30 June 2026 – Finance Committee (minutes)

GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 30th June 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Chair: Cllr S Pennington
Present: Cllr N Catlow
Cllr M Hussain
Cllr B Simpson

In Attendance: K Carter (Clerk)

1. To receive and approve any apologies for unavoidable absence.
Apologies had been received from Cllrs Watson & Wren.

2. To approve the minutes of previous meeting 2/6/26.
The draft minutes were moved and accepted as a true record of the meeting and signed as
such.

FINANCE/2026/07/51: Resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 2nd June
2026 as a true record (LGA 1972 Sch 12 41(1).

3. To receive information on accounts and bookings software.
The council’s internal auditor had recommended that the council investigate accounts
software. A list of possible packages was provided with pros and cons of each. For the size
of Great Sankey, only Scribe or Rialtas Omega are suitable and the Clerk and Deputy Clerk
have seen demos of both. The bookings software from Rialtas is already used by staff and
therefore the style of the account software is familiar; however, since staff will need to learn
to use the software and are happy to do this with either Rialtas or Scribe. It does make
sense to have both bookings and accounts with the same company to allow full invoicing
and credit control capabilities. Quotes have been received from Scribe but not yet from
Rialtas. Councillors suggested it was more important for staff to be confident with the
software rather than deciding on cost alone. Both factors will be considered once both
quotes are available.

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
£
Miss A V Corless Face Painting Fun Day £365.00
Amy Doyle Circus Skills Fun Day £235.00
Evolve Guarding Solutions Security – Fun Day £546.34
Little Teapot Fun Day – Marshal Refreshments £83.90
MKM Cement – Grounds £8.39
Amazon Business Fun Day Sundries £35.01
Safeguard Replacement door lock – BB £213.22
B&B Hygiene Ltd Cleaning supplies £229.63
Amazon Business Shelving units for GM unit £1082.01
WBC UK SPF report for Childswood £2463.92

FC/2026/29 draft
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 30th June 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Les Halman Bedding plants £2,348.40
Trade UK Replacement Lock £3.87
St John Ambulance First aid cover – Fun Day £328.80
WBC Bins delivery & collection – Fun Day £77.40
WBC Bin hire – Fun Day £89.76
Woodend Nursery 13 Farmyard Manure £70.20
Impact Graphix 2 x Sign boards – Parish Playing Drainage £187.20
Canda Copying Copier hire rental charge £94.80
Radio Warrington PA Fun Day 2026 £450.00
Canda Copying Ltd Office Copier usage charges £146.43
Amazon Business Draper and hoe – Grounds £35.69
Equals Card Petty Cash top up £274.22
Total £9,369.19

FINANCE/2026/07/52: 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 May were also checked:

Novuna 01/05/2026 Electric Van Lease 456.20
Information Comm. 01/05/2026 Data Protection Office 47.00
SSE Energy 01/05/2026 Gas WH 187.94
SSE Energy 01/05/2026 Gas BB 331.80
SSE Energy 01/05/2026 Gas HL 252.67
Lex Autolease 01/05/2026 Council Electric Van Lease 851.98
Water Plus 01/05/2026 Water charges BB 122.98
BT 05/05/2025 WIFI/Telephone HL/TP/BB/HM 426.30
SSE Energy 06/05/2026 Gas HM 685.31
SSE Energy 06/05/2026 Gas TP 1248.48
SSE Energy 06/05/2026 Gas BB 490.70
Peninsula 12/05/2026 HR/H&S Services HR 515.48
Smart Pension Ltd 12/05/2026 Pension payment March Wages 1971.95
British Gas 15/05/2026 Gas BB 93.52
British Gas 15/05/2026 Gas WH 33.55
British Gas 15/05/2026 Electricity HL 500.66
British Gas 15/05/2026 Gas TP 50.94
British Gas 15/05/2026 Gas HL 57.01
British Gas 15/05/2026 Electricty BB 82.92
British Gas 15/05/2026 Gas HM 83.27
Global 4 Comms 15/05/2026 Office 365/email E-mail 52.45
British Gas 20/05/2026 Electricity – initial bill WH 291.05
British Gas 20/05/2026 Electiricity – initial bill WH 69.61
Lex Autolease 26/05/2026 Council Electric Van Lease 432.00
Water Plus 27/05/2026 Water charges TP 81.16
BT 28/05/2026 WIFI/Telephone WH 280.06

