

It was noted that the minutes of the meeting held on 2 September 2002 had been received at the Council Meeting held on 26 September 2002 without adverse comment. It was agreed that the minutes were a true and correct record and resolved to accept the minutes as read and adopted.

018 MATTERS ARISING None.

019 ANNUAL AUDIT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 MARCH 2002

The clerk confirmed that the Annual Return had been submitted to the External Auditor and that no adverse comment had been received so far.

020 APPOINTMENT OF AN INTERNAL AUDITOR

The clerk confirmed that Mrs Carol Precey had been offered the position of Internal Auditor but formal acceptance had not yet been received. The clerk further confirmed that a work-programme would be agreed with the Internal Auditor in due course.

021 REVIEW OF THE COUNCIL’S STANDING ORDERS

Members received a draft document prepared by the clerk containing NALC recommendations, the Council’s current practice and Orders that must be followed by law. The Committee reviewed every Standing Order for relevance and appropriateness to the Council’s activities and made alterations as found to be appropriate. It was agreed to recommend the revised draft for adoption by the Council.

022 DRAFT FINANCIAL REGULATIONS

Members received the draft Financial Regulations prepared by the clerk and agreed to review the document at the next meeting of the Committee.

023 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RISK ASSESSMENT

Members received the clerk’s report detailing areas of council activity requiring consideration and agreed to defer constituting a work-programme until the next meeting.

024 JUBILE PLAYING FIELD PROJECT PROCUREMENT ARRANGEMENTS

The clerk drew members’ attention to the impact of proposed standing orders on this project and advice received in this connection from the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils. It was agreed that in view of the potential value of the contract to recommend that the Council enters into a tendering process inviting sealed bids from competent suppliers who can demonstrate expertise and previous experience of similar contracts.

025 DATE OF NEXT MEETING To be arranged.

The meeting closed at 9.15pm.