Freedom of Information Act 2000 - Publication Scheme.

[ Click here to download a printable version of the Publication Scheme ]

CONTENTS

SECTION 1 SECTION 2 SECTION 3 SECTION 4 SECTION 5 SECTION 6

SECTION 1

NAME OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY

High Ongar Parish Council (Epping Forest District, Essex)

PURPOSE OF THE PUBLICATION SCHEME

The purpose of this Publication Scheme, part of the Freedom of Information Act, 2000, is to make available to the public information on the responsibilities and working of local councils in a straightforward and easily accessible format.

OFFICER RESPONSIBLE FOR DAY TO DAY MANAGEMENT OF THE SCHEME:

Dr Peter Boshier, Parish Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer (see below for contact details)

HOW TO OBTAIN COPIES OF THIS DOCUMENT

Contact the Parish Clerk:

Aimi Middlehurst br /> Tectona
Stondon Massey
Brentwood
Essex CM15 0EF 		Telephone: 01277 823383

Email: clerk@highongarpc.org.uk

CLASSES OF INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THE SCHEME:

The Classes of Information through which this Council will make available information about its structure and functions were shown on pages 2-3

The documents referred to will be published as frequently as necessary to ensure that they are kept up to date. All documents are available free of charge.

WHAT TO DO IF INFORMATION YOU REQUIRE IS NOT INCLUDED WITHIN THIS SCHEME.

Write to the Parish Clerk (*see above), outlining the information you seek. If it is currently available, he will take the necessary steps to provide it for you. If it is not currently available, he will bring your request to the attention of the Council (or you may wish to do so yourself) and the Council will consider how best to make available the information you seek.

SECTION 2

Structure of the Council - Wards and Council Members

This section shows the way High Ongar Parish Council is structured, and lists the current council members.

High Ongar Parish Council consists of ten councillors, two of whom are elected annually by the council to serve as Chairman and Vice Chairman. A non-elected Parish Clerk serves as the Council's administrative officer, and is also the legally designated Responsible Financial Officer for the council.

The Council is one of many parish and town councils within the Epping Forest District Council area. It represents a population of just under 1,000 , and its ten councillors serve in one of three wards, as below:

High Ongar Village Ward:
Cllr John Dolder
Cllr Frank Doyle
Cllr Rev Clive Duxbury
Cllr David Knight

Norton Heath Ward:
Cllr Gerard McEwen
Cllr Susan Collins

Paslow Common Ward:
Cllr Richard Berry (Council Chairman)
Cllr Barrie Luscombe
Cllr Steve Smith

SECTION 3

Patterns of Council Meetings; Decision-making and Recording Processes

PATTERNS OF COUNCIL MEETINGS

The Council normally holds eight meetings each year, in January, February, April, May, July, September, October and December. The Meetings are held from 7.30.p.m. in the village hall at High Ongar, and members of the public are entitled to observe (although not to take part in) the proceedings. Copies of the Agenda and Minutes of the previous Council meeting are provided for visitors. In addition, an Open Forum is held immediately after the end of each Council meeting, during which members of the public may speak on any matter. The Open Forum is an opportunity for matters to be raised, which are of particular interest or concern to individuals, as well as developing discussion on any matter dealt with formally during the council meeting.

THE COUNCIL'S DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES.

A. Decision-making during meetings of the Council. The Council uses a fixed-headings agenda system, and all matters to be considered by the council are dealt with at each meeting under one of the main agenda headings, as follows:
  • Attendance and Absence
  • Minutes of the previous meeting
  • Clerk's report
  • District Councillor's report
  • Planning matters
  • Highway matters
  • Financial matters
  • Stansted and the M11 corridor
  • New village hall and site
  • Parish Park
  • Other reports from representatives
  • Dates of future meetings
    • Clerk's Report
    This is a summary of all matters to be brought to the Council's attention, that do not fall under one of the other agenda sections listed above. These will include reference to matters arising from the Minutes, and updated information on on-going matters. The Clerk also provides a list of all documents tabled for information to ensure that Members are aware of these, and may choose to take them for further inspection if they wish.
    Where the Clerk is required to bring to Members' attention a report or consultation document, he will endeavour to provide a summary of the key points to be considered, especially where a response is necessary before the next Council meeting. When more time is available for responses the matter will be handed to one or more councillors for further consideration.

    District Councillor's report.
    The District Councillor, although not a member of the parish council, usually attends and will report on matters that are dealt with at district level, and which have a bearing on the parish. These matters often will of concern to a wide area than any one parish, but are likely to have some effect in all areas of the district. There are occasions when an elector will raise with the district councillor a matter that is more properly dealt with by the parish council, and the Clerk will ensure that such matters are followed up.

