Finance & Policy Committee
Meeting Summary
Meeting Agenda
Apologies for Absence
To receive apologies for absence and note apologies not received.
Declarations of Interest
- a) Pecuniary Interests: To receive Declarations of Pecuniary Interests as declared on the Register of Interests.
- b) Non-registerable Interests: To receive Declarations of Non-registerable Interests.
- c) Dispensations: The Clerk will consider and report on any requests for dispensation in line with the Council’s Code of Conduct.
- d) Gifts & Hospitality: To declare any gifts or hospitality in line with the Council’s Code of Conduct.
Public Participation[1]
To hear from members of the public who wish to make representations, answer questions and give evidence in respect of the business on the agenda. A question shall not require a response at the meeting nor start a debate on the question. The chairman of the meeting may direct that a written or oral response be given.
Committee Meeting Minutes
To receive and resolve to adopt the minutes of the Finance & Policy committee meeting held on Wednesday 26 November 2026 to allow the presiding Chairman to duly sign.
Clerk’s Report
To receive a verbal report from the Clerk on any matters arising from previous minutes, meetings attended by officers and future dates for the diary. For information only.
Parish Councillor’s Reports
To include an update on any meetings attended by Members as representatives of the Parish Council and future dates for the diary. For information only.
Expenditure
To resolve to approve any urgent expenditure items.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Audit
To receive a verbal report on the GDPR audit questionnaire and to resolve any action required.
Internal Control
To receive a verbal report on the internal control check report and to resolve any action required.
Parish Council Grant Applications
To receive recommendations from the Grant Panel on the following applications and resolve action required –
Lanjeth Playing Field Committee
Community Benefit Fund
To receive details of funding currently available and resolve any action required.
Community Benefit Fund Grant Applications
To receive recommendations from the Grant Panel on the following applications and resolve action required.
Community Infrastructure Levy
To receive the latest figures, consider any proposed projects and resolve any action required.
To receive and consider a request from the Property & Services committee for the use of CIL funds to purchase a salt/grit for Coombe.
Policies & Procedures
To review the following policies and procedure; to resolve recommendations to Full Council –
AI Policy
IT policy
Reserves Policy
Financial Regulations
To review Council’s adopted Financial Regulations and to resolve any recommendations to Full Council.
3rd Quarter Accounts
To receive the 3rd quarter accounts and to resolve any action required.
Virement of Funds report
To receive a report from the Responsible Finance Officer and to resolve action required.
Insurance
To appoint two members to review the insurance policy to ensure full compliance.
Asset Register
To appoint two members to review the asset register.
Data Mapping
To consider outsourcing the data mapping exercise and to resolve action required.
[1] Standing Order 3f: Total time allowed will be 15 minutes (limit of 5 minutes per person) which may be varied at the discretion of the Chairman.
Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the Ordinary Meeting of St Stephen in Brannel Parish Council Finance and Policy Committee held in the Brannel Room, 22 Fore Street, St Stephen on Wednesday 25th March 2026 starting at 6.30pm.
Present:
Cllr Mike Berryman, Cllr Steve Oakley, Cllr Nigel Spragg, Cllr Shelagh Tasker (Substitute) and Cllr Keith Truscott (Substitute).
In attendance:
Cllr Julie Broad, Cornwall Cllr Elaine Kist, Linda Ranger – Clerk & RFO and Mel Best – Admin Assistant.
In the absence of the committee Chairman and Vice Chairman, it was
RESOLVED that Cllr Nigel Spragg be elected as Chairman for the duration of the meeting.
Proposed by Cllr Mike Berryman. Seconded by Cllr Steve Oakley. All voted in favour.
The presiding Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. He ran through housekeeping procedures and advised everyone present that if they intended to participate in the meeting, they could be recorded, photographed, filmed, or otherwise reported about especially as the meeting was being live streamed.
F&P01/26 Apologies for Absence:
It was
RESOLVED to note apologies from Cllr David Coles (Chairman) Cllr David Simpson (Vice Chairman) and Cllr Tina Patterson.
