Agenda and minutes

An apology of absence was received from Councillor P W Whittle, JP.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Audit and Governance Committee meeting hold on 9 February 2015.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 9 February 2015 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting, Martin Young from Ernst & Young (External Auditors) and Pat Stothard and Suzanne Smith from Mazars (Internal Auditors).

To receive any declarations of interest from members in accordance with Standing Orders and the Council’s Code of Conduct.

There were no declarations of interest made at this meeting.

To receive any deputations of which notice has been lodged.

There were no deputations made at this meeting.

To consider a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators 2015/16.

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators 2015/16.

Members asked questions regarding the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and whether this debt could be affected in the future by changes in capital expenditure. The Finance Strategy and Development Manager explained that the HRA account is building up reserves and it is these reserves that will be used to help fund future housing development projects.

Members also enquired as to whether there is a contingency plan in place should the new Government in May withdraw the HRA self-financing debt buy out scheme. The Director of Finance and Resources explained that this is unlikely to happen as the debt buy out scheme was established in legislation, and  cannot easily be withdrawn.

RESOLVED that the Committee recommends to Council the draft Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators for 2015/16, attached as Appendix A to the report, be approved.

To consider a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the annual report and work programme.

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the annual Audit and Governance Committee report and work programme.

RESOLVED that the Committee:-

(a)  requests that the Council note the content of the report; and

(b)  approve the work programme for 2015/16, as set out in Appendix A to the report.

To consider a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the variation to the External Audit Final Fee 2013/14.

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on a variation to the External Audit Final Fee 2013/14.

The report was presented by Martin Young from Ernst & Young, External Auditors, and took questions from members.

RESOLVED that the Committee note the content of Appendix A to the report.

To consider a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the External Audit Certification Report.

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the external audit certification report.

The report was presented by Martin Young, from Ernst & Young External Auditors, who took questions from members.

Councillor Gregory enquired as to whether the introduction of Universal Credit will affect the audit process. The Director of Finance and Resources explained to the Committee that if the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) are to administer Universal Credit then the audit process will fall under their responsibility. He also explained that it is unknown at present which benefits will be retained by the Council, as not all benefits will fall under Universal Credit.

The Committee expressed their appreciation for the hard work undertaken by the Benefits team.

RESOLVED that the Committee note the information contained in the Annual Certification Report 2013-14 submitted by the Council’s external auditors.

To consider a report by the Director of Environmental Services on Business Continuity.

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Environmental Services on the Council’s business continuity plan.

The Head of Parking and Enforcement addressed the Committee and informed them that business continuity is taken very seriously, and reviews of all business continuity plans for all services will be conducted over the next year.

Councillor Gregory enquired as to whether there is flexibility within the plan as it could be that when an incident occurs more than one service could be affected. The Head of Parking and Enforcement confirmed that these things are taken into account when putting together a plan.

RESOLVED that the Committee notes the progress to date and the on-going work that is being undertaken in the development and implementation of the Council’s business continuity arrangements.

To consider a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the Internal Audit Strategy and Annual Plan.

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the Internal Audit Strategy and Annual Plan.

The Head of Audit and Assurance presented the report to the Panel and outlined the proposed changes to the Internal Audit Strategy and Annual Plan which will allow more wider audit work to be undertaken by the in house team whilst still using bought in resources to deliver the individual opinion work in order to maintain independence.

RESOLVED that the Internal Audit Strategy and draft plan for 2015/16, as attached as Appendix A and Appendix B to the report, be approved.

To consider a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the Quarterly Internal Audit Report.

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the quarterly internal audit report.

RESOLVED that the Committee note the progress of the Contractor Internal Audit Plan, attached as Appendix A to the report.

To consider a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on an update of the Corporate Risk Register.

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on an update of the Corporate Risk Register.

The Head of Audit and Assurance drew members’ attention to the 5 changes to the risk assessments as highlighted in paragraph 7 of the report.

RESOLVED that the Committee note the content of version 5 of the Corporate Risk Register attached as Appendix A to the report.

To consider a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the Office of Surveillance Commissioners Inspection Report 2014.

The Committee considered a report by the Director of Finance and Resources on the outcomes of a recent inspection by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners.

The Committee noted the extremely complimentary report received from the inspector, and noted that this was the third complementary report received in 3 consecutive inspections. Councillor Knight passed on his praise to the Head of Audit and Assurance for all of the hard work and co-operation that was provided to the inspector.

Members also discussed the option for additional training on RIPA (Regulatory of Investigatory Powers Act 2000), but many felt that it would be better to postpone the training until a further report on RIPA is brought to the Committee as it would be easier for members to put this into context.

RESOLVED that the Committee:-

(a)  note the content of the report; and

(b)  agreed to defer training on RIPA until another report on it is brought to the Committee.