Financial Resolutions - covering papers

Snape with Thorp Parish Council

Financial Regulations

1. The Council received a NALC Model Financial Regulations document in 2019.
2. It was intended to review this and present it to the next Annual General Meeting. However, due to Covid 19 no AGM was held in 2020.
3. I have worked through the Model document and, specifically, the aspects which were optional or needed consideration by the Council.
4. The attached document shows the changes I suggest to the Model document.
5. This is a long document which feels overly complicated for a Council like ours which is small with a limited number of receipts and payments. However, the Council is a public body with legal obligations and this document is recommended by NALC to cover all the required aspects.
6. I recommend that this document is adopted but in so doing the Council is asked to note that some changes would be necessary to the current ways of working as follows:
   1. An appointed member of the Council should undertake a verification of bank reconciliations on a quarterly basis (see 2.2);
   2. Receipts and payments will need to be shown against budgeted levels and an explanation of material variances (see 4.8);
   3. A schedule of payments needs to be included in the minutes and approved at Council and then signed off by the Chairman (see 5.2);
   4. Cheques would normally be signed at a Council meeting (see 6.6);
   5. Password for the computer to be provided in a sealed envelope and left with the Chairman (see 6.11)
7. The approach to the approval of payments is not entirely as currently undertaken. The current system means that the principle of a payment is discussed at a Council meeting but the invoice is processed and a cheque raised and signed by 2 Councillors. The Council then receives a list of payments and receipts since the last meeting. In this way, the Council does not necessarily approve the actual value of an invoice before it is processed for payment. Due to the fact that meetings are not held monthly delaying the signing off of cheques until a Council meeting could delay payment for 2 or more months.
8. Some of the sections eg Internet banking, contract procedures for contracts over £25000 have been removed as these do not apply to the Council. These could be included at a later date if required.

Sarah Lowe

Clerk

May 2021