2026 Minutes (Finance Committee)

Minutes of the Heckington Parish Council Finance Committee meeting held on Monday 13 July 2026 at 8.00pm in the Parish Council Chambers, St Andrews Street, Heckington

1. Election of Chair (FC/001)

Councillor Wright proposed Councillor Spencer as a candidate for the role of Chair.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor Garlick and the motion was passed unanimously by resolution of the Council. 

2. Chair’s Welcome (FC/002)

The Chair, Councillor Spencer welcomed members to the meeting and delivered the usual health and safety announcements.  He asked those present to silence their mobile devices as appropriate. 

3. Public Forum (FC/003)

There were no members of the public present. 

4. Councillors present  (FC/004)

Councillor Spencer

Councillor Wright

Councillor Garlick

5. Apologies (FC/005)

Apologies were received from Councillor Cocks. The reasons for his absence were noted and accepted. 

Members noted that Councillor Davison has resigned from his position on the Finance Committee. 

6. To receive any reports of member’s interest, pecuniary or otherwise in relation to the agenda and any dispensations in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 (FC/006)

None

7. Approval of Minutes (June 2026) (FC/007)

Members agreed to defer this item to the next meeting of the Finance Committee as the number of Councillors present and voting also present at that meeting do not constitute a quorum. 

8. Finance (FC/008)

a) Budget 2027/28

Members reviewed the timeline for budget preparations for the 2027/28 budget.

 b) Teams use by Councillors and the Clerk 

Members discussed the continued use of Microsoft Teams by Councillors and the Clerk and a potential transition to the use of gov.uk profiles rather than personal profiles.  The Clerk confirmed that multiple personal accounts cannot be supported by the Teams app and a second account would therefore need to be accessed via the web browser.  

The Clerk said that she had discussed the use of Teams with the ICO and they had indicated that Teams conversation feeds contain a mixture of disclosable and non-disclosable information and only the specific, disclosable information must be communicated in the event of a FOI application and as the feed cannot be transcribed, a summary can be provided. If personal profiles are used to discuss Parish Council business, the contents of the personal feed must be made available in the event of a FOI request. 

There was support for and against the use of Teams.  Members agreed to defer this item to the July meeting for consideration by the Parish Council. 

c) Chambers

i) AccessAble Report

Members agreed to meet informally to review the accessibility report with a view to making recommendations to the Parish Council. 

Action: Clerk to print the report in a user-friendly format.

ii) Installation of Commercial Fire Alarm System

The Clerk confirmed that the deposit has been paid and the date for installation is pending.

iii) Planters 2026/27

Councillor Wright proposed expenditure up to £100 exclusive of VAT for hanging baskets and fittings for the Parish Council Chambers.  The proposal was seconded by the Chair and the motion was passed unanimously by resolution of the Committee. 

iv) Door, Main Meeting Room

The Chair proposed that expenditure up to £150.00 exclusive of VAT is approved to remediate the main meeting room door.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor Wright and the motion was passed unanimously by resolution of the Committee. 

v) CCTV

The Chair reported that CCTV stored data must only be stored for 30 days in line with legislation.  Additional signage needs to be displayed at the Parish Council Chambers.  The Clerk stated that the CCTV system in the Parish Council Chambers is not fit for purpose and needs to be upgraded to commercial standards. 

Action:  Clerk to obtain quotes for the installation of a commercial system. 

9. Date and time of the next meeting (FC/009)

Monday 7 September 7.30pm

10. Questions from the public (FC/010) 

None

The Chair closed the meeting at 8.35pm and proposed that the meeting is moved into closed session in accordance with the Public Bodies Act 1960 to discuss correspondence received from a member of the public dated 30 June 2026 in relation to the AGAR for 2025/26.  The proposal was seconded by Councillor Garlick and the motion was passed unanimously by resolution of the Committee. 

11. Closed Session (FC/011) 

a) To discuss the correspondence received from a member of the public dated 30 June 2026 in relation to the AGAR submission dated June 2026.

There were no resolutions.   

The Chair closed the meeting at 8.40pm.