1 Dec 2025 – Finance Meeting (Minutes)

GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 2nd December 2025
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Chair: Cllr T Williams
Present: Cllr N Catlow
Cllr P Watson
Cllr S Pennington
Cllr B Simpson

In Attendance: K Carter (Clerk)

1. To receive and approve any apologies for unavoidable absence.
All members present.

2. To approve the minutes of previous meeting 4/11/25.
The draft minutes were moved and accepted as a true record of the meeting and signed as
such.

FINANCE/2025/113: Resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 4th
November 2025 as a true record.

3. To consider the budget and precept level for 2026-27 for further discussion by full
council.
The draft budget was discussed in detail, with the following key points noted:
• Parish-funded PCSO. An internal consultation is currently taking place within Cheshire
Constabulary regarding PCSO levels. The Parish Council hasn’t had any official
correspondence relating to the Parish funding of an additional PCSO and it was
therefore agreed to leave the funding in place within the budget until this is
communicated by the Police.
• Second apprentice. The recommendation from the last Finance meeting was to defer
taking on a second apprentice until the 2027-28 financial year. The Parish Council
deferred a final decision until the Parish Estates Committee had reviewed the future
grounds programme and workload, following which the Estates Committee
recommended recruitment in 2026-27. A compromise position was suggested of taking
on the second apprentice mid-year.
FINANCE/2025/114: Recommended that a second apprentice is taken on from
September in the financial year 2026-27.
• Tim Parry grounds maintenance. The initial budget had a range of costs from £1,500-
£10,000 as this depends on the use allowed on the field. The Parish Estates
Committee have recommended that football training sessions only, i.e. not matches,
are allowed from April-September as the ground is too waterlogged and therefore
easily damaged over winter. This was accepted and agreed that the required budget
for maintenance is therefore at the lower end of this range.
• Precept level – to consider the potential increases required in the precept over the next
3 years with a view to ensuring any rise is equal across the years, rather than
fluctuating.
FINANCE/2025/115: Recommended that consideration is given to a 4% increase in
precept over each of the next 3 financial years, subject to review each year.

FC/2025/49 6.1.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 2nd December 2025
Whittle Hall Community Centre

4. To scrutinise financial expenditure arising since the last meeting, including
payments by Direct Debit.

A list of payments to be made had been circulated prior to the meeting. The following
payments were considered and approved.

Amount,
Presented By Description
£
Les Halman Nurseries Plants 555.00
K Ashby Toll reimbursement 4.80
Terrier Tools Laser level 838.80
Roller Shutter Roller Shutter Repairs 168.00
Ladybrook Nursery Tilia Cordata Streetwise 6864.00
Whartons Garden Roses Roses – Lingley Green 769.54
B&B Hygiene Ltd Cleaning Supplies £329.88
Firecheck Annual Fire Check Service – BB £42.00
Firecheck Annual Fire Check Service – HM £36.00
Firecheck Annual Fire Check Service & Alarm – WH £162.00
Firecheck Annual Fire Check Service & Alarm – TP £162.00
Trade UK Cable ties and drill bit – Centre Maintenance £6.83
Trade UK Evo stik Flashband – Centre Maintenance £25.99
Tudor Environmental Tudor Forged Big Ripper £57.12
Amazon Business Duracell Batteries £8.50
Landscape Academy Excavator test/refresher £438.00
MKM Projoint Primer £47.36
Edmundson Electrical Replacement lights – WH £8.39
360 Landscapes Top soil 2T – Grounds £120.00
Brentwood Nurseries Plants – LG £596.17
Trade UK Combination Lock – TP £67.78
MKM Grounds Materials £57.52
MKM Grounds hire delivery charges £36.00
MKM Timber decking treatment – Grounds £8.86
Grasslands Yew Hedging – Grounds £936.00
WBC PPF Maintenance 25/26 £4,106.44
WBC Footpath Cleansing WH 25/26 £295.75
Comtec Centre Electrical repairs £440.00
MKM Treated Battens – Grounds £15.68
The Tom Taylor Co Website Hosting April – Nov 25 £1440.00
NWFE Ltd Supply and Installation Access Control System £2,247.59
Agrovista Soil – Grounds £234.18
MKM Timber Frame £29.74
MKM Petrol Scarifier – Hire £91.64
Equals card Petty cash top-up £396.89
Trade UK Light switch – Centre repair WH £14.96

FC/2025/50 6.1.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 2nd December 2025
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Trade UK Screwdriver set – Grounds £24.99
Trade UK Hex key set – Grounds £9.99
TOTAL £21,694.39

FINANCE/2025/116: Resolved to authorise all payments listed (under LGA 1976 s19 or
LGA 1972 s15(5), s101, 111, 112, 133, 142 or 137).

