Oliver Waterhouse Quaker Life Hello everyone, This time we held an open session for anyone to bring a topic along to. The next online session will be on Wednesday, 18 October at 2:00pm. The joining details are below and will also be shared again by email nearer the time. * Join Zoom Meeting: https://quaker.zoom.us/j/81586087624?pwd=VHk3MW9sTHJUVDdsMFlTMUN3WEpmUT09 * Meeting ID: 815 8608 7624 * Passcode: WT-online Notes New fire safety guidance came into force on 1 October 2023 www.gov.uk/government/news/new-fire-safety-guidance-comes-into-force-on-1-october-2023<http://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-fire-safety-guidance-comes-into-force-...> Legionella There is a section in the Meeting House handbook template<https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/meeting-house-handbook-template> on legionella. You should be careful if you have water that stands, in a tank or a (dead end) pipe, for a period of more than about a week. You need to be careful if your premises has a system such as a shower that creates steam from water, or an air conditioning unit that allows water to sit and stagnate near something warm, which in turn can create water vapour. Legionella is present in all water but is only dangerous when present in vapour form and when the water is not warm enough to kill the bacteria. The bacteria will begin to die off at 50°C and needs to be at around 60°C to kill it rapidly. Flushing the water system frequently (weekly if the building is not being used regularly) should be part of the checks on the building and the process should be noted in the building risk assessment. Paying for taxis for people to attend worship Should meetings pay for taxis to attend worship? Could the fare for the cab be paid from the collection plate? Yes, meetings do have the option to pay for taxis for people to attend worship. If a Friends requires the support of a taxi to attend worship a LM or AM business meeting could write a minute to agree to them being collected and to pay for the cab for them. [A cash voucher with a number of squares Description automatically generated]Could it be paid for from the collection? If everyone who donates to the collection knows that it might be used for that purpose then yes, if the meeting has agreed for it to happen. A good system to ensure that all of the money that has been donated is accounted for needs to be put into place. A petty cash voucher like the one in the image could be used for this to keep track of any cash used to pay for taxis or other items that might be required. Making the most of donations You can also claim Gift Aid on small anonymous donations through the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS). This applies to individual donations of up to £20 that are given in cash. See below for information for treasurers on GASDS. * Information about the scheme, https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/gasds-info-sheet-2019-1 * GASDS recording sheet, https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/gasds-recording-2019-at-meeting-1 Topics for 2024 * Fire safety and the introduction of the new guidelines. * Hallmaster: update on heating controls as well as building entry security. * Working for a local or area meeting. What are the employment / appointment processes within AMs and how we all fit in together. * Building surveys and inspections. In friendship, Oliver Oliver Waterhouse (he/him) Quaker Life Team Leader, Local and Area Governance Quakers in Britain 020 7663 1007 (Direct) oliverw@quaker.org.uk<mailto:oliverw@quaker.org.uk> | www.quaker.org.uk<http://www.quaker.org.uk/> Follow Quakers in Britain on Twitter<http://twitter.com/BritishQuakers>, Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/BritishQuakers>, YouTube<https://www.youtube.com/quakersinbritain>, and Instagram<https://www.instagram.com/britishquakers/>. CLERKS OF TRUSTEES: Please send TARA documents to supportmeetings@quaker.org.uk<mailto:supportmeetings@quaker.org.uk> All Quakers in Britain staff can be contacted using their usual email addresses or phone numbers. They may be working from home, in Friends House (London), in the Yorkshire Centre (Leeds) or at a base local to them. The Quaker Centre Bookshop and Café<https://www.friendshouse.co.uk/quaker-centre/> (Friends House, London) are open to the public. If you would like to support our work, you can give online at www.quaker.org.uk/donate. Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Registered charity number 1127633 | Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ ________________________________ Quakers say: Religion is about the whole of life.