Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

To elect a Chair of the Cabinet Sub-Committee (Council Charities) for this meeting.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Amy Allen be elected as Chair of the meeting.

Audio Recording – 1 minute 8 seconds

Councillor Mick Debenham proposed, and Councillor Dave Winstanley seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That Councillor Amy Allen be elected as Chair of the meeting.

There were no apologies for absence received.

Audio recording – 2 minutes 27 seconds

There were no apologies for absence received. 

To take as read and approve as a true record the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 14 November 2023.

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 14 November 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Audio Recording – 2 minutes 23 seconds

The Chair advised that the Minutes of the previous meeting could be moved and seconded by members who were not present at that meeting, although it is preferable that those who were not present should abstain from voting and commenting on the motion.

Councillor Amy Allen, as Chair, proposed and Councillor Mick Debenham seconded and, it was:

RESOLVED:That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 14 November 2023 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chair.

Members should notify the Chair of other business which they wish to be discussed at the end of either Part I or Part II 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 Chair will decide whether any item(s) raised will be considered.

There was no other business notified.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 18 seconds  

There was no other business notified.

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 Chair 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, wishing to exercise a ‘Councillor Speaking Right’, must declare this at the same time as the interest, move to the public area before speaking to the item and then must leave the room before the debate and vote.

(1)        The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and 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.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 30 seconds

(1)        The Chair advised that, in accordance with Council Policy, the meeting would be audio recorded.

(2)        The Chair drew attention to the item on the agenda front pages regarding Declarations of Interest and 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 the public.

There was no public participation.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 50 seconds

There was no public participation.

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – RESOURCES

This report includes the returns required for each of the Charities/Charitable Trusts administered by the Council. The four Charities/ Charitable Trusts are; Hitchin Town Hall Gymnasium and Workmans Hall Trust, King George’s Field Hitchin, Smithson Recreation Ground and Hertfordshire Yeomanry and Artillery Collection. The Charities Sub-Committee approve the accounts and annual reports prior to submission to the Charities Commission, if a return is required.

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Sub-Committee (Council Charities):

(1)   Approved the information required by the Charities Commission for the four registered charities, so that the returns can be submitted prior to the 31st January 2025 deadline.

(2)   Notes the requirement for those charities with gross income of more than £25k in their financial year to have their accounts independently examined and, as this applies to King George’s Field and Hitchin Town Hall Gymnasium and Workmans Hall, instructs this to be undertaken for those accounts for 2023/24. This will be undertaken by the Shared Internal Audit Service (SIAS).

(3)   Delegated to the Service Director: Resources, in consultation with the Chair of the Sub-Committee, authority to provide the required information to the Charity Commission to rectify the position in relation to the Mrs Howard Memorial Hall charity.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1)   To facilitate the submission of approved returns to the Charities Commission.

(2)   To rectify the position in relation to the Mrs Howard Memorial Hall Charity.

Audio recording – 3 minutes 54 seconds

The Service Director – Resources presented the report entitled ‘Annual Accounts and Returns for Council Charities’ along with the Appendices 1-5 and advised that:

·       This report detailed the returns required for the four Charities/Charitable Trusts administered by the Council.

·       This Sub Committee was required to approve the accounts and annual reports prior to them being submitted to the Charities Commission.

·       The two larger charities with a gross annual income of more than £25k would require their accounts to be externally verified and details of the returns could be found in the appendices.

·       It had been discovered that returns for a fifth charity, Mrs Howard Memorial Hall, in Letchworth, had incorrectly ceased in 2010.

·       Accounts for Mrs Howard Memorial Hall would have to be completed to cover the missing 14-year period as the charity is operating and currently rents out a hall as highlighted in paragraph 8.8 of the report.

·       Advice was being sought from the Charities Commission whether individual returns would need to be produced for the whole 14-year period, or only to cover the last few years. 

In response to a question from Councillor Amy Allen, the Service Director – Resources advised that there would be no detrimental effect on the Mr Howard Memorial Hall charity going forward, as it was the responsibility of the Council to bring the accounts up to date and to ensure they were kept on track going forward.

Councillor Mick Debenham proposed and Councillor Dave Winstanley seconded, and following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Cabinet Sub-Committee (Council Charities):

(1)   Approved the information required by the Charities Commission for the four registered charities, so that the returns can be submitted prior to the 31st January 2025 deadline.

(2)   Noted the requirement for those charities with gross income of more than £25k in their financial year to have their accounts independently examined and, as this applies to King George’s Field and Hitchin Town Hall Gymnasium and Workmans Hall, instructs this to be undertaken for those accounts for 2023/24. This will be undertaken by the Shared Internal Audit Service (SIAS).

(3)   Delegated to the Service Director: Resources, in consultation with the Chair of the Sub-Committee, authority to provide the required information to the Charity Commission to rectify the position in relation to the Mrs Howard Memorial Hall charity.

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

(1)   To facilitate the submission of approved returns to the Charities Commission.

(2)   To rectify the position in relation to the Mrs Howard Memorial Hall Charity.