    Planning matters.
    Planning applications made to the district council that refer to land or property within the High Ongar parish are considered by this council. Whenever possible, these are considered at a full council meeting but, as indicated above, because the council does not meet every month, some applications will be dealt with by Ward councillors (see section B, below).

    The council will decide, in the case of each application, whether it considers there are reasons why the application should not receive planning approval. If this is so, the grounds for objecting will be noted and the Clerk will convey these to the district council planning department, lodging an objection on behalf of the parish council. If the Council sees no reason for the application not to be approved, no further action will be taken. Any objections to an application must be made on planning grounds alone. All relevant documents relating to every planning application and decision are kept on file for future reference.

    The Clerk also reports on the progress of previous planning applications. These may have received approval, been refused, or have progressed to an appeal. Any other planning matters, such as planning enforcement action, are also reported.

    Highway matters.
    'Highway' in this context refers to paths, roads, verges and banks.

    Matters concerning the pedestrian or vehicular highways, that are brought to the Council's attention, are dealt with in the most appropriate way.

    Matters may be to do with, for example, concerns by a resident over road surfaces, footpaths, speeding traffic, road signs, illegal parking of vehicles, or inefficient street lights, and these will be followed up by the Clerk and referred to the relevant agency, with a request for appropriate action.

    The Clerk will report at a subsequent council meeting the outcomes of his action in each case.

    Financial matters.
    During this part of the Council meeting, all matters concerning the finances of the council are dealt with. These will include approval to pay invoices and requests for grants and subscriptions. Any donations that the Council wishes to make will also be considered during this part of the meeting.

    A different times of the year, the Clerk (Responsible Financial Officer) will present a summary of the Council's balances, or table a proposed budget for Members to consider. He will also report on VAT refunds or assist Members to set the annual Precept.

    Stansted and the M11 corridor.
    The significant impact of the proposed developments of Stansted Airport and the M11 corridor prompted the Council to add this as an additional fixed item on the agenda for each meeting. Members report on any meetings they have attended on these matters, and on any relevant documents or reports

    New Village Hall and Site.
    The council has acquired land off Mill Lane on which it is proposed to build a new village hall. This is a lengthy matter, and is discussed at each council meeting. The council maintains the site until sufficient funds have been obtained to enable building to commence. It is hoped that work will begin on the new hall in 2007.

    Parish Park
    The development of a land fill site in the parish into a public Parish Park has been a lengthy process and is reported on at each meeting. The Park is due to be opened in 2007 and, although the parish council has no responsibility for the site (it is managed jointly by the developers and the county council), Members are informed of developments and progress.

    Other reports from representatives
    This section of the meeting enables Members, who represent the council on a range of committees and other bodies, to report on these.

    Dates of future meetings.
    The dates of council meetings are agreed annually, but the Clerk ensures that dates of the next two meetings are included on the agenda for each council meeting, as a reminder.


    B Decision-making between meetings of the Council.

    Decisions to be made between meetings of the Council will normally concern planning matters that cannot wait until the next full meeting of the Council. The Clerk, upon receipt of a planning application, will forward it to a named Member in the appropriate Ward who, in turn, will pass it on to the other Ward councillors. Each Member will record his views on the planning application and the documents will then be returned to the Clerk, who will take appropriate action. If councillors object to an application, the Clerk will lodge this objection with the district council, stating the reasons given by councillors.

    The Clerk will report at the next full council meeting details of these planning applications and what decision and action has been taken regarding each one.

    Occasionally, a decision on other matters is required before the next council meeting. In these few cases, the Clerk will refer the matter to the Council Chairman who, if the matter is urgent, will make decision on behalf of the Council and the Clerk will take appropriate action. Details of these cases and decisions will be reported to the Council at it next full meeting.

    RECORDING THE COUNCIL'S PROCEEDINGS

    Minutes of each Council meeting are taken by the Clerk, and these are formally approved at a subsequent meeting. The Minutes are filed, and form the formal and legal record of the Council's proceedings.

    The Minutes for each meeting record those councillors who attended, those who were absent, all matters discussed, an decisions reached. The Minutes show those in attendance (the District Councillor The Parish Clerk, and the number of members of the public). All decisions over the expenditure of funds (which is public money) are recorded and form part of the audit trail, together with other financial records.

    Each year, there is an Annual Assembly (in April), at which the Council Chairman, and the Chairman of the Village Hall Committee present their annual reports.

    The Annual Meeting of the Council (in May) is the occasion when a new Chairman and Vice-Chairman are elected, and when representatives to the various committee and organisations are agreed.

    Council papers, especially Minutes and financial records, are retained permanently and planning applications are retained for several years.