Proposed by Cllr Keith Truscott. Seconded by Cllr Mike Berryman. All voted in favour.
F&P02/26 Declarations of Interest:
- Cllr Keith Truscott declared a registerable interest in the Lanjeth Playing Field grant application.
- There were no declarations of non-registerable interests.
- There were no dispensation requests.
- There were no declarations of gifts or hospitality.
F&P03/26 Public Participation:
No members of the public were present, and no questions had been received prior to the meeting.
F&P04/26 Committee Meeting Minutes:
It was
RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 26th November 2025 be adopted and signed as a true and accurate record.
Proposed by Cllr Mike Berryman. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. The vote was carried with one abstention.
The presiding Chairman duly signed the minutes.
Cllr Mike Berryman declared a pecuniary interest in the St Stephen Recreation Ground grant application.
F&P05/26 Clerk’s Report:
The Clerk’s Report had been circulated prior to the meeting, it covered the following –
Precept & Budget Update
The leaflet was delivered to all properties within the parish. The Clerk had dealt with two emails and two comments on social media.
Details of all local council’s precept demands could be found here – Link to list
In summary –
- 24 town/parish councils (including St Stephen in Brannel) in Cornwall have a Band D amount of over £200.
- The Band D amount of 21 of those councils is more than St Stephen in Brannel.
- 32 town/parish councils increased their 2026/27 precept by more than 15%
- St Stephen in Brannel Parish Council have the second highest Band D figure in the China Clay & Luxulyan CAP
Community Benefit Fund Grant
The £10,000 ring fenced for Tregargus Trust had been paid.
F&P06/26 Parish Councillor’s Reports:
Cllr Mike Berryman spoke on the delivering the leaflets on the budget/precept and co-option in St Stephen.
Cllr Keith Truscott gave an update on a meeting he had attended at Foxhole Social Club.
Cllr Julie Broad spoke on the delivering the same leaflets in Whitemoor and gave an update on the Councillor Meet & Greet she had attended that day at Whitemoor.
Cllr Shelagh Tasker spoke on the delivering the same leaflets in Whitemoor.
Cllr Nigel Spragg provided an update on the Rural Housing Enabler presentation held prior to the Planning & Licensing Committee meeting. He also informed members that he would be attending a meeting of St Dennis & Nanpean Community Trust the following evening.
F&P07/26 Expenditure:
It was
RESOLVED to approve the following expenditure –
| Payee | Item | Method | Net | VAT | Total |
| Alliance Tool Hire | Equipment hire for barrier repair | BT | £44.87 | £8.97 | £53.84 |
| AQM | Quarterly repot | BT | £1,700.00 | £340.00 | £2,040.00 |
| Cornwall Screenprint | Hi-vis vests for volunteers | BT | £60.00 | £12.00 | £72.00 |
| Duchy Cemeterys | Digger hire to empty dump | BT | £125.00 | ||
| Grahams | Strimmer line | BT | £10.83 | £2.17 | £13.00 |
| Mays Country Store | Materials for barrier repair | BT | £33.83 | £6.77 | £40.60 |
| Mays Country Store | Materials for dump to storage | BT | £92.90 | £18.58 | £111.48 |
| Penwyn Garage | Van MOT and service | BT | £395.01 | £68.03 | £463.04 |
| St Austell Printing Company | Budget/Precept and co-option leaflet | BT | £238.56 | ||
| £3,157.52 | |||||
Proposed by Cllr Steve Oakley. Seconded by Cllr Mike Berryman. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
F&P08/26 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Audit:
The GDPR Audit documents had been circulated prior to the meeting. It was
RESOLVED to note the documents and that no further action was required.
Proposed by Cllr Mike Berryman. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. All voted in favour.
F&P09/26 Internal Control:
The internal control check reports had been circulated prior to the meeting. It was
RESOLVED to note the audit documents and that no further action was required.