FC/2026/30 draft
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 30th June 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Utility Warehouse 29/05/2026 Mobile phones Office 94.87
Service Fee Charge 31/05/2025 Service Charge Office 25.75
TOTAL £9,817.61

It was noted that there were several direct debits for electricity and gas. The council
changed providers at the beginning of April from SSE to British Gas Lite and there are final
bills from SSE as well as initial ones from British Gas Lite. The Clerk will keep a check on
these as the first ones have been estimated but should be adjusted now that meter
readings have been taken.

5. To consider any quotes received and authorise or make recommendations to full
Council where appropriate.
Additional quotes for both the accounts software and CCTV are awaited before full
discussion and decision.

6. To consider requests for financial assistance.
From Rosabeth Royales to have permission to host a Fun Day at Tim Parry Recreation
Ground and Community Centre aimed at promoting the group and encouraging new
members. Members are keen to support the event but would like more information on
timings and expected numbers. From the list of suggested dates, the only availability at the
centre would be Sunday 30th August. It was noted that the council would need to have
certain paperwork from the group such as a copy of public liability insurance, risk
assessment and event management plan. It was also recognised that the group will need to
think about parking/vehicle movements and options in the event of bad weather. Cllrs
Hussain and Pennington are willing to meet with the organisers to discuss these details and
help with necessary paperwork, if full council agree to the event going ahead. It was also
suggested the charge should be at the community rate.

FINANCE/2026/07/53: Recommended to allow Rosabeth Royales to host a Fun Day at
Tim Parry Recreation Ground and Community Centre on 30th August to be charged at the
community rate, subject to further details, paperwork and meeting with councillors.

7. Budget 2026-7: to scrutinise documentation and when satisfied as to correctness to
sign off financial reports and bank reconciliations for May.
The bank reconciliation and budget monitoring pages for May were considered and
accepted. Checks on financial transactions were carried out prior to the meeting by Cllrs
Simpson and Pennington.

FINANCE/2026/07/54: Resolved to accept the bank reconciliation and budget monitoring
pages for May 2026 (Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 reg 4).

It was queried whether the earmarked reserves for Sankey Station are receiving any
interest as this project is still ongoing with no further update from the solicitor on the lease
or a potential completion date. It was confirmed that the monies are in a savings account.
Councillors noted concerns about the delays and which Arch Co appear to be unconcerned
about. Members are also worried about the costs for refurbishment, although recognised
this may be a lack of knowledge about the project. The committee would like to invite the
project manager to the August meeting to discuss the project face-to-face.

FC/2026/31 draft
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 30th June 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

FINANCE/2026/07/55: Recommended that the project manager for Sankey Station CIC is
invited to the next meeting of the Finance Committee to discuss the project with the
committee.

The budget for the parish-funded PCSO was also discussed. This had been left as a
budget category until the Police confirmed the situation with the future of potential
partnership working. It is now known that the Police have withdrawn the offer to Parish
Councils to fund additional PCSO roles and therefore the budget is no longer needed for
this purpose. It was agreed to move the sums into an earmarked reserve category for
community projects.

FINANCE/2026/07/56: Resolved to vire the PCSO fund to a new category for community
projects in earmarked reserves.

8. To authorise payment of wages, tax and ERNIC for June.
The list of wages to be paid was considered and authorised. Total Employment Costs for
June (including salaries, pensions & HMRC) were £23,478.41

FINANCE/2026/07/57: Resolved to authorise payment of wages and HMRC costs
(£23,478.41 total) for June 2026 (LGA 1972 s112).

FC/2026/32 draft