    SECTION 4

    Financial matters

    This section refers to all Council financial matters in three sub-sections:

    A. Budgets
    B. Accounting and Audit
    C. Income and Expenditure

    A. BUDGETS.

    The principal source of the Council's income is the Precept, by which a portion of the Council Tax, collected from tax-payers by the district council, is transferred to the parish council for its operation. The parish council is required, of course, to account for its use of public funds and agrees a budget each year to allow for its commitments and ambitions.

    In January each year the Clerk presents a Draft Budget for consideration by the Council. This shows the headings under which the budget is structured, and is based on the previous year's performance. A level of Precept is agreed and once a budget for the following financial year is agreed it forms the basis on which income and expenditure are monitored. Subsequently, the Clerk presents half-yearly and end-of-year budget summaries to inform council members.

    The Budget headings currently used are as follows:

    INCOME:
    Precept; Allotments; Bank interest; VAT refunds, other income

    EXPENDITURE:
    Hall hire; general administration; insurance; subscriptions; audit fees; publications; S137*; street lighting; grass cutting; other expenditure

    (*S137 - this is a budget heading under which the council is permitted to spend its funds, within legal limits, on supporting causes or making donations).

    B. ACCOUNTING AND AUDIT

    The Parish Clerk, as Responsible Financial Officer, maintains records of all financial transactions, including bank accounts, invoices, VAT records and correspondence.

    Details of all transactions are entered in a Receipts and Payments Book under the budgetary headings described above. The Clerk obtains approval at each meeting of the Council to make payments in settlement of invoices, and these are recorded in the Minutes.

    Checks are made of invoices, cheque book and bank statements each month by a different councillor during a council meeting. An internal auditor checks all records four times a year, and at the end of the financial year the council's accounts are subject to external audit by an agency approved by the Audit Commission. The Clerk posts formal notices of this audit to enable members of the public, if they wish, to inspect the accounts and to make representations to the Auditor. After the Audit is completed, the Clerk posts notices stating that the audit has been successfully completed.

    C. INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

    (a) INCOME

    The Council's income is derived from five sources:

    1. The Precept (see above)
    2. Bank interest
    3. VAT refunds
    4. Allotment rent
    5. Any other source (e.g. donations)


    1. The Precept.
    Each year, the Parish Council is asked by the District Council to set its Precept for the forthcoming financial year. The figure agreed is conveyed to the district council, and a payment is made into the parish council's bank account. This forms the main part of its operational funding.

    2. Bank interest
    Interest is received in respect of the Council's three bank accounts, and the RFO manages these to obtain the maximum level of interest by transferring funds when necessary.

    3. VAT refunds
    The Council is permitted to reclaim the VAT element of invoices it has paid durigteh eyar and the RFO submits claims as frequently as it allowed to maximise the Council's income and level of interest.

    4. Allotment rent
    The smallest part of the Council's income is derived from allotment rent. Until recent years, the council operated several allotments and rental was paid annually by tenants, but from 2001 only one allotment is in operation.

    5. Any other sources
    The principal source in this category at present relates to the new village hall site. Grants made to the council in connection with this site are held in a separate account set up for this purpose, and associated expenditure is made from that account.

    (b) EXPENDITURE
    As indicated above, the Council's expenditure is made under several headings:

    Approval for all expenditure is made by the Council at its regular meetings, and details are recorded in the Minutes.

    Reports on the Council's finances are made by the Clerk/RFO through half-yearly budgetary summaries, and at such other times as the Council may require.

    SECTION 5

    PLANNING AND HIGHWAY MATTERS

    A. PLANNING MATTERS

    Planning matters form a significant part of the Council's normal business. Copies of planning applications are received from the district council planning department and are considered at each council meeting, as they arise. If no objection is raised to an application, not further action is taken.

    If, however, the council considers that the details of an application are not appropriate they may decide to lodge an objection to approval being given to the application. If local residents object to an application they may have conveyed their views to their local councillor, and any objection lodged by the Clerk with the district planning office will state the grounds on which the objection is being made. These details will reflect both the Council's views and may also support objections made by local residents. Any objections lodged are recorded by the district council and are placed before the planning committee when applications are being considered.

    The result of each application is reported to the parish council at subsequent meetings.

    B HIGHWAY MATTERS

    These matters may be to do with pedestrian highways - pavements and footpaths - or with vehicular highways. Items discussed may, for example, be to do with overgrown hedgerows or embankments, surface repairs, the illegal parking of vehicles, traffic speed, potentially dangerous tree branches, missing drain covers or street signs, or local flooding.
    The Clerk will write to the appropriate district council department or other agency asking for action to remedy the problem, and will keep the council informed of progress and results.

    SECTION 6

    Other areas of Council business

    The Council may, from time to time, be involved with other business not covered in the sections above.

    NOTE: Copies of current documents relating to the Council's finances will be issued with copies of this document.