Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Charter Trustees.

Apologies were received from Councillors J Beesley, P Broadhead, M Brooke, D Brown, J Butt and C Matthews.

Charter Trustees were advised that Graham Farrant, Honorary Clerk had submitted his apologies and Susan Zeiss, the Council’s Monitoring Officer was attending as his representative.

Charter Trustees are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

Charter Trustees were advised that no declarations of interest had been received for this meeting.

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 27 October 2021 and to consider any matters arising.

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 October 2021 were confirmed as a correct record.

In response to an issue raised Charter Trustees were advised that work was ongoing to provide illustrations of the chosen flag which would be circulated to all Charter Trustees.

The Charter Mayor will report on her recent activities and any associated issues.

The Mayor reported on her activities since the last meeting of the Charter Trustees.  She reported on the engagements that she had attended including Canford Heath Poppies, Poole Poppy Appeal, the High Sheriff’s legal service, two minute silence for Remembrance Sunday, the Society for Poole lunch, the Rifles Regiment Dinner in London, the Parkstone Yacht Club Reception, a private viewing of the Local Earth Day One Exhibition, Christmas Fete, the Prince’s Trust Team Presentation, Festival of Christmas Trees and Carol Concert and presenting prizes for light up Hamworthy with the Holocaust Memorial Day scheduled for 27 January 2022.   The Mayor reported that she had attended some great engagements and met some amazing people.

BCP Council has recently retendered its banking supplier and Barclays was chosen as the successful supplier.

As per the Charter Trustees Financial regulations the banking arrangements, including the bank mandate, shall be made by the Responsible Finance Officer and approved by the Charter Trustees.

This report gives two options for future banking arrangements which needs to be agreed in order to meet the statutory deadline of setting a Council Tax precept and associated budget by 31 January 2022. The options are either to join the BCP Council selected supplier of Barclays or continue with HSBC.

Depending on the option selected will have implications in terms of the budget presented in agenda item 6 on tonight’s agenda.

Matthew Filmer, the Responsible Financial Officer presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'A' to these Minutes in the Minute Book on Future Banking Arrangements for the Charter Trustees.

Charter Trustees were reminded that BCP Council had recently retendered its banking supplier and Barclays had been chosen as the successful supplier.  As per the Charter Trustees Financial regulations the banking arrangements, including the bank mandate, should be made by the Responsible Finance Officer and approved by the Charter Trustees.

The report set out options for future banking arrangements and the preferred option needed to be agreed in order to meet the statutory deadline of setting a Council Tax precept and associated budget by 31 January 2022.

The Responsible Financial Officer referred to the concern that had previously been raised regarding Barclays environmental credentials in respect of investments in fossil fuels.  He explained that he would not comment on environmental aspects as it was possible that this could apply to other high street banks.  The Responsible Financial Officer reported that for the Council the security of public funds has to be and would always be the priority when selecting a banking provider.

The Charter Trustees were advised of three options available which were to join the BCP Council selected supplier of Barclays which has no associated costs for the Charter Trustees with the advantage of having investment income as part of the pooled arrangements that exist, the second option was to continue with HSBC with an estimated cost of £2,250 which would include a loss of investment income, being charged for bank charges, an increase in the accountancy recharge due to the additional administration and one off system costs in terms of set up.  The Charter Trustees were advised that the reason for these costs was because the Council was streamlining its processes reducing from three bank accounts into one and moving income processing to an automated system. The Responsible Financial Officer reported that the other option was for the Charter Trustees to retender the contract for a bank provider and those costs had been estimated at £6,750 plus additional costs for financial and procurement to support the process.  He reported that it was important to note that the Council had a number of priorities including the transformation programme so it was unlikely that a retendering exercise could be supported in the short term.  The Responsible Financial Officer reported that his recommendation would be to join the Barclays contract whilst acknowledging there may potentially be a reputational risk associated with joining the contract but that could apply to other bank suppliers in the market.  The second recommendation would be to continue with HSBC whilst being aware of the associated costs and the proposal to retender for a new bank supplier should be discounted as the Charter Trustees need to set a budget and precept by 31 January 2022.

