5 May 2026 – Finance Committee (minutes)

GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 5th May 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

Chair: Cllr P Watson
Present: Cllr N Catlow
Cllr C Wren
Cllr B Simpson
Cllr M Hussain

In Attendance: K Carter (Clerk)

1. To receive and approve any apologies for unavoidable absence.
Cllr Pennington had informed the Chair that he would be unable to attend the meeting.

2. To approve the minutes of previous meeting 31/3/2026.
The draft minutes were moved and accepted as a true record of the meeting and signed as
such.

FINANCE/2026/05/34: Resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 31st March
2026 as a true record (LGA 1972 Sch 12 41(1).

3. Budget
3.1 Financial year 2025-26: to be advised of, and approve, end of year figures.
The year end bank reconciliations, budget monitoring, and centre income & expenditure
had been provided to the committee. It was accepted that there was a surplus at the year
end as income on the centres had been higher than predicted and some projects had been
deferred until the new financial year. There was also some interest from the earmarked
reserves account. The total surplus was £58,947.63.

FINANCE/2026/05/35: Resolved to accept the year end figures for 2025-26 and note the
surplus of £58,947.63.

3.2 Financial year 2026-27: to review budget approved in January 2026 and propose
amendments.
The 2026-27 budget includes monies for the Parish-funded PCSO role of £46,300. At the
time the council set the budget in January 2026, Cheshire Constabulary was still
conducting its review of PCSO provision. Since then, it has been confirmed that there is no
longer an offer to parish councils to fund an additional PCSO which means that the
allowance in the budget is not needed. The options for the council are to leave the budget
as it stands and utilise the money for a project later in the year, assign the sum to an
existing fund or earmarked reserve, or assign to a new project. It was decided to leave the
budget as it stands for the moment and keep it under review during the year.

FINANCE/2026/05/36: Recommended to note that the allocated sum for the Parish-funded
PCSO is no longer needed. To leave the budget as it stands and review throughout the
financial year.

It was also noted that the road closure cost for the Remembrance Sunday event is likely to
increase this year. The costs are shared with Penketh PC and have been around £600
each, but changes to the administrative process may impact this. The expenditure comes
from the Community Fund which has a total budget of £5,000 for the year and therefore the
potential increase should be manageable.

FC/2026/20 2.6.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 5th May 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

3.3 To consider and recommend options for surplus funds.
As noted under item 3.1, there was a surplus of £58,947 in the financial year to the end of
March 2026. It was agreed to move £40k to the general reserve to bring this reserve up to
advised levels. The general reserve is currently held with WBC, and it was agreed to query
the security of the fund, interest rates and access arrangements before committing further
sums. If the committee is not satisfied with the answers, an alternative will be considered.

The remaining £8,947 will be moved to earmarked reserves.

FINANCE/2026/05/37: Recommended move £40,000 of the surplus from the financial year
2025-26 to the general reserve and to allocate the remaining £8,947 to earmarked
reserves.

4. Investments: to review and decide on investment options on receipt of the precept
for 2026-27.
Members were advised that the 2026-27 precept has not yet been received from WBC but
there are options to move some of these funds into savings accounts for later in the year.
The committee agreed to leave this with the Clerk to propose suitable terms and sums.

5. To review the terms of hire for Tim Parry Recreation Ground for football training.
Referred to full Council for consideration.

6. Parish Playing Field: to be advised of updated agreement with the Grounds
Management Association.
The committee was advised that the Grounds Management Association (GMA) had been
engaged in 2022 for the final part of the drainage project on the Parish Playing Field to
carry out works supervision on behalf of the parish council. This stage has now been
reached; the GMA confirmed it was still available for the supervision, but costs had risen
slightly from £6021 to £6261. Since an initial site visit was planned for 1 May before the
Finance Meeting and the increase was small and could be covered from the project budget,
the Clerk had approved the additional cost. This was noted and accepted.

FINANCE/2026/05/38: Resolved to note the increase in the cost to £6261 for GMA support
during the drainage installation on the Parish Playing Field.

7. Childs Wood Field: to be advised of additional costs for the feasibility study and
decide how to address this.
WBC have been conducting desktop surveys on Childs Wood Field on behalf of the Parish
Council with the grant from the UKSPF of £15,000. The reports are now completed and
have been forwarded to GSPC for review. The budget has been overspent by £2,053.27
and it was agreed that this should be paid to WBC. The reports will be considered by the
Parish Estates Committee; the Clerk noted that they are technical in nature, and it was
suggested a Teams meeting could be set up with WBC and members of the Parish Estates
Committee to understand these before any further decisions are made.

FINANCE/2026/05/39: Recommended to send payment of £2053.27 for the additional
costs for the surveys on Childs Wood Field.

FC/2026/21 2.6.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 5th May 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

8. To scrutinise and approve financial expenditure arising since the last meeting,
including payments by Direct Debit.
A list of payments to be made were tabled at the meeting. The following payments were
considered and approved.

