The Stubton Parish Council comprises the following personnel (click this page for the latest info):

Click for Register of Interest Documents (SKDC).

Position	Name	Contact Details
Clerk (Temporary)	Jenny Taylor	stubtonclerk@gmail.com

Chair	Sam Michell	sammstubtonpc@gmail.com
Member	Jackie Britten-Crooks	jackiestubtonpc@gmail.com
Member	Sam Kirk	samkstutbtonpc@gmail.com
Member	Jenny Taylor	jennystubtonpc@gmail.com

South Kesteven District Council	Penny Milnes	SKDC webpage
Lincolnshire County Council	Alex Maughan	LCC webpage
Position	Name	Contact Details

A “typical” Meeting Guide

This guide gives you an idea as to what you can expect to happen at a council meeting and also guide you as to when you are able to contribute. The Parish Council welcomes comments and questions from members of the community, but this must be at the correct times during the meeting. The agenda and any relevant documents for forthcoming meetings are available via this website (check out the home page in the Council Meetings Diary). The agenda is normally available in hard copy at the meeting.

Apologies

Councillors must attend council meetings unless they have a good reason to stay away – for example if they are ill. If they are unable to attend, they must send their ‘apologies’ to the Clerk along with an acceptable reason for absence.

Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct says that councillors have to say if they have any personal involvement in anything that is on the agenda – for example, if an application for planning permission is on property that they own. This is called ‘declaring an interest’. Councillors are not allowed to discuss agenda items in which they have declared a ‘pecuniary’ interest (i.e. one that relates to money) though they may make a statement. They may choose to leave the room while the item is being discussed.

Minutes

Minutes are the legal record of what was decided at a previous meeting, written by the Clerk. He sends a draft version of the minutes out to all the Councillors after each meeting so that they can read them, check that they are accurate, and send any suggested amendments.

At this point on the agenda, the Chairman checks that the Councillors are happy that the draft minutes (including any amendments) are a true record of the last meeting. It is only when the Chairman has signed an agreed version of the minutes, they become an official record.

Finance, audit and governance

In practical terms, the Clerk deals with day-to-day accounts and the giving and receiving of payments, but it is the Council as a whole that is responsible for Council finances, and this point in the meeting requires the Councillors to look at three specific matters:

The payments to be made this month. The Clerk has compiled a list of payments that need to be made to staff, suppliers and others. Councillors must approve this list and sign the relevant cheques.
The bank reconciliation means looking at the amount of money in the bank and comparing it with the amount that ought to be there according to the accounts. Bank reconciliation means being able to account for any discrepancies.
When the Council looks at budget monitoring, it is looking at how the current financial situation compares with the planned budget for the year to check that the finances are where they ought to be at this stage.

Planning

Every month the Council will consider any planning applications that have been received for development in the parish. Although the Parish Council does not make final decisions about planning applications, it does receive copies of the applications and plans from the planning authority (Herefordshire Council).

The role of the Parish Council is to comment on the plans – in other words, although the Parish Council does not make the decision itself, it can give an opinion that the planning authority has to take into account when it decides. If the Council sees no problem with the application it can make ‘no comment’.

Public participation in the “open session”.

This is an opportunity for any resident to speak to the Council about any issue that they think is important. If you would like to speak, it is a good idea to let the Clerk of the meeting know beforehand, and to let him have copies of relevant documents if you have any. You will then have three minutes in which to speak once you have been called to do so by the Chairman who is in charge of the meeting.

It is important to be aware that although the Council may be able to give you some simple information in response to what you have said, it is difficult to discuss a question and give advice if no advance notice is given; also the law does not allow the Council to take decisions about matters that are not on the published agenda. If you would like the Council to take action about something, you need to be clear about exactly what you would like them to do. It can then be put on the agenda for the next meeting, when the Councillors will discuss it and make a decision. Don’t forget to come along next time to hear the discussion and to contribute to it if asked by the Chairman.

Confidential closed sessions

Some items of business on agendas are classed as confidential and that part of the meeting is closed to the public. For very practical reasons, these sessions are normally held at the end of the meeting so that the public doesn’t have to leave and then return when the session is over. Confidential sessions are not held to avoid transparency but for good reasons.

The criteria for confidentiality are:-

Engagement, terms of service, conduct and dismissal of employees:
Terms of tenders, and proposals and counter-proposals in negotiations for contracts;
Preparation of cases in legal proceedings: and
The early stages of any dispute.

