Agenda, decisions and minutes

To elect a Chairman of the Sub-Committee for the 2017/18 Civic Year.

RESOLVED:  That Councillor Bernard Lovewell be elected as Chairman of the Sub-Committee for the remainder of the 2017/18 Civic Year.

RESOLVED:  That Councillor Bernard Lovewell be elected as Chairman of the Sub-Committee for the remainder of the 2017/18 Civic Year.

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Sub-Committee held on 12 December 2016.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Sub-Committee held on 12 December 2016 be taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Sub-Committee held on 12 December 2016 be taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman.

Members should notify the Chairman of other business which they wish to be discussed by the Committee at the end of the business set out in the agenda. They must state the circumstances which they consider justify the business being considered as a matter of urgency.

The Chairman will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no notification of other business.

There was no notification of other business.

Members are reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item.  Members declaring a Declarable Interest which requires they leave the room under Paragraph 7.4 of the Code of Conduct, can speak on the item, but must leave the room before the debate and vote.

The Chairman reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

The Chairman reminded Members that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest needed to be declared immediately prior to the item in question.

To receive petitions, comments and questions from members of the public.  At the time of producing the agenda none had been received.

Any other public participation requests received within the agreed time will be notified to Members as soon as practicable.

There was no public participation.

There was no public participation.

REPORT OF THE HEAD OF FINANCE, PERFORMANCE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT

To consider and approve the returns required for each of the Charities/Charitable Trusts administered by NHDC, namely Hitchin Town Hall, King George V Playing Fields, Smithson Recreation Ground and the Hertfordshire Yeomanry collection.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That the information required by the Charities Commission for the four registered charities, as set out in the report and appendices 1, 2 and 3 of the report, be approved, so that returns can be submitted prior to the January 2018 deadline; and

(2)       That the requirement for those charities with gross income of more than £25,000 in any financial year to have their accounts independently examined be noted, and that as this applies to King George’s Field for 2016/17, the examination of those accounts be undertaken by the Shared Internal Audit Service (SIAS).

REASON FOR DECISION:  To facilitate the submission of approved returns to the Charities Commission.

The Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management presented a report seeking the Sub-Committee’s agreement to the returns to the Charities Commission of the four charities/charitable trusts administered by NHDC: the Hitchin Town Hall Gymnasium and Workman’s Hall Trust; King George’s Fields Trust; Smithson Recreation Ground Trust; and Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery Collection.  He advised that the returns for the 2016/17 financial year needed to be submitted by 31 January 2018 to accord with the requirements of the Charities Commission.

The Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management explained that the accounts and draft annual return for the Hitchin Town Hall Gymnasium and Workman’s Hall Trust were attached at Appendix 1 to the report.  The building had remained closed during 2016/17 due to the completion of the refurbishment works.  There were issues with the fit out of the Museum, as the original contractor went into liquidation, and the ongoing dispute between the Council and Hitchin Town Hall Limited regarding the ownership of 14/15 Brand Street.  Appendix 4 to the report was the one report to Cabinet on Hitchin Town Hall submitted in March 2017.

The Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management referred to the 2016/17 accounts for the Hitchin Town Hall Gymnasium and Workman’s Hall Trust, and explained that the balance sheet showed a substantial increase in the value of the building, due its status as a refurbished building and that fact that it not been valued for some time due to the building works.  In response to a Member’s question, he confirmed that Business Rates were paid by the Trust, but that this was at an 80% reduction, due to the Trust’s charitable status.

The Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management summarised the activities of the King George’s Field, Hitchin Trust over the 2016/17 financial year.  The site owned by this charity had been maintained open and accessible for public use during the course of this year.  Work had continued to facilitate the activities of the Hitchin Rugby Club and other partners on the site.  Maintenance work undertaken on site had included grass cutting, maintenance of the playground, litter collection, weed control and renovation of the sports pitches post season.  There had not been any changes to the lease arrangements on site.

The Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management stated that the accounts and draft annual return for King George’s Field, Hitchin were attached at Appendix 2 to the report.

The Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management advised that there had been expenditure on the pavilion and car park during 2016/17.  As these generally related to property owned and operated by the Rugby Club, this was shown as revenue expenditure in the accounts and was the reason why the overhead costs for the year were shown as £61,000.  As the income figure exceeded the £25,000 threshold, authority was sought for an independent review of the accounts by the Shared Internal Audit Services (SIAS).

In relation to a discussion regarding the car park area, the Trust  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.