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CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY 
Finance Committee Paper 6 09/09/05 
 
CAIRNGORMS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY 
FINANCE COMMITTEE 

FOR DECISION 

Title: RATIFICATION OF PREVIOUSLY APPROVED EXPENDITURE PROPOSALS 

Prepared by: Denby Pettitt, Finance Manager 


Purpose 

To summarise expenditure that has been approved by the Finance Committee since their last 
meeting on 6 May 2005. 


Recommendations 

• That the Committee formally approve the expenditure detailed in para.1 that it has 
previously approved by e-mail outwith the normal quarterly meetings. 

• That the Committee formally record their approval to an amended proposal to fund 
the Cairngorms Chamber of Commerce. 


Executive Summary 

(i) The Authority’s Financial Memorandum sets out the monetary level above which 
expenditure needs to be approved by the Finance Committee as a means of internal 
control. This primarily relates to the award of consultancies valued at more than £10,000 
used in meeting the Operational Plan. 

(ii) Since the Committee meets quarterly there will be instances when expenditure needs to 
be approved between meetings. At their meeting in August 2004 the Finance Committee 
agreed this could be done via e-mail and that a summary of the proposals agreed in this 
manner would be presented to the next scheduled meeting of the Committee. 

(iii) Finance Committee members met on 3 June to approve an amended Expenditure 
Justification Form relating to the Cairngorms Chamber of Commerce. 


RATIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE PROPOSALS 

Proposals previously agreed by e-mail 

1. Since the Finance Committee meeting on 6 May 2005 the following expenditure plans 
have been submitted to the Committee by e-mail for approval: 

Expenditure / Head of Group / Date circulated / £’000 / E-mail approval received 

(a) Ballater All-abilities path 
M. Ferguson 
28 June 
20 
Yes 

(b) Integrated Grant – Cultural Heritage 
A. Harper 
07 July 
40 
Yes 

(c) Aviemore to Inverdrurie Cycleway 
M. Ferguson 
08 July 
50 
Yes 

(d) Bachnagairn path improvement 
M. Ferguson 
11 July 
30 
Yes 

2. All the above expenditure received approval. Once a majority of responses in favour 
were received the expenditure was committed. There were no votes against any item. 


Proposal previously presented to the Finance Committee meeting 

3. In addition to the above approvals made by e-mail, Finance Committee members met on 
3 June to approve changes to the Expenditure Justification Form (EJF) relating to 
Cairngorms Chamber of Commerce. The initial EJF had been presented to the Finance 
Committee meeting on 6 May and an amended EJF which gave assurances relating to 
external funding, targets and pan-Park activities was approved on 3 June. 

4. The Committee had previously minuted the involvement of Board members Bruce 
Luffman and Sally Dowden in the Chamber of Commerce, and that these Board members 
had played no part in the determination of the Authority’s decision on the proposal. 


DENBY PETTITT 
31 August 2005 

denbypettitt@cairngorms.co.uk