1 Feb 2026 – Finance Meeting (Minutes)

GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

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

In Attendance: K Carter (Clerk)

1. To elect a Chair.
Cllr Williams was thanked for his tenure as Chair of the Finance Committee over the last
18months. Cllr Pennington was nominated and approved as the Chair for this meeting.

FINANCE/2026/02/6: Recommended to appoint Cllr Pennington as Chair of the Finance
Committee.

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

3. To approve the minutes of previous meeting 6/1/26.
The draft minutes were moved and accepted as a true record of the meeting and signed as
such.

FINANCE/2026/02/7: Resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 6th January
2026 as a true record.

4. To review the WBC contract for wildflower planting at sites across Great Sankey.
The Parish Council contracts WBC to plant wildflowers on a number of verges and
roundabouts throughout Great Sankey and has been doing so for around 10 years. WBC
are to be contacted to query one location where wildflowers have not been evident this year
(Twenty Acre Road) and to request whether an additional site can be added (land opposite
Ventnor Close). The council’s Head Gardener advised that the costs (95p per m2) are great
value which WBC can achieve with its machinery and economies of scale. Residents are
always appreciative of the displays and the planting both improves biodiversity and reduces
mowing regimes, thus reducing carbon footprint.

FINANCE/2026/02/8: Recommended to continue the contract with WBC to plant
wildflowers through the Parish (Open Spaces Act 1906 s10).

5. To consider request from the Community Projects Committee to move funds from
the Community Fund into earmarked reserves for the Heritage Board project.
The project to research the history of Great Sankey and produce and install information
boards at 6 locations in the parish has been ongoing for a couple of years. It is now nearing
completion, and quotes have been obtained for their production & installation, but this is
unlikely to happen until the new financial year. There are sufficient monies remaining in the
Community Fund to pay for the boards and it has been requested that these are set aside
in an Earmarked Reserve for this purpose, which was agreed.

FINANCE/2026/02/9: Resolved to set aside £6,000 from the Community Fund in an
Earmarked Reserve for the purpose of producing and installing 6nr Heritage Boards within
Great Sankey (LGA 1972 s144).

FC/2026/6 3.3.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

6. To review the hire of community centres for private functions.
A recent private function which overran by over 2 hours had highlighted issues with adult
functions and the difficulties for caretakers as lone workers to safely enforce departure from
the community centres. There was also a significant amount of cleaning required that
meant that the booking was a financial loss for the council. These issues have been
experienced before but only when the function has been an evening adult only event. Such
bookings only account for around 5% of private functions as the majority are children’s
birthday parties taking place during the day. Members did not wish to prohibit adult
functions entirely but accepted that more stringent conditions need to be put in place.
Several options were discussed including deposits, additional staffing and councillor
backup. A revised policy will be drafted and brought back for further discussion and
approval.

7. To be advised of H&S audit.
The council’s Health & Safety consultants attended the Parish Office to conduct a periodic
review prior to a full safety compliance audit later in the year. Several areas have been
highlighted that need implementing/improvement, including
− Uploading all documents to the Peninsula Brightsafe management system
− All staff to undertake relevant e-learning modules
− Upgrading the Go Audits system to include maintenance records
− Review of fire risk assessments and documentation
− Review of working practices in relation to hazardous substances.
During the meeting, the changes coming into play throughout 2026 as a result of the
Employment rights Act 2025 were touched upon. It is recommended that the council review
staff contracts and working practices to ensure they are fit-for-purpose and it would be
prudent to engage the services of an HR specialist for this. Peninsula offer this in addition
to the Health and Safety service, and it was agreed to obtain quotes for the Finance
Committee’s consideration.

FINANCE/2026/02/10: Recommended to implement the work required as identified by the
Health & Safety review (Health & Safety at Work Act 1974).

8. 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
£
Canda Copying Ltd Office Copier £94.80
Greater Manchester Doors Fire Shutter repair – TP £330.00
Toilets on the Go Ltd Porta Loos – Fun Day 26 £264.00
Firecheck Fire alarm service test – HL £162.00
Amy Doyle Circus skills workshop – 50% deposit £200.00
Brentwood Moss Nurseries Winter planting – all sites £168.16
Ross Safety Staff safety gloves £19.44
Trade UK Centre Repairs – TP £13.56

