Agenda and draft minutes
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Apologies To receive any apologies from members Additional documents: Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillor Chris Twells and Christopher Bass, an independent member of the Committee. |
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Substitute Members To note details of any substitution arrangements in place for the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no substitute members. |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from Members and Officers, relating to items to be considered at the meeting. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no declarations of interest. |
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To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 30 November 2023 Additional documents: Minutes: There were no amendments to the minutes.
RESOLVED: To approve the minutes of meeting held on 30 November 2023. |
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Election of Vice Chair Purpose The Committee is invited to elect a Vice-Chair for the remainder of the 2023-24 Council year, following the resignation of the previous Vice-Chair. Additional documents: Minutes: Councillor Patrick Coleman proposed themselves, and was seconded by Councillor Wilkins.
RESOLVED: To elect Councillor Patrick Coleman as Vice Chair for the remainder of 23/24 Civic year.
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Public Questions To deal with questions from the public within the open forum question and answer session of fifteen minutes in total. Questions or supplementary questions from each member of the public should be no longer than two minutes each and relate issues under the Committee’s remit. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no public questions. |
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Member Questions To deal with written questions by Members, relating to issues under the Committee’s remit, with the maximum length of oral supplementary questions at Committee being no longer than one minute. Responses to any supplementary questions will be dealt with in writing following the meeting Additional documents: Minutes: There were no member questions. |
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External Audit Plan 2022/23 Purpose To receive the 2022/23 Audit Plan from Grant Thornton, the Council’s external auditors.
Recommendation That Audit and Governance Committee resolves to: 1. Consider and note the Grant Thornton Audit Plan for 2022/23. Additional documents:
Minutes: Pete Barber of Grant Thornton introduced the item and explained that the item was to discuss the Audit Plan as well as the Interim Auditor’s Annual Report, which had been published as a supplement.
The purpose of the item was to receive the 2022/23 Audit Plan from Grant Thornton, the Council’s external auditors.
Members asked the Deputy Chief Executive about audit fees, making reference to the difficulty facing council finances nationwide. The Deputy Chief Executive confirmed that any additional fees would be agreed with the Council in advance, and that they were advised early on if this would be the case.
The Committee then discussed the Interim Auditor’s Annual Report. Pete Barber explained that statutory recommendations were made in serious cases, and that the Council did not have any, which was a positive indicator. The next level in terms of gravity were key recommendations, which would have been made if the auditor did not believe that effective arrangements for delivering value for money were in place, and the Council did not have any of those either. Mr Barber explained that the Council did have arrangements for delivering value for money. Therefore any recommendations made were improvements the Council could put in place to ensure best practice. The report highlighted the recommendations made but there were fewer recommendations than the previous year and fewer than for other similar authorities.
The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance explained the arrangements around Ubico, and that plans were being looked at to potentially share vehicles between the other Teckal partners for efficiency and resilience.
There were recommendations around the Cabinet Transform Working Group (CTWG) in order to better assure that the governance arrangements around it were suitable for finding the savings it needed to identify. The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, as the chair of the CTWG, stated that he would discuss this with the Deputy Chief Executive but that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee also had a role in scrutinising proposals that come forward (e.g. changes to the opening hours of the Contact Centre). Pete Barber stated that they would discuss the recommendations with the officers offline, taking into consideration the Committee’s debate, emphasising that it was within the Council’s discretion whether or not to accept the recommendation.
RESOLVED: To note the Grant Thornton Audit Plan for 2022/23. |
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Informing the Audit Risk Assessment Purpose To consider proposed management responses to the external auditor’s questions to inform their assessment of risk to underpin the audit of the statement of accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023.
Recommendations: That the Audit and Governance Committee resolves to: 1. Confirm their understanding of and agreement with the responses provided by management to the auditors in Annex A. 2. Make any further comments or observations in respect of any of the areas set out in Annex A known to the auditors. Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Chief Executive introduced the report. The purpose of the item was for the Committee to consider proposed management responses to the external auditor’s questions to inform their assessment of risk to underpin the audit of the statement of accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023.
Members suggested a change of wording, as a typographical error mistakenly read “abuse of the council tax reduction scheme is supported by the revenues and benefit staff” which should read “abuse of the council tax reduction scheme is dealt with by the revenues and benefit staff” or similar. The Deputy Chief Executive agreed to rephrase this.
Members asked about the processes around reporting fraud. The Head of the Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit stated that the instances were included in the report, but that these could be highlighted more clearly for future reports.
Members discussed the Council’s assets in regard to IFRS16 requirements. The Chief Accountant stated that the impact would be small, but that this would be reassessed as there remained a year before the deadline for implementation.
Resolved: To NOTE the report |
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Internal Audit Progress Report Purpose To present a summary of the audit work concluded since the last meeting of this Committee.
Recommendation: That the Audit and Governance Committee resolves to: 1. Consider the reports at Annexes A and B and comments as necessary Additional documents:
Minutes: The Assistant Director of SWAP introduced the item. The purpose of the report was to present a summary of the audit work concluded since the last meeting of the Committee.
The Assistant Director of SWAP highlighted the agreed actions at Appendix B, and that progress was highlighted in an additional Annex.
The Assistant Director of SWAP stated that online SWAP training would be taking place on 1 February at 3:30pm and encouraged members to attend. It was also mentioned that a Committee self-assessment would be carried out.
Members discussed the report, and specifically mentioned that limitations of the data from Uniform were mentioned and whether the system could be improved. The Assistant Director of SWAP clarified that this was due to data entry limitations as opposed to systems, but that this would be followed up on next year. The Deputy Chief Executive stated that this was a compliance and training area.