In response to a question the Responsible Financial Officer  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

The Charter Trustees are required to set their 2022/23 budget, council tax requirement and resultant precept for submission to BCP Council by 31 January 2022.

The Responsible Financial Officer presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Charter Trustees were advised that in light of the previous decision on Future Banking Arrangements the focus of the budget was on Appendix A to the report as there was a differing reserve movement based on which bank provider was selected.

The Charter Trustees were required to set their 2022/23 budget, council tax requirement and resultant precept for submission to BCP Council by 31 January 2022.

The Responsible Financial Officer provided an update on the in-year position for 2021/22 which had improved since the last update in October mainly due to the impact of covid on the activities the Charter Trustees had been able to undertake.  He reported that there had been an underspend of just over £23,000 and Appendix A to the report set out the forecast together with the detailed budget for 2022/23.  The Responsible Financial Officer reported that in preparation for the 2022/23 budget a workshop was held with a number of Charter Trustees in December 2021 to obtain views on key items in the budget.  He reported that one of the key areas was staffing recharges from BCP Council which covered the Head and Deputy Head of Democratic Services, the PAs and Mace Bearers explaining that the cost of these posts was shared across the BCP Council Chairman, the Bournemouth Charter Trustees and the Poole Charter Trustees.  The Charter Trustees were informed that the allocation of staff time had been reviewed and a 50-50 split of 80% would be allocated between each of the Charter Trustees.  This was considered to be a reflection of the time spent supporting each of the Charter Trustees and therefore the revised allocation had been built into the proposed budget for 2022/23. The Responsible Financial Officer reported that this had the implication of increasing the base budget requirement by over £19,000 with the detail of the staffing charge set out at Appendix C to the report. Charter Trustees were informed that another key change was the introduction of a charge for the use of the vehicles, which was not previously in place, £2,000 per annum which was based on the useful life of the vehicle, the expected maintenance costs and the expected usage across the Charter Trustees and the BCP Council Chairman.

The Responsible Financial Officer referred to figure 1 in the report which set out the forecast reserve position which at the end of March 2022 was expected to be in excess of £109,000 which was roughly 88% of the proposed Council Tax precept for next year.  He explained that in 2022/23 there was planned use of over £13,000 of reserves to support the budget.  The Charter Trustees were advised that the reserves at this level could potentially be deemed to be excessive which was due to the lack of activity and the inability to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

At its meeting on 27 January 2021 the Charter Trustees considered the development of the risk register and agreed that the register be agreed and reviewed on a regular basis as appropriate subject to the suggestion made relating to including a date when the action was completed and considering the risk associated with lone working to assess if it could be mitigated further.

This report provides an opportunity to review the register attached as Appendix 1 to the report taking account of new and emerging risks.

The Deputy Head of Democratic Services presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'C' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The report provided an opportunity to review the register attached as Appendix 1 to the report taking account of new and emerging risks.  The Deputy Head of Democratic Services referred to paragraph 3 which identified key updates and action taken on elements of the risk register.  The Charter Trustees considered paragraph 4 of the report which proposed that future accommodation for the Charter Trustees be included on the register as a new risk and in particular alternative accommodation for the Charter Trustees for formal meetings, regalia talks and other civic engagements when the building works commence on the Poole Civic Centre. Councillor White moved the recommendations which were seconded by Councillor Andrews.

RESOLVED that the risk register, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report having be reviewed and updated be approved taking account of the issues raised in paragraph 3 and to include the new risk set out at paragraph 4 and referred to above on future accommodation.

Voting: Unanimous

In 2022 there will be year long Platinum Jubilee celebrations throughout the UK, the Commonwealth and around the world as communities come together to celebrate The Queen’s historic reign.

