Agenda, decisions and minutes

Audit and Corporate Governance Committee - Monday, 29 June 2009 9.30 a.m.

Venue: Monkfield Room, First Floor. View directions

Contact: Patrick Adams 01954 713408

Items
No.	Item
4.	Declarations of Interest View the background to item 4. Minutes: None.
5.	Minutes of Previous Meeting PDF 120 KB View the background to item 5. To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on 29 April and 21 May 2009, as a correct record. Additional documents: Minutes of Previous Meeting , item 5. PDF 12 KB Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 29 April 2009 were agreed as a correct record. The minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2009 were agreed as a correct record subject to the rearranging of the agenda items into the order they occurred. Number of audit days It was noted that the Chief Executive and Chris Harris had discussed how the trend of reducing the number of audit days carried out by Internal Audit could continue. Review of ICT Network Security It was noted that this would be received at a future meeting of the Committee.
6.	Approval of Statement of Accounts PDF 108 KB View the background to item 6. View the decision for item 6. Decision: The Corporate Governance Committee APPROVED the Statement of Accounts, subject to the following minor amendments: On page 21 the 7^th bullet point under the heading The Corporate Governance Committee was amended to read “To receive reports from the External Auditors”. On page 38, under the heading Cash Inflows the amount in column 2008/09 for Other Government Grants was increased by £683,065 to £2,467,402, whilst the amount in the same column for Cash received for goods and services was decreased by the same amount to £7,352,877. On page 38 the heading Revenue expenditure funded from capital under statute was moved to be under the heading Revenue Activities - Cash Outflows. On page 38 the heading Net cash inflow before financing was amended to read Net cash outflow before financing. On page 50 the figure for Sundry Debtors for 31 March 2008 was to be amended. On page 76 the heading Adjustment for 2006/07 was amended to Adjustment for previous year. The Committee requested that in future underspends should be in both percentage and absolute terms. Minutes: The Chief Executive introduced this report which sought the Committee’s approval of the Statement of Accounts and their confidence in the responsible financial officer. The Committee noted the following amendments to the Statement of Accounts: On page 21 the 7^th bullet point under the heading The Corporate Governance Committee was amended to read “To receive reports from the External Auditors”. On page 38, under the heading Cash Inflows the amount in column 2008/09 for Other Government Grants was increased by £683,065 to £2,467,402, whilst the amount in the same column for Cash received for goods and services was decreased by the same amount to £7,352,877. On page 38 the heading Revenue expenditure funded from capital under statute was moved to be under the heading Revenue Activities - Cash Outflows. On page 38 the heading Net cash inflow before financing was amended to read Net cash outflow before financing. On page 50 the figure for Sundry Debtors for 31 March 2008 was to be amended. On page 76 the heading Adjustment for 2006/07 was amended to Adjustment for previous year. Low Council Tax graph It was suggested that the graph on page 6 of the Accounts needed to be reconfigured to emphasise that the Council had the 7^th lowest Council tax in the Country. Increasing population It was noted that the Council relied on the 2001 census for its population figure and an increase of 33% by 2016 was projected. Housing Futures Project It was noted that the allocation of the cost to the General Fund on this project had increased from 39% of the total cost to 66%. This had resulted in a £61,000 underspend in the Housing Revenue Account. The Chief Accountant explained that there had been a fall in the value of the housing stock and this had lead to a deficit in the Housing Revenue Account. The Chief Executive added that there was currently £3.1 million in the balances on the HRA and that the minimum level had been increased to £1.5 million, due to uncertainties regarding the economic situation, the decline in capital receipts, rent arrears and the housing stock not being insured. Calculating overspends/underspends It was noted that overspends and underspends could be calculated from either the original or the revised estimate. It was suggested that the task and finish group could examine this. The Committee requested that in future underspends and overspends should be displayed in both percentage and absolute terms. Business Monitoring reports Councillor SM Edwards, Finance and Staffing portfolio holder, explained that quarterly Business Monitoring reports would help to ensure accurate financial monitoring. Concessionary Fares It was noted that there had been a £287,000 underspend on the concessionary fares scheme. Pensions It was noted that the employers’ contribution rate was due to increase from 17.5% in 2008/09 to 21.7% in 2010/11, although more conservative estimates on the pension fund’s investments suggested that the employers’ contribution rate would need to increase to 25-30% in the future. It was understood that the ... view the full minutes text for item 6.
7.	Corporate Governance Self Evaluation PDF 99 KB View the background to item 7. View the decision for item 7. Decision: The Committee confirmed the findings listed in this report and instructed officers to support them in achieving the improvements identified. A 30 minute planning session would be introduced before the start of all subsequent meetings of the Committee. Minutes: The Committee discussed the report which listed the findings of their self-evaluation process. The Committee confirmed the findings listed in this report and instructed officers to support them in achieving the improvements identified. A 30-minute planning session would be introduced before the start of all subsequent meetings of the Committee.
8.	Internal Audit Progress Report PDF 131 KB View the background to item 8. Minutes: Chris Harris presented this report to the Committee, which summaries the outcome of the work completed against the periodic internal audit plan for 2009/10. He explained that there had been no changes to the Audit Plan since the last meeting of the Committee. Management responses Chris Harris assured the Committee that he was not concerned that management responses were awaited for the audit on the IT Disaster Recovery Planning and Follow Up and it was expected that responses would be received by the next meeting of the Committee. The Committee NOTED the report.