Discussing actions, members discussed transparency data. The Assistant Director of SWAP stated this would be followed up on, and was confident these could be achieved by the 31 January deadline.
Members stated that both SWAP and Counter Fraud seem to be managed extremely well, and that any change in leadership in future would need to be carefully managed to ensure a continued high level of service.
Members welcomed the improvement of the revenues and benefits service, and noted that this was a challenging area of work.
Members asked what ‘Friends and Family’ referred to, the Assistant Director of SWAP stated that this was about assurance that officers didn’t process friends or family’s accounts but that this would also be followed up on the following year.
RESOLVED: To NOTE the report. |
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Annual Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Non-Treasury Investment Strategy 2024/25 Summary/Purpose The Council is required to approve a Treasury Management Strategy and Non-Treasury Investment Strategy (Investment Strategy) for 2024/25 before 01 April 2024.
The attached Treasury Management Strategy Statement (TMSS) for 2024/25 (Appendix 1) and Non-Treasury Investment Strategy (Appendix 2) is prepared in accordance with the “Prudential Code” and the “Treasury Management Code of Practice” (2021 Editions), and the former Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) revised guidance on Local Government Investments
Recommendation That the Audit and Governance Committee resolves to: 1. Consider the draft Treasury Management and Non-Treasury Investment Strategy for 2024/25 and provides feedback to the Cabinet and Council for consideration as part of the Council’s budget setting process Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Chief Executive introduced the item. The Council was required to approve a Treasury Management Strategy and Non-Treasury Investment Strategy (Investment Strategy) for 2024/25, the Committee was invited to provide feedback on it ahead of its consideration by Cabinet and Council.
The Deputy Chief Executive stated that the item was concerned with the Council’s management of its cash funds, in line with CIPFA codes on both Treasury Management and Capital Finance.
The Members of the Committee commended the quality of the report.
Members did not recommend any changes to the report, but discussed various aspects of the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy.
There was a discussion around the potential impact of fluctuating interest rates on the Council's investment strategy. The Deputy Chief Executive highlighted the importance of closely monitoring market conditions and explained how the Council plans to adapt its investment decisions accordingly.
Members discussed the decision-making process behind the Council's stance on borrowing, particularly given the forecasted decline in available cash for investment. The Deputy Chief Executive stated that the Council's decision not to borrow externally over the next two years was based on current capital plans and the high interest rates associated with external borrowing.
RESOLVED: To NOTE the report. |
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Annual Capital Strategy 2024/25 Purpose The Council is required to approve a Capital Strategy for 2024/25 before 1 April 2024.
The Capital Strategy 2024/25 (Appendix 1) is in accordance with CIPFA’s “Prudential Code” and the “Treasury Management Code of Practice” 2021 and the former Ministry, Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) guidance on Local Government Investments
Recommendation That the Audit and Governance Committee resolves to: 1. Consider the draft Capital Strategy for 2024/25 and provides feedback to the Cabinet and Council for consideration as part of the Council’s budget setting process. Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Chief Executive introduced the item. The Council was required to approve a Capital Strategy for 2024/25 before 1 April 2024. The purpose was for the Committee to consider the draft Capital Strategy for 2024/25 and provide feedback to the Cabinet and Council for consideration as part of the Council’s budget setting process.
The Deputy Chief Executive explained that the purpose of the Capital Strategy was to enable spending on the Council’s priorities.
Members discussed the priorities in the strategy which the Deputy Leader confirmed were aligned with the Council’s new Corporate Plan.
RESOLVED: To NOTE the strategy. |
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Annual Governance Statement – Action Plan Update Purpose This report provides the Audit and Governance Committee with an update on progress against the Annual Governance Statement action plan for 2023/24 as of January 2024.
Recommendation That the Audit and Governance Committee resolves to: 1. Note the Annual Governance Action Plan and associated progress updates Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair stated that receiving the Governance
statement was a regular requirement for the Committee. The purpose
of the report was to provide the Audit and Governance Committee
with an update on progress against the Annual Governance Statement
action plan for 2023/24 as of January 2024. The Business Manager for Business Continuity, Governance and Risk introduced the report, highlighting that most actions had been completed, with two red actions and one amber action.
Members discussed the Publica transition plan, and made reference to historic staffing shortages in some departments. Members asked when temporary staffing roles would be advertised with the new conditions, such as the Local Government Pension Scheme. The Chief Executive stated that work was already underway in looking at appointing to roles where they were vacancies on a case by case basis.
RESOLVED: To NOTE the report. |
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To note the work plan for the 2023/24 year Additional documents: Minutes: Members discussed the Climate Change item, and the Chair explained that the Committee had resolved to invite the Cabinet Member for Climate Change due to concerns arising from a climate change survey, as highlighted in a report previously considered by the Committee.
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Matters Exempt from Publication If the Committee wishes to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during consideration of any of the items on the exempt from publication part of the agenda, it will be necessary for the Committee to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraph 7 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.
The Committee may maintain the exemption if and so long as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair explained that the subsequent items were exempt, and proposed entering a private session so that these could be discussed.
The proposal was agreed by the committee unanimously and carried.
RESOLVED: That the Committee exclude the public and press for the remainder of the meeting under section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in Paragraph 7 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, with the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighing the public interest in disclosing the exempt information. |
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Cyber Security Update Purpose To provide the Audit and Governance Committee an update on Cyber Security.
Recommendation That Audit and Governance Committee resolves to: 1. Note the content of the report. Minutes: The Chief Technology Officer introduced the item, highlighting the Council’s key defences against cybercrime, and what future areas of concern may be.
The details of the discussion were exempt.
RESOLVED: To NOTE the content of the report.
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