Finance & General Purposes Committee Agenda
A meeting of the
Finance & General Purposes Committee
to be held at
The Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich
on
Tuesday 22nd September 2026 at 7.00pm
Public Question Time: 15 minutes will be available for members of the public to ask questions in accordance with Standing Order 3J
1. Apologies for Absence
To receive apologies for absence.
2. Declarations of Members’ Interests
To receive any ‘Pecuniary’ or ‘Other/Non-Registrable’ interests relating to items on the agenda.
3. Minutes of the Last Meeting
To approve as a correct record the Minutes and Confidential Minutes of the meeting of the Finance & General Purposes Committee held on Tuesday 23rd June 2026 (circulated separately)
4. Matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting
• MIN F015/26 – To receive an update on the revamp of the Guildhall leaflets.
• MIN F017/26 – To receive an update on the repairs to the Mayoral Chain.
• MIN F018/26 – To confirm fire alarm is now monitored and that final cost of £180 was approved by delegated authority.
5. Matters arising from previous minutes
• MIN F37/20 – To review provision of tree survey and consider continuing on existing agreement at a cost increase of £100 to £600.
6. Grant requests
To consider requests for grant funding as listed in the attached schedule.
7. Estates Supervisor Report
To receive a report of activities and works since previous meeting.
8. Independent Review of the Accounts
To receive report from Cllr Smith on findings following an independent review of the accounts and bank reconciliation on 3rd September for the period Apr-Jun 2026.
9. Banking & Investment Review
To review the council’s banking and investment arrangements and consider any amendments or investments for recommendation to Full Council.
10. Leisure Season Analysis 2026
To receive analysis for the 2026 season and to consider improvements for subsequent seasons.
11. Policies for review
To review and adopt the following policies:
• Councillor Training & Development Policy
• Media
• Flexible working
12. Archives
- To consider granting permission to the Harwich Society to receive copies of the images of the 1953 floods.
- To consider granting permission to the Harwich Society to exhibit an image of the 1666 Royal Naval Dock Yard contract during an exhibition arranged by the Harwich Society for a local history project and afterwards, within the Treadwheel Crane.
13. Town Plaques
To consider purchasing 25 town plaques at a cost of £801.25, to be expended from the Civic Expenditure budget.
14. Matters received in the post or information raised by members
- Letter of acknowledgement following receipt of Grant funding from:
- Evaluation form received from: Harwich Festival, Mid and North East Essex Mind, Spring Meadow Primary School.
15. Matters to be reported
• To note expenditure of £60, authorised under delegated authority, for the clerk to attend Employment Rights Act webinar, to be expended from the Training budget.
• To note expenditure of £100, authorised under delegated authority, for the Assistant Clerk and Administrative Assistant to attend Emergency First Aid training, to be expended from the Training budget.
• To note expenditure of £360, authorised under delegated authority, for the Annual Emergency Lighting and Fire Detection Certification plus £220 for remedial works at the Hill School site, to be expended from the Hill School Repairs & Maintenance budget.
• To report on Annual Play Inspection for the skate park and agree any actions and expenditure.
• The NJC has reached agreement on the 2026-27 Pay Awards to apply a 3.3% increase in each scale point, effective 1st April 2026. This was implemented in September for all applicable employees, along with the necessary back pay. No agreement has been made on the 2027-27 pay awards.
• To acknowledge communications from Barclays in relation to calculation of interest.
16. Date for next meeting
The date of the next meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee is at 7pm, on Tuesday 8th December 2026 at The Guildhall Church Street, Harwich.
17. Exclusion of public and press
Pursuant to Sub-Section 2 of Section 1 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960, to declare the meeting is closed to the press and public for the transaction of the under-mentioned business:
• Broadband Services
18. Broadband Services
To consider renewal of broadband services.
Dated: 16th September 2026
Lucy Ballard
Ms Lucy Ballard
Clerk to the Council
APPLICATIONS FOR GRANT FUNDING
FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES MEETING 22nd SEPTEMBER 2026
Applicant Name: |
Harwich & Dovercourt Partnership
Contact:
Sally Goff (Town Centre Leader)
Purpose of Grant:
Contribute towards the costs incurred in running the Christmas Lights switch-on event
Benefits:
To improve, rejuvenate and regenerate the town; boost trade and tourism.
Total cost of project:
£4100
Grant Requested:
£2500
Funds from other sources:
Own Resources – £22k
None presently
Applicant Name: |
Horse Rangers Association (Harwich)
Contact:
Sioux Thorpe (Proprietor)
Purpose of Grant:
To provide funding to cover a 12-week after-school club during the winter for 12 pupils.
Benefits:
To provide ‘alternative provision’ pupils and those without the means to afford sessions the opportunity to join a group activity.
To reduce anti-social behaviour and foster a sense of belonging, offering physical activity to young people.
Total cost of project:
£3168
Grant Requested:
£3168
Funds from other sources:
None
Applied to Hedley Foundation, Aldi Sport Fund and Active Essex Foundation.
Applicant Name: |
Harwich & Parkeston Youth Football Club
Contact:
Matthew Ramsden (Manager/Coach)
Purpose of Grant:
To provide funding to cover the initial equipment and facilities to run new PAYG football groups – for boys in KS1 and a mums/older ladies walking football
Benefits:
Will bring togetherness, friendships, mental and physical health benefits.
Total cost of project:
£TBC
Grant Requested:
£1300
Funds from other sources:
None