Finance & General Purposes Committee Agenda 17th March 2026

HARWICH TOWN COUNCIL
Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich, Essex CO12 3DS
Tel: 01255 507211
email: info@harwichtowncouncil.gov.uk

A meeting of the
FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES COMMITTEE
to be held at
The Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich CO12 3DS

 On

 Tuesday 17th March 2026 at 7pm

 

Public Question Time:
15 minutes will be available for members of the Public to ask questions in relation to items on the agenda only.

AGENDA

  1. Apologies for absence

To receive apologies for absence

  1. Declarations of members’ interests

To receive any ‘pecuniary’ or ‘Other/Non-Registrable’ interests relating to items on the agenda

  1. Minutes of 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 9th December 2025 (circulated separately)

  1. Matters arising from the minutes
  • F061/25 – To confirm recruitment process is underway for Seasonal Leisure Attendants and may require an extraordinary meeting to ratify the appointments.
  • F064/25 – To confirm precept payments for 2026/27 will be on 9th April and 8th October.
  1. Matters arising from previous minutes
  2. Grant requests
     To consider requests for grant funding as listed in the attached schedule.
  3. Estates Supervisor Report
     To receive a report of activities and works since last meeting.
  4. Independent Review of the Accounts

Cllr D Chable/Smith to report findings following an independent review of the accounts and bank reconciliation on 10th March for the period Oct-Dec 2025.

  1. Leisure season 2026

Ref MIN F61/25 – To consider pricing for 2026 season.

  1. Financial Regulations

To review Financial Regulations for 2026/27 and adopt accordingly.

  1. Financial Risk Assessment and System of Internal Control.
  • To review the Financial Risk Assessment and confirm measures taken to mitigate risk are adequate.
  • To report on a review of the current System of Internal Control on 5th March 2026 and make recommendations as necessary.
  1. Risk Assessments
  • To review risk assessments and confirm measures taken to mitigate risk are
    adequate:
    • Health & Safety Risk Assessments (Guildhall and Putting Greens)
    • Lone Worker Risk Assessment (Guildhall and Putting Greens)
    • Fire Risk Assessment (Guildhall)
  1. Bad Debts

To consider write-off of bad debts at year end.

£30 TR28

£35 BC18A

£100 – KG04A

£160 (£125) – DM14A

  1. Shed

To agree to replace shed in the yard of the Guildhall at a cost of up to £1000 plus £250 for disposal, to be expended from the Guildhall Improvements EMR.

  1. Under sink Water Heater

To agree to replace shed in the yard of the Guildhall at a cost of up to £1000 plus £250 for disposal, to be expended from the Guildhall Improvements EMR.

  1. Audit of the Guildhall Contents

REF: MIN F96/23 – To authorise the cost of 2x photo frames plus the digital reproductions of photographs from the Queen’s 2004 visit to enhance the Guildhall as a visitor attraction.

  • To authorise expenditure to a maximum of £500 on future similar purchases to further enhance the visitor appeal, to be expended from the Guildhall Improvements EMR.
  1. Matters received in the post or information raised by members
  • Grant acknowledgments received from Spring Meadow Primary School
  • Evaluations forms received following grants from

None – Outstanding HISF

  1. Matters to be reported
  • To report Section 137 expenditure limit for 2026/27.
  • To provide update on Local Government Pay Claim 2026/27.
  • To report expenditure of £25, under delegated authority, for the Assertion 10 training for the clerk, to be expended from the Training budget.
  • To report reduction in interest rate on Barclays Business Premium (Saver) Account from 1.10% to 1.05% WEF 24 March 2026.
  • To report reduction in interest rate on NS&I Income Bonds Account from 3.26% to 3.01% WEF 12th February 2026.
  1. Date for next meeting
         The date of the next meeting of the Finance and General Purposes Committee is at 7pm, on a date to be confirmed at The Guildhall, Church Street, Harwich.
  2. Exclusion of public and press
    Pursuant to Sub-Section 2 of Section 1 of the Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Act 1960 the meeting is closed to the press and public for the transaction of the under-mentioned business:
  • Annual Leave
  • Keyholders
  • Clerk Salary Review
  1. Annual Leave

To agree the carryover of untaken annual leave of HTC employees to the next annual leave year in accordance with employment contracts.

  1. Keyholders

To review keyholders for the Guildhall.

  1. Clerk Salary Review

Ref: MIN F69/25 – To conduct a review of the Clerk’s Job role and salary.

 

Dated: 11th March 2026                                                                        

Lucy Ballard

  Ms Lucy Ballard

 

APPLICATIONS FOR GRANT FUNDING

FINANCE & GENERAL PURPOSES MEETING 17th MARCH 2026

Applicant Name:
Tendring District Scouts

Contact:

Alfie Benson

Trustee

Purpose of Grant:
To support five young people and two adults in the preparations for the World Scout Jamboree by funding the initial deposit and mandatory preparation weekend.

Benefits:
Long-term benefits to the Tendring Scouts through development of adult leadership. Developing leadership skills

Total cost of project:
£24500

Grant Requested:
£2100

Funds from other sources:
£8400 – Tendring District Scouts

Raffle prizes secured

Harwich Rotary, Lions and Harwich and Clacton Masonic Lodge – Unsuccessful

The Archer Trust

David Wilson Homes Community Find

Hargreaves Foundation

Persimmon Home Community Fund

The Robert hall Foundation

No amounts disclosed.

Secured Y/N
No

 

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