Question

Can the chairman of the parish council spend money without discussing it at a meeting?

Answer 1

I wanted to give a one word answer but the system won't let me.

The answer is - No

Answer 2

No, No, No, No and No

Answer 3

Only if pre-approved by the Councillors at a meeting.

Answer 4

We had a Chair who insisted he had a discretion to spend up to £250 without needing any discussion or authorisation.

Answer 5

No councillor, chairman or otherwise, has authority to spend money or indeed to do anything unless specifically authorised to do so by resolution of the council.  However, some authorities allocate a "chairman's allowance" to their chairs which is designed to cover any additional expenses associated with the role.  HMRC take the view that this is a "benefit" and should be paid via the payroll system and taxable unless it is only used for expenses such as travel (to outside meetings, where applicable), stationery, etc.
I've noticed that one local council nearby has a "chairman's petty cash".  I've no idea where the authority is for that!

Comments

Would a chair's allowance cover alcohol?

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Our parish often uses the Chairmans allowance to pay for refreshments at our Annual Parish meeting. Normally agreed at one of the meetings a few weeks before hand and actioned by the Clerk and paid directly by the Council. (Mind you we cancelled our Parish Meeting this year which saved a lot of bother for the Clerk).

Answer 6

No, I brought this up a few years ago with my local council as the chairman had a fund (this was over £1,500) and was used by the chair to support local groups etc and one "experienced" councillor told me that the council did this so that they had a means to give money to organisations that the council might not be able to.

Needless to say, the council found ways to get around this