Amount,
Presented By Description
£
Terrier Tools Stihl AP 500 Battery £382.80
The Tom Taylor Website Redesign part 3 £6000.00
Strictly Tables & Chairs Folding Chair/ Trolley and tables £2529.66
J Riley Labour laptop full rebuild/setup £485.00
Woodend Nursery X6 soil conditioner £43.20
Brentwood Moss Forest bark 1 tonne £61.20
Ross Safety Wear X 2 pairs staff boots £142.34
Amazon Business HP 14 inch laptop – office £484.98
Rialtas Bookings software renewal £360.00
CHALC Membership renewal £1631.80
Wicksteed Turnstile replacement – TP £3279.60
Rospa Annual inspection TP and Vicarage park £213.60
Landscape Academy Cable avoidance training course £209.40
Trade UK Silicone cleaner/silicone £32.57
NWFE Mags locks refitted door WH £282.00
Connexus Health Surveillance Day £450.00
Amazon Business Car phone Holder 2026 £26.67
Meadowmania Wildflower seeds £530.98
MKM Large rotavator £126.90
Amazon Business Steroplast Trauma Wound £10.34
Amazon Business Stihl Strimmer Head £24.48
Amazon Business Tuff Cut Scissors – First aid £4.99
Amazon Business Tactical Tourniquet Bandage £18.99
Trade UK WH Centre Maintenance £74.24
Trade UK HM/BB Centre Maintenance £29.66
Amazon Business Bleed save first aid £11.99
Ross Insulated safety glove £19.44
GGM Group Amazone Profihoppper hire £1074.00
B&B Hygiene Ltd Cleaning Supplies £147.69
Brentwood Moss Plants £296.38
BT Skip Hire Skips for garden waste GSPC sites £690.00
Amazon Business Henry Hoover repairs £14.48
Amazon Business Suction phone holder replacement £5.99
Amazon Business Henry Hoover and bags £179.88
Equals Card Petty Cash top up £418.39
TOTAL £38313.21

FC/2026/22 2.6.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 5th May 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

FINANCE/2026/05/40: 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 March were also noted:

Novuna 02/03/2026 Electric Van Lease 456.20
WBC 02/03/2026 December Business Rates HM 235.00
WBC 02/03/2026 December Business Rates WH 147.00
WBC 02/03/2026 December Business Rates BB 125.00
Lex Autolease 02/03/2026 Council Electric Van Lease 851.98
Water Plus 02/03/2026 Water charges HM 45.60
Water Plus 02/03/2026 Water charges WH 74.96
Water Plus 02/03/2026 Water charges BB 122.98
SSE Energy 03/03/2026 Gas WH 948.32
SSE Energy 03/03/2026 Gas HM 384.34
SSE Energy 03/03/2026 Gas HL 356.82
SSE Energy 03/03/2026 Gas BB 746.88
BT 04/03/2026 WIFI/Telephone HL/TP/BB/HM 396.49
Peninsula 11/03/2026 H&S Service H&S 200.93
Smart Pension Ltd 12/03/2026 Pension payment Jan Wages 1518.97
Global 4 Comms 16/03/2026 Office 365/email E-mail 52.45
Peninsula 19/03/2026 Set up to Bright HR HR 314.55
Water Plus 26/03/2026 Water charges TP 66.21
Water Plus 26/03/2026 Water charges HL 47.36
BT 27/02/2026 WIFI/Telephone WH 268.39
WBC 30/03/2026 January Business Rates HM 235.00
WBC 30/03/2026 January Business Rates WH 147.00
WBC 30/03/2026 January Business Rates BB 125.00
Utility Warehouse 31/03/2026 Mobile phones Office 108.75
Water Plus 31/03/2026 Water charges HM 45.60
Water Plus 31/03/2026 Water charges WH 74.96
Manual Handling 31/12/2025 Bank Charges Office 6.30
Charges
Service Fee Charge 31/03/2026 Service Charge Office 24.70
TOTAL £8127.74

9. To consider any quotes received and authorise or make recommendations to full
Council where appropriate.
The council has reached the end of the 3-year agreement with Zurich Insurance. Costs had
been provided for continued cover for either 1 or 3 years. The 3-year agreement was
accepted.

FINANCE/2026/05/41: Resolved to accept the 3-year agreement from Zurich Insurance,
£11,260.99 pa.

FC/2026/23 2.6.26
GREAT SANKEY PARISH COUNCIL
Finance Committee

Minutes of meeting: Tuesday 5th May 2026
Whittle Hall Community Centre

10. To consider requests for financial assistance.
None.

11. To authorise payment of wages, tax and ERNIC for April.
The list of wages to be paid was considered and authorised. Total Employment Costs for
April (including salaries, pensions & HMRC) were £29,429.27

FINANCE/2026/05/42: Resolved to authorise payment of wages and HMRC costs
(£29,429.27 total) for April 2026 (LGA 1972 s112).

FC/2026/24 2.6.26