Policy, Resources & Communications

Agenda

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

To:  All Members of the Policy Resources & Communications Committee:
Maria Angelaki-King, Lesley Cruikshank-Robb, France Gaudencio, Don McBeth, Paul Shepherd (Chair), Ian Weir (Vice-Chair) with copies to all other Councillors for information.

A meeting of the POLICY RESOURCES & COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE on Tuesday 16 December 2025 at 7.30pm in the Council Chamber, Parish Centre, Adastra Park, Hassocks

Parish Clerk 10 December 2025

Members of the public are encouraged to come to the meetings and there is an opportunity for them to address the Council relating to the non-confidential items on the published agenda. A period of 15 minutes will be set aside in item 4 Public participation. It may be necessary to consider particular items in confidential session and where this arises, these items will be considered at the end of the agenda.

1. TO ACCEPT APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

2. TO ACCEPT DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

3. Minutes. To accept the Minutes of the Policy Resources & Communications Committee held on 28 October 2025. (Previously Circulated).

4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

5. COMMUNICATIONS (Verbal update)

6. FINANCIAL SCRUTINY – following the introduction of internet banking, the Chair of the PR&C is required to verify bank reconciliations for all accounts at least once per quarter. The first report to the Committee is due in January 2026 and quarterly thereafter.

7. 2026/27 BUDGET PROPOSAL (Appendix 1) – Members are requested to review the draft 2026/27 budget forecast including the precept figure and Reserves allocations and RECOMMEND it to Council for approval in January 2026.

8. POLICIES – Members are requested to:

a)  review two draft policy documents and RECOMMEND them to Council for approval

b)  consider the Health and Safety Policy proposal and AGREE on a preferred option (one-off service or ongoing support contract)

8.1  Draft Reserves Policy – it is not a legal requirement for Parish Councils to have a written reserves policy, but it is considered good practice as it provides clarity for Councillors, auditors and the public (Appendix 2). To view Appendix 2 please click here.

8.2  Draft Investment Policy & Annual Investment Strategy – the Council adopted an Investment Policy in July 2023 which needs to be updated. Statutory guidance requires Parish Council’s with investments of over £100,000 to prepare an Annual Investment Strategy which must be approved by the full Council and made publicly available on the website. Arrangements need to be in place to ensure funds are managed properly and any amounts surplus to requirements are invested appropriately. It is advisable to spread funds across a range of banks, building societies and investment funds to reduce risk, benefit from financial protections and get the best returns. The draft policy and strategy outline a compliant approach to investments (Appendix 3). To view Appendix 3 please click here.

8.3  Health and Safety Policy – the Council needs to produce a Health and Safety Policy to comply with legislation. Members are asked to consider the proposal from WorkNest to carry out risk assessments of Council sites, produce and maintain a Health & Safety Policy and Health & Safety Employee Handbook (Appendix 4), To view Appendix 4 please click here. It costs £2,100 per annum for a five-year contract (with a 3-year break clause), which includes carrying out an annual Fire Risk Assessment of Council buildings OR £1,375 as a one-off payment for the risk assessments, policy and handbook. These costs can be funded out of the Professional Fees budget in the current year.

9. BANKING – Changes to the Council’s banking arrangements must be authorised by the Policy, Resources and Communications Committee. At present the Council has five bank accounts: three savings accounts and one current account with Barclays Bank and a current account with Unity Trust Bank. We receive no interest on the current accounts and 1.1% interest on the Barclays savings accounts.

Members are asked to AUTHORISE the Clerk to:

a)  close two Barclays Business Premium ME savings accounts

b)  open four new investment accounts, in accordance with the policy requirements (approval will be sought before any funds are transferred into the new accounts)

10. URGENT MATTERS at the discretion of the Chair for noting and/or inclusion on a future agenda.

11. DATE OF NEXT MEETING – 27 January 2026

FILMING, RECORDING OF COUNCIL MEETINGS AND USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
During this meeting members of the public may film or record the Committee and officers from the public area only providing it does not disrupt the meeting. The Confidential section of the meeting may not be filmed or recorded. If a member of the public objects to being recorded, the person(s) filming must stop doing so until that member of the public has finished speaking. The use of social media is permitted but members of the public are requested to switch their mobile devices to silent for the duration of the meeting.

APPENDIX 1

HASSOCKS PARISH COUNCIL

Committee Meeting:  Policy, Resources & Communications

Report of:  Parish Clerk

Date:  16 December 2025 – Agenda Item 7

Subject:   2026/27 Budget Proposal

Purpose of Report

1)  To present draft revenue budget proposals for 2026/27 (Appendix A), (to view Appendix A please click here) providing explanatory notes and the 2026/27 precept figure (Appendix B), (to view Appendix B please click here). The report also makes recommendations about the allocation of General and Earmarked Reserves (Appendix C). (To view Appendix C please click here).

Officer Recommendations

2)  Members of the Committee are asked to

a)  review the draft 2026/27 budget forecast including the precept figure and Reserves allocations and RECOMMEND it to Council for approval in January 2026.

