Neasham Parish Council

Scope

This policy applies to all personnel of Neasham Parish Council (the ‘Council’) namely serving Councillors (elected or co-opted) (including Ward Councillors whose expenses are directly related to Council business and not reimbursable by others), employees of the Council, and recognised volunteers.

Policy Statement

The Council recognises that personnel may incur necessary expenditure in the proper performance of their duties and supports the principle that such expenditure should be reimbursed. The provisions of Regulations 4, 5 and 6 of the Council’s Financial Regulations apply to any expenses payable within the scope of this Policy. In the event of any conflict between the Regulation and this Policy, the Regulations shall take precedence. Subject to that the Responsible Financial Officer shall be entitled to establish procedures which assist the effective administration of the Financial Regulations as regards the verification and payment of expenses.

Eligibility

The following expenditure is eligible for re-imbursement:

• Mileage and travel costs for journeys which extend beyond the boundaries of Darlington Borough Council.
• Reasonable subsistence expenses in relation to meetings or events which are more than half-a-day in duration.
• Any other expenditure incurred wholly necessarily and exclusively in connection with the Council’s business or activities.

Limitations

Personnel should travel by the most cost-effective mode of transport taking into account journey time and the nature of the journey as well as the monetary cost. Eligible mileage will be reimbursed by reference to HM Revenue and Customs’ allowable thresholds current at the time of the relevant journey(s). (Claimants are required to keep track of any other business mileage incurred in the tax year to ensure the correct rate is used). Rail travel will be re-imbursed at second class tariff.

Making a claim

Claim forms may be obtained from the Responsible Finance Officer. Completed forms should have vouchers attached, be signed by the claimant and counter-signed by the Chair or (in his absence) the Vice-chair prior to submission.

This Policy was approved by Neasham Parish Council on 1 March 2021

Ref: 2021/03