5 May 2026 – Minutes (draft)
THAME TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of a Meeting of the Corporate Governance Committee held on 5 May 2026 at 6.30pm in the Upper Chamber, Thame Town Hall.
Present:
Cllrs D Bretherton, A Dite, M Dyer (Chair), S McGarry, P Swan, A Wainwright and W Wilde.
Non-voting
Officers
M Sturdy, Town Clerk
K Slater, Corporate Services Manager & Responsible Financial Officer (RFO)
J Doherty, Committee Services Officer
1) Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Cowell (personal), Dawson (personal), Dodds (personal), Richards (personal) and Gilbert (personal).
RESOLVED:
i) To accept the apologies and reasons given from Cllrs Cowell (personal), Dawson (personal), Dodds (personal), Richards (personal) and Gilbert (personal).
2) Declarations of Interest and Dispensations
There were no declarations of interest or dispensations.
3) Public Participation and Public Questions
There were no applications to address the Committee.
There were no questions put to the Committee.
4) Minutes
The Minutes of the Committee Meeting held on 3 February 2026 were received.
RESOLVED that:
i) The minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2026 are confirmed as a correct record, and signed by the Chair.
5) Financial Update
Cllr Swan arrived during this item.
The Committee received and noted the budget summary and balance sheet up to 31 March 2026.
The RFO advised that the end-of-year close-down was later than usual this year, which has affected the Corporate Governance figures, as the accountant is undertaking the close-down on 7 May 2026. The RFO also advised that like-for-like figures have been provided for comparison.
A Cllr sought clarification regarding grants and monies shown as allocated to Citizens Advice, and the value of the free use of the Town Hall. The RFO advised that Citizens Advice is itemised as it does not form part of devolved services or received grants in the past. The value shown for free use is the total value of free usage by numerous users of Upper Chamber hire.
The committee received the latest earmarked reserves, 6-monthly bank reconciliations, and list of payments in line with Financial Regulation 6.8.
A Cllr queried the defibrillator charges and whether exact figures could be provided. The Clerk advised that there are a number of defibrillators and that a 10-year forecast can be provided at a future Corporate Governance Committee meeting; this is likely to be in the region of £10,000.
A Cllr queried Trees Reserve 336, noting that a Duty of Care survey is due. The Clerk advised that this will be presented at the next Environment and Assets Committee meeting. Historically, this was undertaken by a volunteer at a reduced rate; however, given the number of trees, this is likely to be a considerable expense. A Cllr queried the number of trees; the report details 500 trees, and the anticipated cost of the Duty of Care survey. The Clerk advised that this will be discussed at Environment and Assets Committee meeting and that three contractor quotes will be sought. A Cllr queried whether the trees are tagged/numbered; the Clerk advised that they believe some are and once this survey is completed the location and details of the trees can be added to Civic.ly (the new asset management system). A Cllr queried whether Thame Town Council surveys trees owned by OCC if they are near highways. The Clerk advised that the Town Council has previously liaised with SODC and OCC Tree Officers regarding surveys and locations; however, the Town Council only surveys trees on land owned by Thame Town Council. Once populated, Civic.ly could potentially show tree ownership and provide further information.
A Cllr queried Reserve 346 (Freedom Parade): RAF Halton is due to close in 2030 and the last Freedom Parade was in 2022. It was asked whether there will be a Freedom Parade this year and whether this allocation should be held for the future. The Clerk advised that it was understood to be going ahead; however, if it does not happen in future, the monies can be moved into general reserves.
6) Financial Overspends
The committee received a report of the financial overspends against budget line items (greater than the agreed de minimis of £100 / 5%) which have been recorded since the last meeting.
A Cllr queried the high photocopying charge and whether this could be explored. The RFO advised that over £800 has been spent on bus timetable printing for the Information Centre; bus timetables now have a separate code for review. Neighbourhood Plan printing has also been included within central services; in future this should be coded correctly to avoid overspends.
7) Banking Update
The committee noted the opening of the Public Sector Deposit Account with CCLA; it was noted that this was a good rate of interest. The RFO commented that the monies in this account are detailed on the balance sheet.
8) Internal Software
The Committee noted the increased in-house accountancy support. The Officer advised that training has been completed, and feedback will be provided at the Corporate Governance Committee meeting on 18 August 2026.
A Cllr queried whether two systems would run in parallel and whether signatures are required fortnightly. The RFO advised that the Council will not be operating two systems in parallel and that BACS payments will be handled by Officers. The RFO will communicate the process to Councillors, including the proposed arrangements going forward and a rota for Councillors.
9) Investment Update
The committee noted the summary of the investment performance. It was noted that it was a volatile market.
A Cllr queried the ESG compliance breakdown and which areas are being avoided for investment. Reference was made to item 9b (page 6), which lists areas being avoided. Questions were raised regarding nuclear energy and whether it is included within the Town Council’s exclusion criteria (noting that nuclear energy does not form part of fossil fuels). Cllr Swan clarified that nuclear was not an exclusionary criterion. Further queries related to the compliance and exclusionary criteria (page 6), where the Policy states the Council has excluded certain areas but there remain some investments, including high-impact fossil fuel reserves, gambling, tobacco, and direct predatory lending. While these were small amounts and it was understood there may be a transition period, it was suggested that a timeframe/roadmap would be helpful to indicate when these would be excluded as stated in the Policy. Clarification was also sought from Rathbones regarding Global Compact compliance, including the distinction between ‘violation’ and ‘watch list’ as referenced in the Policy. The RFO will seek clarification from Rathbones and request an update for the next review. It was noted that the Investment Policy was provided to Rathbones late, and this is therefore a quarterly review; the RFO will advise further.
