April Parish Council Meeting CANCELLED
Due to Covid 19 there will be no April Parish Council Meeting. At the moment we are also unable to plan the Annual Parish Meeting.
Gatherings of more than 2 people from different households are not allowed. On this basis the council should NOT be meeting in person. Whilst it is technically not legal to hold meetings remotely, legislation has not kept up with the virus so we have to be pragmatic. We anticipate the government will bring in measures to facilitate this soon and we will share details once we have them.
The current Chairman of the parish council (David Brown) will stay in post until a meeting can be held, possibly remotely to elect the Chairman in place again.
Finance
We are waiting for further guidance on audit for the parish council but understand the deadline may be extended to 30th September 2020. In the meantime talk to your internal auditor and keep preparations for audit ongoing. We are waiting for more government guidance however with the restrictions on meetings it is likely that audit will be delayed.
Play Areas
ALL PLAY AREAS SHOULD BE CLOSED FROM TODAY (Government guidance)
The Playing Fields Associating look after the play areas in Stonesfield – this is not under our jurisdiction but please respect the government guidance.
Village halls
These should be closed now and staff working from home in line with government guidance.
Allotments
It appears that Michael Gove has said that allotments can still be visited, they do provide food and exercise but social distancing should be observed.
Guidance from the National Allotment Society is available here https://www.nsalg.org.uk/news/covid19-information/
Cemeteries
Cemetery workers are classed as key workers and can continue their work. Keep up to date via ICCM https://www.nsalg.org.uk/news/covid19- information/
Staff and homeworking
Many staff already work from home including the Parish Clerk, if you have staff of your own please assist them to do so where ever possible.
If the Parish Council can offer support or if you need us to help point you in the right direction please do contact us. Most importantly stay safe.
Stonesfield Parish Council