Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Graham Dunn, Julia Berry and Alison Hansford, Gary Hall, and Peter Ripley (Independent Person).

To confirm the minutes of the Governance Committee meeting held on 12 September 2013 (enclosed)

RESOLVED - That subject to the following amendment the minutes of the Governance Committee meeting held on 12 September 2013 be confirmed as a correct record for signing by the Chair.

That the report on the Mobile Phone Review would not taken to the Member Support Working Group for information as indicated in the minutes, but be provided to Cllr Alison Hansford.  Dawn Highton confirmed that this was completed.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda.

If you have a pecuniary interest you must withdraw from the meeting. Normally you should leave the room before the business starts to be discussed. You do, however, have the same right to speak as a member of the public and may remain in the room to enable you to exercise that right and then leave immediately. In either case you must not seek to improperly influence a decision on the matter.

No declarations of any interest were received.

The Monitoring Officer will present a verbal report at the meeting.

The Head of Governance provided an update on RIPA.  There were no RIPA applications to report, however it was suggested that this would remain as a standing item on this agenda.

RESOLVED: That RIPA would remain as a standing item on this committee agenda.

Report of the Head of Governance (enclosed)

The Head of Governance submitted a report informing Members of a recent report from the Audit Commission addressing issues of fraud against local authorities and making recommendations as to improvements that Councils can make and to confirm to Members the actions Chorley Council take to address fraud.

In November the Audit Commission issued a report Protecting the Public Purse 2013: Fighting fraud against local government.  The report seeks to address the issue of fraud against local government and highlights areas of best practice.

Chorley Council is proactive in detecting fraud, and has robust procedures in place; taking part in the National Fraud Initiative since its inception.

It was recommended in order to safeguard the Council that the Chair and Vice chair should look at the procedures and reported back to the Governance Committee at its next meeting in March.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the report be noted

2.    That the Chair and Vice chair would meet with the Head of Governance to review the policies and processes and report back to the next Committee.

Report of the Head of Governance (enclosed)

The Head of Governance presented a report updating the Committee on the progress made in implementing the Council’s Annual Governance Statement which provides for improvements to the Council’s Governance arrangements.  The Committee approved the Councils Annual Governance Statement in June 2013, and this report provides a position statement for each project.

There is currently one project that is orange and two that are red, full reasons for this are reported within the report in the agenda.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Report of the External Auditor (enclosed).

The Committee received a report of our external auditor that provided a summary of the work carried out by them at Chorley Council for the year ended 31 March 2013.

The letter is intended to communicate key messages to the Council and external stakeholders, including members of the public.  The report includes the audit conclusions which were provided in relation to 2012/13.

The work on certification of grant claims is now completed and the detailed findings are reported in the Grant Certification report later on the agenda.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.

Report of the External Auditor (enclosed)

A report of the Council’s External Auditors, Grant Thornton was received by the Committee. As part of the work they undertake they are required to certify certain of the claims and returns submitted by Chorley Council.

The report summarises the overall assessment of the Council’s management arrangements in respect of the certification process and draws attention to significant matters in relation to individual claims.

There were two issues identified but not that affected the Councils ability to claim.  The level of supporting working papers was good, and the auditor thanked Council Officers for their assistance and co-operation.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Report of the External Auditor (enclosed)

The Committee received a report of Grant Thornton that provided progress made in delivering their responsibilities as our external auditors.

The report included a number of challenge questions in respect of any emerging issues which the Committee may wished to consider. The Committee asked if it was possible to have a summary of these questions answered in advance.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Report of the Head of Shared Assurance Services (enclosed)

The Head of Shared Assurance Services submitted a report advising Members of the work that had been undertaken in respect of the Internal Audit Plans for Chorley Council and Shared Financial Services for the period August 2013 to November 2013.

The report indicates that at this stage the Audit Plans are on target to be achieved and all performance indicators are on or exceeding target.  Five pieces of work have been completed and management actions have been agreed with Heads of Service. 

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.