A Cllr sought clarification as to whether Rathbones is looking to diverge due to its own criteria or due to the Thame Town Council policy, and whether this relates to the approach taken to direct investments as this may be broader in scope.
10) Utilities Update
The committee noted the utility report.
The RFO advised that, following previous meetings, it has been established that there is no water leak. It was noted that there are two meters: one measures water for the disabled toilet, upstairs kitchen and external drinking water machine. The second meter relates to the main Town Hall toilets and staff kitchenette. There has been increased usage of the Upper Chamber, water fountain and disabled WC. This will be reviewed and a breakdown provided at the next Corporate Governance Committee meeting.
The uplift in electricity costs was also noted, due to the increased use of the Upper Chamber.
It was noted that an Officer will undertake an exercise to evidence that the hourly rate for the Town Hall meeting room and Upper Chamber covers the costs of the Caretaker (for out-of-hours bookings), cleaning, utilities and administration costs incurred with bookings. This will be available at the next Corporate Governance Committee meeting.
A Cllr queried the depot water charges. The RFO advised that there was a leak a year ago; however, the charges have also increased because the depot has moved from domestic pricing to business pricing, meaning the unit rate has doubled. The Clerk advised that depot water use during Covid may have been lower and suggested reviewing the years prior to Covid. A Cllr noted there has been a steady increase since 2023. The Clerk will enquire whether this is due to washing vehicles or filling the water bowser for watering. The RFO advised that the shower is now being monitored for legionella, and that water use has increased to meet this Health & Safety requirement.
11) Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
The committee noted the CIL.
A Cllr clarified that CIL funds are now being used in the correct order for expenditure. The Clerk advised that this is being monitored and managed.
A Cllr queried the time-limits for CIL funds, and conditions for outstanding monies to be spent, and what the Town Council plans are for the monies, could funds be used for Project Link? The Clerk advised that there are no shortage of areas which CIL could be spend on; and monies are spent in order and not likely to lose CIL funds. Further CIL funds are expected. It was suggested that the working group be re-established to review CIL monies and areas for expenditure.
12) Insurance
The Committee noted the insurance update.
13) Council Policies
The revised Members’ Allowance Policy issued contained an error. SODC has issued guidance confirming an allowance of £420; therefore, the Members’ Allowance Policy needs to be approved with the figure of £420 inserted to match the wording in the guidance. The Committee Chair and Council Members receive the same Members’ Allowance.
A Cllr queried if records of payments are available for review. The RFO advised that a Public Notice of Rights are published on the noticeboard and website, the records are also kept internally when payments are processed which are also available on website.
The Investment Policy is unchanged.
RESOLVED THAT:
i) To approve the Investment Policy
ii) To approve the Members Allowance Policy
The RFO advised that the Terrorism Policy works in conjunction with the Business Continuity Plan and the Emergency Plan. It was agreed for the Terrorism Policy to be reviewed annually. It was noted that the response teams referenced across the policies differ; the policies will be aligned so that the information is the same and consistent for staff and Councillors.
A Cllr queried item 11 training. The Prevent Training link is quite hard to find and queried how training is monitored? The Clerk advised that the training links can be clarified. There is a continual process to align policies and for information to be consistent. For staff training, working on a Training Matrix detailing which positions require which training, and when. Councillors training will be taken annually, working with the Communications team for training for Councillors to be user friendly with video links. A question for Councillors, how can we encourage Cllrs to undertake training? A Cllr commented that the Prevent Training seemed driven to Educational staff.
A Cllr discussed the training matrix, training compliance, there should be certain training, which is mandatory and annually, i.e. cyber security training which is evolving and suggest this should be annually. The Clerk advised would review with the RFO.
A Cllr commented that the Dementia training which was offered previously to Staff and Cllrs worked well; could this be established going forward for other training matters for Cllrs to attend in person with staff. In-house training would be supported by a number of Councillors.
A Cllr queried the GDPR training frequency and Fire Safety / Marshall Training. The RFO advised that refreshers for GDPR training was carried out recently, with annual refresher training to be undertaken. Fire Marshall/Fire Safety training completed by certain staff members. Training records are maintained if Cllrs wish to review. To note that the training matrix will cover what training staff members need to undertake in the first 6 months of employment ensuring relevant to roles.
The Clerk advised that NALC have put forward the recommendation that Councillors should have mandatory training, but this has not been approved. Whilst training is not mandatory for Councillors there are opportunities for training and information on training available can be provided.
RESOLVED that:
iii) To approve the Terrorism Policy
14) Information Management
Noted two Freedom of Information requests; in addition, a number of queries relating to the 2022/23 planning application regarding Project Link including how the process has been managed with regards to the lime tree has been received; much information has been provided to an individual member of the public.
A Cllr queried whether, if the cost of a Freedom of Information exceeds £200 to the organisation, the cost can be passed to the requester. The RFO advised that the Freedom of Information policy is sent to requestors on receipt of Freedom of Information requests, and this details that there is a right to charge the individual, the relevant Line Manager/Officer/Clerk makes judgements following legislative guidelines. It was noted that there is a 20-working-day deadline (for a straightforward written request).
A Cllr queried what play area inspections are carried out. The Clerk advised that the Council complies with ROSPA duty of care with daily and weekly checks, plus ROSPA inspections. The Maintenance Team undertakes checks as required, including wear and tear of the equipment.
The meeting concluded at 7.21pm
Signed ………………………………
Chair, 18 August 2026