9.	External Audit Report on Use of Resources: Update by Neil Gibson View the background to item 9. Minutes: Debbie Hanson, External Auditor, circulated a report on the new Use of Resources assessment, which would use different Key Lines of Enquiry than the previous system. The aim of the new assessment was to focus less on process and more on outcomes. It was understood that the Council was being assessed in three areas and that the Committee would receive feedback on this at their meeting in November. Concern was expressed by members of the Committee that this was a tougher assessment and the Council would not achieve the same grade of 3 as last year. It was also stated that it would have been helpful to have received an earlier notification on how the new assessment process differed from last year. The Committee NOTED the report.
10.	Local Government Ombudsman Annual Review PDF 160 KB Additional documents: CGC Ombudsman Report Appendix A , item 10. PDF 325 KB Minutes: The Chief Executive presented this report which summarised the Local Government Ombudsman’s annual review of 2008/09. The Committee noted that the Council’s response time of 37.5 days was an improvement on the previous year and it was expected that the trend would continue, as the authority attempted to achieve its target of 28 days. It was agreed that the Committee should receive an update on the Council’s performance in responding to complaints at its next meeting. The Committee NOTED the report.
11.	Risk Maturity Action Plan PDF 110 KB Additional documents: Risk Maturity Action Plan report to CGC 290609 Appx A , item 11. PDF 172 KB Minutes: The Chief Executive presented this report which detailed the progress on implementing the action plan resulting from Internal Audit’s risk review. It was noted that Internal Audit considered the Council to be a level below its own assessment. Chris Harris stated that it was inevitable that not all internal audit recommendations would be accepted by management. He hoped to report back on this subject at the Committee’s next meeting. The Committee NOTED the report.
12.	Financial Regulations PDF 73 KB View the background to item 12. View the decision for item 12. Decision: The Committee RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL That the post of Finance Project Officer be added to paragraph 6 (Operation of Bank Accounts) of the Financial Regulations with the Council’s Constitution. Minutes: The Chief Executive presented this report, which recommended that the Council’s Financial Regulations be amended to nominate an additional officer to authorise payments. It was noted that although the Constitution stated that both the Chief Finance Officer and Corporate Manager (Finance and Support Services) could authorise payments, both these roles would be the responsibility of the new Executive Director post and so the proposed recommendation was not increasing the number of post holders who could authorise payments. The Committee RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL That the post of Finance Project Officer be added to paragraph 6 (Operation of Bank Accounts) of the Financial Regulations with the Council’s Constitution.
13.	Strategic Risk Register PDF 183 KB View the background to item 13. View the decision for item 13. Additional documents: Strategic Risk Register report to CGC 290609 Appx A , item 13. PDF 202 KB Strategic Risk Register report to CGC 290609 Appx B , item 13. PDF 87 KB Strategic Risk Register report to CGC 290609 Appx C , item 13. PDF 261 KB Decision: The Committee APPROVED A) The strategic risk register, prioritisation matrix and action plans B) The actions being taken to achieve risk management targets Minutes: The Chief Executive presented this report, which enabled the Committee to carry out its quarterly reviews of the strategic risk register and action plans to address risks above the Council’s tolerance line and to consider the actions being taken to achieve risk management targets. Pandemic ‘flu The Chief Executive explained that following advice from Environmental Health Executive Management Team had decided to upgrade the risk of pandemic ‘flu from A4 to A1. It was noted that staff were being trained on how to cover other sections in the event of an increase in sickness and that the Council was prepared to provide strategic assistance in the event of a regional outbreak. The Committee considered downgrading the risk to either B1 or B2 in light of the mildness of the cases reported in Britain and that the ‘flu was likely to have less of an impact in the summer months. However, it was decided to accept the advice of the officers who were receiving daily updates on this particular risk. Housing services budgeting and staffing The Chief Executive explained that whilst this would obviously have an impact on the Housing Revenue Account it would also impact on the Capital programme of the General Fund, which would have to be reduced by £600,000. He defended the designation of A4 for this risk, as he was confident that the Housing Portfolio Holder would agree a plan to implement efficiencies and savings to mitigate the impact on services. Equalities and EU Services Directive The Chief Executive explained that whilst Executive Management Team hoped that both of the above risks would be downgraded in the future, the decision had been taken for them to remain at B2 and be monitored closely. Climate Change The Chief Executive explained that the Council needed to develop measures to safeguard its services against climate change. It was suggested that the Council should consider promoting peak oil. Fire The Chief Executive explained that robust procedures were in place to mitigate the risk fire posed to the Council’s services, both in terms of prevention and recovery. The Chairman requested an update at the next meeting of the Committee. The Committee APPROVED A) The strategic risk register, prioritisation matrix and action plans B) The actions being taken to achieve risk management targets
14.	Matters of Topical Interest View the background to item 14. Minutes: None.
15.	Date of Next Meeting View the background to item 15. Meetings have been arranged on the following dates: 30 September 2009 23 December 2009 6 January 2010 31 March 2010 All meetings to begin at 9:30am. Minutes: The Committee NOTED that the meeting was due to be held on 30 September 2009 at 9:30 am. There would be a briefing for Members at 9am.