001 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN

Cllr Chambers was proposed, seconded and accepted the nomination. There were no further nominations and Cllr Chambers was unanimously elected as Chairman.

002 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Anderson who was engaged on a work commitment.

003 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST – None.

004 MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING

Minutes of the meeting held on 18 March 2003 were presented to the Council at the meeting on 27 March 2003 and received no adverse comment with all recommendations being approved. It was unanimously agreed to adopt the minutes and these were duly signed by the Chairman.

005 INTERNAL AUDITOR’S REPORT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2003

The Committee received the report and were pleased to note that there had been a robust approach to the audit testing and investigation. Only one point needing clarification had arisen, which related to how the Council satisfied itself that the clerk was being properly resourced in terms of the time commitment allowed for the requirements of the position. Having discussed this in some detail, it was unanimously agreed to recommend that:

• The Internal Auditor’s report is adopted.
• The Council agrees to keep the clerk’s contracted hours under close review.
• In order to further enhance the Council’s internal control on financial matters, the Chairman of the Finance Committee should receive the bank reconciliation statement from the Responsible Financial Officer every month and satisfy herself that it is a true representation of the Council’s cash holdings.

006 ANNUAL RETURN 2002-03

The Committee considered the various questions relating to the Statement of Assurance required to acknowledge the collective responsibility of Councillors in relation to financial matters and answered ‘yes’ to all points. The Responsible Financial Officer reported that Section 1 relating to the Accounts, which were adopted at the meeting held on 24 April 2003, had been completed and that the Internal Auditor had given an unqualified report in Section 4. It was agreed to recommend that the Council approves the Annual Report.

007 LOCAL GOVERNMENT PENSION SCHEME

The Committee noted that the forecast from Lincolnshire County Council, the local scheme manager, suggested that employer contributions will need to rise with effect from 1 April 2005. This will be taken into account in the budget process for that financial year.

008 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND RISK ASSESSMENT

1. Information handling and storage – The clerk reported that progress was being achieved but would not be complete by the original deadline of 30 June 2003. This remains a priority for the clerk.

2. Best Value – The clerk provided information on Best Value, where local councils with budgeted income/expenditure under £500,000 are exempt from the legislation but nevertheless urged to adopt the spirit in order to demonstrate open-ness, accountability and best practice. Members noted that the four key principals relating to Challenge, Consult, Compare and Competition were applied by the Council and it was agreed to recommend that the clerk should submit a draft policy document to the Council for approval.

009 REVIEW OF THE CURRENT FINANCIAL POSITION

The Responsible Financial Officer produced a summary of transactions and balances to 31 May 2003. It was noted that there had been no unusual or unexpected activity and that the budget was progressing as planned.

010 TERMS OF REFERENCE, DELEGATED POWERS AND MEETING TIMETABLE

It was unanimously agreed to recommend that the Committee should:

• Undertake to consider on behalf of the Council all aspects of activity relating to financial matters not within the remit of other committees and make decisions in accordance with any approved delegated powers or, where none exist, make recommendations to the Council.
• Prepare a budget for the forthcoming financial year in accordance with the Financial Regulations of the Council and its precept timetable for items of expenditure and income not contained within other committees’ terms of reference.
• Assemble the overall budget for the financial year detailing financial implications for recommendation to the Council.
• Monitor the Council’s expenditure and income from time to time throughout the year and consider adjustment of plans and activities if appropriate.
• Ensure that the Council’s accounts are prepared for approval by the Council in accordance with the requirements of the Accounts & Audit Regulations 2003.
• Prepare the Annual Return for approval by the Council.
• Deal with any other matter passed to it by the Council from time to time.

The Finance Committee does not seek any delegated powers and all activity of the Committee shall take the form a recommendation to the Council for decision.

In order to fulfil the proposed terms of reference it was agreed to recommend that the Committee meets four times per year (March, June, September & December) at 7.30pm on the second Thursday of the months in question. Further meetings will, if necessary, be called for urgent business arising between meetings.

This recommendation will not have any cost implication as the budget already caters for quarterly meetings of this Committee.

011 DATE OF NEXT MEETING - Thursday, 11 September 2003 at 7.30pm.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed at 8.40pm.