Introduction

3)  The revenue budget forecast shows the 2025/26 figures for comparison, the estimated expenditure under each cost centre, the earned income expected and the precept required to cover costs.

4)  Budget proposals and options were considered by the PR&C Committee in October 2025 and the potential changes discussed have been incorporated into the final draft.

Precept

5)  The precept is forecast to rise by £30,435 in 2026/27, to £370,012 which is an 8.9% increase overall and equates to 89% of all Council income. The number of properties in the Parish has increased over the past year so actual increase to residents is only 3.4% for Band D properties, which is less than the current level of inflation. Mid Sussex District Council must be informed of the precept amount by 31 January 2026.

Other Income

6)  Other income is estimated to grow by £8,577 as the Council aims to improve its return on investments and will increase allotment, burial ground, pavilion and pitch hire fees in line with inflation in most cases. The tennis court fees have been reviewed and will be increased in 2026/27 to make a greater contribution toward the cost of ongoing court maintenance.

Expenditure

7)  In general, costs are based on the previous year plus 3.6% inflation (the current Bank of England figure) except where shown in the notes column. Some budget lines remain the same because no inflationary increase has been applied, some costs have decreased and others have increased above 3.6% due to additional planned expenditure in 2026/27.

a)  Staff costs are increased by £52,786. The figures are not directly comparable to 2025/26 because they are presented in a different format. In addition to an extra full-time post, this includes an estimated pay settlement in line with inflation and incremental pay rises for three staff members in accordance with their employment contracts.

It is proposed that when the current contract for the part-time Assistant to the Clerk post ends in March 2026 this post is deleted and the Council establishes a new outward facing Community Engagement role. This new staff member will support the Flood and Transport Working Groups, carry out research, deliver community focussed initiatives, network with the voluntary sector, overhaul the website (business plan project) and manage Council communications. A Job Description to be presented to PR&C in the New Year for approval, prior to recruitment.

b)   Administration costs are increased to provide a small budget for the Community Engagement work which includes the Annual Parish Meeting in May (hall hire, refreshments, printed report, publicity). The cost of Professional Fees is higher to cover the Health and Safety policy proposal (if agreed by the Committee). Public Works Loan Board repayments will be lower in 2026/27 because the burial ground loan has been repaid in full.  Also, the Council is going to discontinue use of the Rialtas allotment package software which will reduce the cost of Website & IT support.

c)  Grants – it is proposed that there is no inflationary increase to the Community Grants budgets or the annual donations made to Light Up Hassocks, the Woodland Flora & Fauna Group and the Monday Group. Greener Hassocks were not awarded funding in 2025/26 so this budget line has been deleted and they would need to make an application for project funding if required.

d)  Allotments – the cost of water is increased above inflation due to greater usage during the summer months.

e)  Parish Centre – the photocopier costs are increased by £264 pa. to enable the Council to lease a colour photocopier.

f)  Adastra Park Grounds – the cost of the waste contract is increased above inflation to cover an additional glass recycling bin for the sports pavilion bar and to guard against potential price rises. The overall cost of is reduced £2,829 in anticipation of a successful bid to the Football Foundation for funding toward pitch maintenance.

g)  Adastra Tennis Courts costs are increased significantly to fund an improved long term maintenance plan and cover additional administration costs as a result of more bookings.

h)  The Garden of Remembrance budget is increased to allow the volunteer group to carry out more planting in 2026/27.

i)  Street Scene costs are forecast to be higher in 2026/27 as there is a drive to get more dog waste bins and more collections in the Parish which will incur more revenue costs.

j)  Environmental Improvements – this budget is reduced, the Footpaths budget line has been removed as footpath improvements will be funded through Earmarked Reserves in 2026/27.

k)  Parking Discs – income and expenditure has been estimated in line with 2025/26 prices but it is likely they will be discontinued in 2026/27 if Mid Sussex District Council introduces a new parking charges regime.

l)  Christmas Lights – this budget has not been increased in line with inflation but there is a proposal to invest in the lights through Earmarked Reserves.

m)  Remembrance Sunday – the event was funded through the General Reserve in 2025/26 and Councillors would like to make it an annual occasion funded through the revenue budget in future.

Reserves

8)  According to the latest bank reconciliation information reported to Council in December 2026, there was £653,243 in total cash and bank balances. £227,851 is currently allocated to Earmarked Reserves (EMR) and the Council will need a working budget of approximately £145,000 to cover the revenue costs until the end of the current financial year. Taking this into account, there is currently a General Reserve of approximately £280,000.

9)  With a projected turnover of £415,000 in 2026/27, it is necessary to retain a minimum General Reserves of £105,000. The current General Reserve is higher than needed so it is therefore proposed that £147,037 is transferred EMR in 2026/27 to cover essential project spending and ongoing maintenance of Council assets, as outlined in Appendix C. This will leave the Council with a General Reserve of approximately £133,000.