FC/2026/7 3.3.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Trade UK Centre Repairs – TP £11.28
B&B Hygiene Ltd Cleaning Supplies £513.81
Trade UK Centre repairs – HL £21.98
Amazon Floor cleaning detergent – Centres £48.07
Amazon Magic Eraser Sponge – Centre £14.98
MKM Plywood – Grounds £23.52
Landscape Academy Chainsaw lantra course £486.00
Tudor Environment Platipus tree system £760.38
Tudor Environment Round Lifting Sling £38.64
Tudor Environment PPE – Grounds £381.66
Trade UK Key safe lock box – WH £52.97
Trade UK Centre Maintenance £14.25
Amazon UK Seeds and plants – Grounds £5.38
Amazon UK Seeds and plants – Grounds £8.08
MKM Cable locator hire £42.30
MKM Radio Detection hire £296.10
Viking Office UK Office Stationery £185.03
MKM Flat Head screws – Grounds £93.61
MKM Paving Flags – Grounds £110.05
Trade UK Centre Maintenance – TP £24.49
C.J Lyon Clear drains at TP £360.00
Tudor Environmental PPE Grounds £352.92
Amazon Business Plants £15.99
T&O Harrison Greenwaste £60.00
Smiths Training Ladder user & inspection training – x 3 staff £468.00
Smiths Training Pasma Training course – x 3 staff £540.00
B&T Skip Hire Skip hire – TP £230.00
J Riley Set up Email Accounts – Caretakers £120.00
360 Landscape Top soil – TP Grounds £135.00
360 Landscape Top soil – TP Grounds £135.00
360 Landscape Sleepers – TP Grounds £520.00
Equals Card Petty Cash top up £843.81
TOTAL £8,165.26

FINANCE/2026/02/11: 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 December were also noted:

Novuna 01/12/2025 Electric Van Lease 456.20
WBC 01/12/2025 September Business Rates TP 235.00
WBC 01/12/2025 September Business Rates HM 147.00
WBC 01/12/2025 September Business Rates WH 156.00
WBC 01/12/2025 September Business Rates BB 125.00

FC/2026/8 3.3.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Lex Autolease 01/12/2025 Council Electric Van Lease 851.98
Water Plus 01/12/2025 Water charges HM 40.68
Water Plus 01/12/2025 Water charges WH 74.96
Water Plus 01/12/2025 Water charges BB 79.90
BT 04/12/2025 WIFI/Telephone HL/TP/BB/HM 456.64
Peninsula 11/12/2025 H&S Service H&S 200.93
Smart Pension Ltd 11/12/2025 Pension payment October Wages 1503.94
Global 4 Comm 15/12/2025 Office 365/email Office 122.04
SSE Energy 15/12/2025 Gas HL 100.84
SSE Energy 15/12/2025 Gas HM 125.49
BT 29/12/2025 WIFI/Telephone WH 261.92
WBC 30/12/2025 October Business Rates TP 235.00
WBC 30/12/2025 October Business Rates HM 147.00
WBC 30/12/2025 October Business Rates WH 156.00
WBC 30/12/2025 October Business Rates BB 125.00
Utility Warehouse 31/12/2025 Mobile phones Office 56.38
Water Plus 31/10/2025 Water charges HM 45.60
Water Plus 31/10/2025 Water charges WH 74.96
Water Plus 31/10/2025 Water charges TP 67.39
Service Fee Charge 31/12/2025 Service Charge Office 21.90
Unity Trust Bank 31/12/2025 Manual Handling Charges Office 4.50
TOTAL £5872.25

9. To consider any quotes received and authorise or make recommendations to full
Council where appropriate.
Quote to supply a summer playscheme – £700 per week for 6 weeks, with a fee to parents
of £4 per child. Agreed that this is a great service that the council offers and the committee
would like it to continue. Provider to be asked if increasing the cost per child would impact
negatively on numbers, and if not, whether doing so could reduce the cost to the council.
Response to be brought to next meeting for decision.

10. To consider requests for financial assistance
Request from Westbrook Library Friends CIC for help towards internal improvements to the
layout of the library. This request follows on from the presentation at the January Parish
Council meeting. The library is now community led and it is hoped that it will become self-
funding within the next 2 years. To achieve this and bring in sufficient income, the group is
increasing the number and range of activities on offer in the community space and installing
an acoustic partition is a key part of the improvements. It was proposed that the council
offers a £5,000 donation on condition that the monies are paid direct to the CIC specifically
for the improvements, i.e. not for general running costs, to facilitate the continuation of a
dedicated library. The committee also proposed requesting confirmation of the expenditure
(invoice/receipt) and an update on progress later in the year.

FINANCE/2026/02/12: Recommended that the council gives a donation of £5,000 to
Westbrook Library Friends CIC for the sole purpose of internal improvements to the library
space to enhance the community provision and enable the continuation of a dedicated
library offer. Confirmation of expenditure and an update on progress to be requested (LGA
1972 s137).

FC/2026/9 3.3.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 3rd February 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

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

FINANCE/2026/02/13: Resolved to accept the bank reconciliation and budget monitoring
pages for December 2025 (Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 reg 4).

12. To authorise payment of wages, tax and ERNIC for January.
The list of wages to be paid was considered and authorised. Total Employment Costs
(including salaries, pensions & HMRC) were £24,013.63.

FINANCE/2026/02/14: Resolved to authorise payment of wages and HMRC costs
(£24,013.63 total) for January 2026 (LGA 1972 s112).

FC/2026/10 3.3.26