The constitution of the meeting was discussed and it was agreed David’s attendance would be as an ex-officio member, Gail would remain Chair, Alan would take responsibilities for personal development, with Simon the third formal member on the committee.
The committee agreed to provide Shirley with written confirmation of the now agreed extra 5 days leave.
New Parish Office Opening Hours:
No complaints from residents and it has taken the pressure off Shirley but usual peaks and troughs occur but at this stage we are reporting the new Parish Office Hours are working. There is a new notice is on the door stating the revised opening hours.
2025/26 Budget for salaries
These were set and approved by Council. Budget included % increases for Parish Clark and Lengthsman in line with Government recommendations.
- Lengthsman hourly rates have been increased and back dated to 1st April as happened in previous years
- Nigel’s new rate is £13.65
- Gerry’s new rate is £13.00
The figure of £23k is in the budget for the Lengthsman full costs.
Nigel does on average 16 hours per week.
Gerry will continue in post during the summer / autumn as per current arrangement but he has asked that he step down from his assistant Lengthsman duties before the winter, but Council wish to retain his services as he is an asset to the Parish. If Nigel is away we could outsource anything of significance that occurs,
Shirley 2025 salary % uplift
This was allowed for within the budget and will be applied once the % is known and will be back dated as has happened in previous years.
Replacement Lengthsman and Assistant Parish Clerk positions
At this time as we are only into Q1 the new financial year having taken the advice from our external auditor Alan Topless and Shirley that at the moment there is not the money available to fund the new roles, the Committee took the decision to defer the recruitment but create the documentation to start the recruitment once the financial position allows.
Pam Salter has kindly agreed to support Shirley as required in the interim. We are confident the recruitment will commence in the second half of the financial year with the actual costs of the new roles impacting Council Finances in the last quarter of this financial year.