DRAFT Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Dittisham Parish Council
7pm Wednesday 6 May 2026, Dittisham Village Hall
1. Election of Chair It was RESOLVED to elect Cllr Bond Chair of the Parish Council.
2. Chair’s Signature of Declaration of Acceptance of Office Cllr Bond signed Declaration of Acceptance of Office before the Clerk.
3. Election of Vice-Chair It was RESOLVED to elect Cllr N.Green as Vice Chair of the Parish Council.
4. Apologies for absence It was noted that Cllr Hawkes had given apologies for absence.
5. Declaration of Interests None declared
6. Consideration of the recommendations made by a committee (if any) None
7. Review of delegation arrangements to committees, sub-committees, staff and other local authorities None
8. Review of the terms of reference for committees Confirmation of the Terms of Reference for Personnel Committee and Subcommittee A minor amendment was made to change the date of the annual meeting of the Personnel Committee to September instead of November.
9. Appointment of members to existing committees Confirmation of the appointment of the Members of Personnel Committee and Subcommittee It was RESOLVED that cllrs N.Green, Neale and Pope to be appointed to the Personnel Committee.
10. Appointment of any new committees in accordance with standing order 4 None
11. Review and adoption of appropriate:
11.1 Standing orders Were reviewed with no material amendments made.
11.2 Financial regulations Were reviewed with minor amendments made, including reference to a Finance Working group rather than Committee.
12. Review of arrangements (including legal agreements) with other local authorities, not-for-profit bodies and businesses None.
13. Review of representation on or work with external bodies and arrangements for reporting back It was confirmed that the appointment and the role description of ‘Working Groups & Positions of Responsibility’ document, was approved at the April Meeting of the Parish Council.
14. In an election year, to make arrangements with a view to the Council becoming eligible to exercise the general power of competence in the future;
15. Review of inventory of land and other assets including buildings and office equipment; It was confirmed that the Asset Register at 31/03/25 was approved at the April Meeting of the Parish Council.
16. Confirmation of arrangements for insurance cover in respect of all insurable risks It was noted that the Parish Council had entered into a three-year agreement with Clear Councils/Ecclesiastical Local Councils Policy which ends 2/7/27.
17. Review of the Council’s and/or staff subscriptions to other bodies Includes DALC and SLCC. It was RESOLVED to retain subscriptions of both the Devon Association of Local Councisl (DALC) and Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC).
18. Review of the Council’s complaints procedure Was reviewed. Contact details were updated.
19. Review of the Council’s policies, procedures and practices in respect of its obligations under freedom of information and data protection legislation (see also standing orders 10,19, and 20 ); It was noted that these policies were approved at the April meeting of the Parish Council.
20. Review of the Council’s policy for dealing with the press/media It was noted that procedures were incorporated within the Parish Council’s Communications Policy and Standing Orders. The Communications Policy was reviewed. The date of the first internal review and references to the Parish Magazine were removed.
21. Review of the Council’s employment policies and procedures NA
22. Review of the Council’s expenditure incurred under s.137 of the Local Government Act 1972 or the general power of competence. In process.
23. Review of matters required by the Annual Audit:
23.1 Review of Statement of Internal Control was reviewed. The limit of expenditure in extreme emergency was update to £2000 in order to agree with limits laid out in the Parsh Council’s Finance Regulations.
23.2 Review of Parish Council Risk Assessment/Risk Register Updates were made to remove some abbreviations, remove reference to trim behind the stream as this is now part of contracted works, refer to ‘Tree Risk Management Policy’ instead of Assessment. Updates were made to section 7: Resources in reference to support and management of the Clerk and the role of the Personnel Committee.
23.3 Receipt of Grants and Proof of Need Summary 2025/6 It was noted that the Clerk had produced a summary of grants given and received for publication on the Parish Council’s website.
23.4 Confirmation of bank signatory arrangements It was noted that Cllrs Bond, J.Green, N.Green, Pope and Unitt are bank signatories with Lloyds Bank. The Clerk has access to the account to set up payments. Cllrs Pope and Unitt are signatories with NatWest. The Clerk is noted as an administrative contact.
23.5 Approval of Standing Orders and Direct Debits It was noted that VAT and Nest Pension payments are paid by Direct Debit.
22.6 Finance policies (Investment Strategy and Reserves Policy) It was RESOLVED that the Clerk produce and Investment Strategy and Reserves Policy for consideration by the Finance Working Group before recommended to Full Council.
24. Determining the time and place of ordinary meetings of the Council up to and including the next annual meeting of the Council It was RESOLVED that meetings would continue to take place at 7pm on the first Wednesday of every month except in August, at Dittisham Village Hall.
Meeting was closed at 7:25pm