Agenda and minutes

Decision: The minutes were approved as a correct record.

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 interests were declared.

To receive and consider the report of the External Auditor, Grant Thornton.

Michel Green, Grant Thornton provided the verbal update to members.

The audit was unable to be completed prior to the end of March 2021. The majority of the audit work had been completed and there were no issues to report. Outstanding work was related to key valuations of land and buildings.

The purchase of Logistics House was a significant transaction for the Council. There was uncertainty with the arrangement of the property and its placement within the Wholly Owned Company which needed further precautionary legal and accounting checks.

Another factor to the delay was the valuation of assets. An independent valuer was commissioned as three material assets held by the Council were previously valued incorrectly.

The conclusion was unable to be completed as focus turned to the 20-21 audit. The 19-20 audit should be completed in July and findings brought to the Governance Committee at the earliest opportunity after completion.

Decision: The update was noted.

To receive and consider the report of the External Auditor, Grant Thornton.

Michael Green, Grant Thornton clarified that the Annual Audit Letter was published upon completion of the audit and presented to the Committee.

In response to a Member’s query about any changes to the costs due to the delays and Covid-19, Michael Green explained that there had been engagement with external experts, there would be further variation but discussions were ongoing with officers.

Decision: The update was noted.

A verbal update to be provided by Deputy Chief Finance Officer/Section 151 Officer.

Tony Furber, Principal Financial Accountant provided a verbal update to members.

He felt that it was unfortunate that the work could not be completed by the end of March but praised the efforts of officers to get so close. The gaps that formed due to the unprecedented nature of Covid-19 have now closed and although the 19-20 audit was still incomplete, good progress had been made with information for the 20-21.

Decision: The update was noted.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Governance.

Dawn Highton, Service Lead Audit and Risk provided an explanation of how the Risk Management strategy is one of the policies that underpin the Council’s governance framework. The Risk Management Strategy was last reviewed in 2018. The strategy laid out how the Council manages risk. The Council has a dedicated risk management system and after approval, training of the strategy would be offered to Officers.

Decision: The update was noted.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Governance.

Dave Whelan, Legal Services Team Leader advised that the purpose of the agenda item was to seek approval for the updated Code of Corporate Governance. There were no significant changes, but those changes made were designed to keep the Code up to date and reflect the structure of the Council.

Decision: The Updated Local Code of Corporate Governance was approved.

To receive and consider the report of the Director of Governance.

Dawn Highton explained that the Internal Audit Plan 2021- 2022 was a comprehensive risk review of services, and a vehicle for audit workload to be identified and prioritised.

The internal audit service had a turbulent year and a challenging plan for 21/22.  As a result, two additional auditors were being recruited in order to be able to deliver the plan.

There is confidence that the Council will be reaccredited with the ISO 9001 Quality Management System by the end of the calendar year.

Progress will be reported over the year, starting with the first progress report in September covering work completed between April and August, then January covering work between September and December and an annual report including all completed work for the year in May or June 2022.

Within the report there were performance indicators and targets to keep members informed regarding the progress made with the completion of the plan.

Dawn in response to a Question from Members confirmed that Covid-19 may impact upon the delivery of the plan if officers remain involved with the response.

Decision: The report was noted.

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

No RIPA Applications were made.

To receive and consider the work programme for the Committee.

Decision: The work programme was noted