The following direct debits on the Council’s account during October were also noted:

Novuna 01/10/2025 Electric Van Lease 456.20
BT 01/10/2025 WIFI/Telephone WH 262.76
Lex Autolease 01/10/2025 Council Electric Van Lease 851.98
SSE Energy 06/10/2025 Electricity TP 181.74
SSE Energy 06/10/2025 Gas TP 356.74
BT 07/10/2025 WIFI/Telephone HL/TP/BB/HM 385.33
Smart Pension Ltd 11/10/2025 Pension payment September Wages 1654.40
Peninsula 11/10/2025 H&S Service H&S 200.93
Global 4 Comms 14/10/2025 Office 365/email Office 122.04
SSE Energy 21/10/2025 Electricity BB 436.93
Water Plus 27/10/2025 Water charges TP 5.88
WBC 30/10/2025 August Business Rates TP 235.00
WBC 30/10/2025 August Business Rates HM 147.00
WBC 30/10/2025 August Business Rates WH 156.00
WBC 30/10/2025 August Business Rates BB 125.00
BT 31/10/2025 WIFI/Telephone WH 277.77
Utility Warehouse 31/10/2025 Mobile phones Office 56.38
Water Plus 31/10/2025 Water charges HM 40.68
Water Plus 31/10/2025 Water charges WH 74.96
Water Plus 31/10/2025 Water charges BB 79.90
Service Fee Charge 31/10/2025 Service Charge Office 20.55
TOTAL £6128.17

5. To consider any quotes received and authorise or make recommendations to full
Council where appropriate.
Quote 1: for replacement play equipment at Tim Parry Recreation Ground. Quote from
Wicksteed for turnstile, £2,733 excl. VAT. Recommended.

FINANCE/2025/117: Recommended to purchase a replacement turnstile from Wicksteed
for Tim Parry play area, £2,733 +VAT. (Open Spaces Act 1906, s10).

Quote 2: for replacement wall-mounted water heater at Whittle Hall Community Centre. 4
quotes, £648.35-£1,272.72. Recommended at lowest quote.

FINANCE/2025/118: Recommended to purchase a replacement wall-mounted water
heater for Whittle Hall Community Centre, £648 +VAT. (LG (Misc. Prov.) Act 1976, s19).

FC/2025/51 6.1.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 2nd December 2025
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Quote 3: Replacement front door, Whittle Hall Community Centre. 3 quotes were reviewed
ranging from £4,399.71 to £6,370 + VAT. The lowest quote of £4,399.71 excl. VAT was
accepted.

FINANCE/2025/119: Recommended to purchase a replacement front door from
Merseyside Multi Glazing Ltd for Whittle Hall Community Centre, £4,399.71 +VAT. (LG
(Misc. Prov.) Act 1976, s19).

Quote 4: Website accessibility upgrades and design refresh. An estimate for the work had
been received from the council’s website manager for the compliance requirements,
£13,250, excl. VAT. Additional work for a design refresh will be more cost-effective if
carried out at the same time, £3,600 excl. VAT. The requirement for 3 quotes was waived
because of the specialist nature of the work and the ongoing maintenance contract for the
website. The estimates were accepted.

FINANCE/2025/120: Recommended to accept the quote from Tom Taylor Company Ltd
for website accessibility upgrades and design refresh, ££16,850+VAT. (LGA 1972 s142).

6. To consider requests for financial assistance

Request 1: from Jack & Jill Preschool for donation towards Christmas party, £100
approved.

FINANCE/2025/121: Resolved to give £100 to Jack & Jill Preschool for Christmas party
(LGA 1972 s137).

Request 2: from Warrington Armed Forces Day for contribution towards the event in June
2026.

FINANCE/2025/122: Recommended to give a donation of £2,500 towards Warrington
Armed Forces Day 2026 (LGA 1972 s137).

Request 3: from centre customer for reduced hire rate. Decision deferred; committee
requested copy of customer accounts for last 6 months.

7. Budget 2025-26: to scrutinise documentation and when satisfied as to correctness to
sign off financial reports and bank reconciliations for October.
The bank reconciliation and budget monitoring pages for October were considered and
accepted. Checks on financial transactions were carried out prior to the meeting by Cllrs
Pennington and Simpson.

FINANCE/2025/123: Resolved to accept the bank reconciliation and budget monitoring
pages for October 2025 (Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 reg 4).

8. To authorise payment of wages, tax and ERNIC for November.
The list of wages to be paid was considered and authorised. Total Employment Costs
(including salaries, pensions & HMRC) were £24,123.10.

FINANCE/2025/124: Resolved to authorise payment of wages and HMRC costs
(£24,123.10 total) for October 2025 (LGA 1972 s112).

FC/2025/52 6.1.26