Preparation for Agenda & Minute Writing

Source: ScribeAccounts and an Example Agenda Template.

Plus two very useful publications:

Good Councillor Guide 2024 – CLICK to download. A Councillors Workbook – Click to download

Key Considerations for Preparing an Agenda

Now the next item, we have our agendas, and here we come into some very interesting questions. As we know an agenda must be included within the summons for a meeting, providing sufficient information on the items to be discussed and it must be distributed at least three working days before the scheduled meeting.

Flexibility of agendas

A common question arises about the flexibility of agendas – can one be retracted and replaced after publication? The consensus leans towards a firm no, emphasising the importance of a singular, definitive agenda to maintain order and clarity. If you don’t publicise the agenda completely, then it might be a possibility, but generally speaking, once the agenda is published and distributed, that is the agenda for the meeting – even if you’ve forgotten something.

Responsibility of the agenda

Another point worth reiterating is that the agenda is the responsibility of the Clerk, and will typically be discussed with the Chair who will have an idea of what needs to be discussed. I have had cases where Councillors say to the Clerk “You must put this on, that on” strictly speaking, it is not necessary to do so.

That being said, there is very little point in deliberately excluding something which everybody is hopping up and down about. If 2 or more Councillors wish to call a special meeting to discuss a particular subject, then they will have to detail what they wish to discuss on the agenda. This is the only time when Councillors can dictate what goes on the agenda, but you do need to have regard to what other people want to discuss.

Apologies for absences

The first item on the agenda other than in respect of the annual parish meeting, is usually apologies for absence. Now this does give rise to difficulties, because the law requires that reasons for absence are given – if they are not given and accepted at the meeting, then the 6 month rule will start to apply.

A lot of councillors don’t like the fact that their going on holiday will be recorded in the minutes – in these circumstances, we advise that the reasons are not specifically stated, but it is stated that the reason was accepted by the Council.

Any other business

If an item is not on the agenda, you cannot lawfully make a decision on it, which is why you can’t have items such as “any other business”.

A lot of agendas that I see as I travel around still have any other business, but all that can be is a general report. You cannot decide on anything which is brought up under that heading – only agenda items can be subject to a decision. So if a Councillor makes a report which says that the hedges need cutting, the Council cannot immediately resolve to have it cut because it’s not on the agenda, it’s not an authorised expenditure.

Confidentiality

As far as items which are to be taken in a confidential session are concerned, these should also appear on the agenda, but on the basis that they are going to be discussed confidentially.

This means that the item will be more vague than will be the case for others, so it will say, “to discuss a staffing matter”, “to discuss a code of conduct matter”, “to discuss…”. It will be much more vague as far as the agenda is concerned, but again, it will show that an item of that nature will be discussed.

Here is an example:

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Crafting Minutes

Minutes serve as the formal record of council meetings, capturing decisions rather than providing a detailed transcript. I see very, very involved minutes which are not what is required. All that is really required in a formal minute is the decision which was made by the Council on a formal resolution.

Why? Once that is done and signed, it is admissible in court proceedings as evidence of the event and the decision.

The signing of the minutes

Note that I say signed. It is the responsibility of the Clerk to ensure that the minutes of the previous meeting are, in fact, signed. The necessity of signing minutes underscores their official status, and they cannot be retrospectively signed if this step is overlooked – we would have to rely on them as being approved.

Responsibility for the minutes

The minutes are the responsibility of the proper officer. They don’t have to take the minutes. You can have a minute secretary or otherwise, but the Proper Officer is responsible for the minutes of the meeting.

Keeping of the minutes

Originally minutes were kept in bound volumes and handwritten. This is not a requirement, but it is important to ensure that printed digital documents include features like consecutive numbering to safeguard against tampering – if you think this never happens, I can tell you that it does.

Purely computer records are not sufficient. It will happen at some stage, but at the moment keeping them purely by computer is not considered sufficient. It’s old-fashioned, but we all know that computer records can be wiped out quite easily.

Objections to the minutes

The minutes of the meeting are a legal requirement and cannot be changed. They should be as concise as possible.

If there is an objection to the minutes, it should be raised as soon as the draft minutes are published. These days draft minutes are usually published on the website before they are approved so that people can read them as far as such concerns. Don’t necessarily change the minutes if people start squawking about whether they are correct or otherwise. You need to be quite firm on this, provided that they have an adequate record of the meeting.