There will be series of Beacon Lighting events across the country on the evening of Thursday, 2 June.  The Council’s Corporate Management Board proposed that the option of holding a beacon lighting event be given to the charter trustees of Poole

The Head of Destination and Events presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'D' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

The Charter Trustees were advised that throughout the year members of the Royal Family would be travelling around the Country to undertake various engagements and mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.  This will culminate in the Platinum Jubilee weekend in June with an extended Bank Holiday from 2-5 June 2022.  This provides the opportunity for communities and people throughout the UK to come together to celebrate this milestone.  The Head of Destination and Events reported that this would include events and community activities as well as national moments of reflection on the Queen’s 70 years of service.

The Charter Trustees were asked to consider whether they wish to take up the opportunity of holding a beacon lighting event for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee as part of the national beacon lighting event on 2 June 2022. The Council’s Corporate Management Board proposed that the option of holding a beacon lighting event be given to the Charter Trustees of Bournemouth, Poole and the Town Council of Christchurch.  The Head of Destination and Events reported that the management would be through the events team who would assist with the organisation with the responsibility for the purchase of the beacon to be funded by the Charter Trustees.  He explained that there was a beacon in Poole so there was no need to purchase one.  The Charter Trustees were advised that the location of the beacon was an important determinant of the success of the event.  The Charter Trustees were advised that the beacon event could be aligned with another event whilst the main focus was to have a network of beacons.  The Head of Destination and Events referred to the discussions at the Bournemouth Charter Trustees meeting held earlier in the week who had accepted a beacon lighting event and were looking at the potential for funding together with partnership investment from commercial operators a firework display at the same time as the beacon lighting ceremony.

The Deputy Mayor asked where the beacon would be located.  Councillor Stribley reported on her experience and referred to Sea View top of Evening Hill where the Purbecks could be viewed and outside the harbour entrance where a beacon could be seen along the coast.  The Mayor also referred to a beacon event that had been held at Baiter Park.  Councillor Trent commented on the report suggesting that the event should be undertaken in the most appropriate location and that there could be more than one beacon.  The Head of Destination and Events clarified that in the past beacon lighting had not been well attended not necessarily in Poole but in other areas so if the Charter Trustees wanted to do something associated with a specific event which was being held on 4 or 5 June then that may be an option for the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

The Charter Trustees will be updated on the above.

The Charter Trustees were advised, for information, of the nominations received for Sheriff for 2022/23 and onwards to Mayor for 2023/24.  The closing date had passed, and the Charter Trustees were advised that two nominations had been submitted. Both the nominees had confirmed that they wanted to put their names forward so a secret ballot would now be undertaken.  Officers reported that the ballot would be undertaken outside of this meeting with all Charter Trustees via the election buddy system.  Officers reported that all Charter Trustees would be notified when the ballot would start.

Councillor Stribley indicated that it was practice and custom that the Sheriff generally continues on to become Mayor but reported that there had been previous occasions where the Sheriff had either had a break before becoming Mayor or indeed had never become Mayor for various reasons.  She explained that it should not necessarily be assumed that whoever becomes Sheriff would automatically become Mayor the following year.  Councillor Slade raised a point of order indicating that this matter was for Charter Trustees to be updated on the nominations for Sheriff for next year and the above was not relevant to this issue.  Officers explained that the appointment of the mayor was undertaken in May each year.  Councillor Slade emphasised that the purpose of this item was to report back on the request for nominations for the Sheriff for next year and therefore she did not see the relevance of the point made above and the report had now been made to the Charter Trustees on the nominations received.

Councillor Howell sought clarification on the status of the Charter Trustee meetings and asked if the meetings could be undertaken virtually.  Officers reported that the issue could be looked at in more detail whilst advising that the high court ruling applied to both the 1972 Act that covers principal authorities and the Admission to Meetings Act 1960 that covers Parish and Town Councils and the Chartered Trustees fall into those regulations.