Proposed by Cllr Nigel Spragg. Seconded by Cllr Steve Oakley. All voted in favour.
Cllr Keith Truscott left the meeting.
F&P10/26 Parish Council Grant Applications:
It was
RESOLVED to –
Lanjeth Playing Field
Award a grant of £1000
Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 s19
Proposed by Cllr Mike Berryman. Seconded by Cllr Steve Oakley. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
Cllr Keith Truscott returned to the meeting.
F&P11/26 Community Benefit Fund:
Details of the funding had been previously circulated. It was
RESOLVED to note the amounts available and that no further action was required.
Proposed by Cllr Nigel Spragg. Seconded by Cllr Steve Oakley. All voted in favour.
Cllr Mike Berryman left the meeting.
F&P12/26 Community Benefit Fund Grant Applications:
It was
RESOLVED to –
St Stephen Recreation Ground
Award a grant of £500 towards CCTV costs from the Carloggas funds
Local Government and Rating Act 1197 s31
Proposed by Cllr Keith Truscott. Seconded by Cllr Shelagh Tasker. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
Cllr Mike Berryman returned to the meeting.
F&P13/26 Community Infrastructure Levy:
The latest figures were received. It was
RESOLVED to note the information and that no further action was required at this time.
Proposed by Cllr Keith Truscott. Seconded by Cllr Nigel Spragg. All voted in favour.
It was
RESOLVED to approve the request from the Property & Services committee and to release funds for the purchase and installation of a salt/grit bin in Coombe.
Proposed by Cllr Keith Truscott. Seconded by Cllr Nigel Spragg. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
F&P14/26 Policies & Procedures:
It was
RESOLVED to recommended to Full Council that the following policies be adopted as presented, with the title of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy being amended to Generative AI Policy –
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
Proposed by Cllr Steve Oakley. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
IT Policy
Proposed by Cllr Nigel Spragg. Seconded by Cllr Steve Oakley. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
Reserves Policy
Proposed by Cllr Steve Oakley. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
F&P15/26 Financial Regulations:
It was
RESOLVED to recommended to Full Council that the updated document be adopted as presented.
Proposed by Cllr Nigel Spragg. Seconded by Cllr Shelagh Tasker. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
F&P16/26 3rd Quarter Accounts:
The latest figures were received. The Clerk took questions from Members and it was
RESOLVED to note the information and that no further action was required at this time.
Proposed by Cllr Steve Oakley. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. All voted in favour.
F&17/26 Virement of Funds Report:
It was
RESOLVED to defer this agenda item until when end of year figures were available.
Proposed by Cllr Nigel Spragg. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
F&P18/26 Insurance:
It was
RESOLVED to appoint Cllr Nigel Spragg and Cllr Steve Oakley to review the insurance policy ready for renewal.
Proposed by Cllr Keith Truscott. Seconded by Cllr Mike Berryman. All voted in favour.
Action: Cllr Nigel Spragg and Cllr Steve Oakley.
F&P19/26 Asset Register:
It was
RESOLVED that Cllr Nigel Spragg and Cllr Steve Oakley review the asset register.
Proposed by Cllr Nigel Spragg. Seconded by Cllr Keith Truscott. All voted in favour.
Action: Cllr Nigel Spragg and Cllr Steve Oakley.
F&P20/26 Data Mapping:
It was
RESOLVED that the data mapping review should be outsourced and that the Clerk should obtain quotes and be given the delegated authority to appoint a competent contractor within delegated expenditure limits.
Proposed by Cllr Steve Oakley. Seconded by Cllr Shelagh Tasker. All voted in favour.
Action: Clerk
The meeting ended at 7:18pm
Signed as a true and accurate record –
Chairman ………………………………….…
Date …………………………………….
RECOMMENDATIONS:
F&P14/26 Policies & Procedures:
That the following policies be adopted as presented –
Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
IT Policy
Reserves Policy
F&P15/26 Financial Regulations:
That the updated document be adopted as presented.