Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

392.

Apologies and substitutions

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillor Cope, with the substitution of Councillor Bill authorised in accordance with council procedure rule 4.

393.

Minutes of previous meeting pdf icon PDF 35 KB

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting.

Minutes:

It was moved by Councillor Lynch, seconded by Councillor Richards and

 

RESOLVED – the minutes of the meeting held on 13 October 2016 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

394.

Declarations of interest

To receive verbally from members any disclosures which they are required to make in accordance with the Council’s code of conduct or in pursuance of Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. This is in addition to the need for such disclosure to be also given when the relevant matter is reached on the agenda.

Minutes:

No interests were declared at this stage.

395.

External Audit Plan pdf icon PDF 73 KB

Report of Ernst & Young LLP

Minutes:

Steve Clark and Avtar Sohal of Ernst & Young presented the external audit plan.

 

RESOLVED – the report be noted.

396.

Certification of claims and returns annual report 2015-16 pdf icon PDF 36 KB

Report of Ernst & Young LLP

Minutes:

Members gave consideration to the certification of claims and returns annual report for 2015-16. It was noted that, whilst there were small errors found, they were very minor and the outcome was positive.

 

RESOLVED – the report be noted.

397.

Internal Audit progress report pdf icon PDF 211 KB

Report of the Internal Auditor

Minutes:

Jodie Stead of PWC presented the internal audit progress report and outlined some changes to the plan. Members expressed concern that there continued to be overdue recommendations. In response it was explained that the majority of these were due to the system not having been updated rather than the actions not having been completed. Whilst it was acknowledged that work was being undertaken to rectify this and increase use of the system, members requested an update to the meeting on 22 June.

 

RESOLVED – the report be noted and an update in relation to outstanding recommendations be brought to the June meeting.

 

Councillor Taylor entered the meeting at 6.50pm.

398.

Internal Audit report - Garden Waste Charge pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Report of the Internal Auditor

Minutes:

The committee received a report on the audit of the garden waste scheme. It was noted that there were two low risk findings and the recommendations were that performance indicators were introduced and new process for creating and dispatching stickers be implemented. In relation to the second point, it was reported that this had already been acknowledged and was underway.

 

A member expressed concern that concessions were not available and that a compost bin was suggested as a cheaper alternative.

 

RESOLVED – the report be noted.

399.

Internal Audit report - Finance pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Report of the Internal Auditor

Minutes:

The internal audit report of the finance service was presented to members. Two risks were highlighted – the increase in retrospective purchase orders and invoices paid without purchase orders. In relation to the former, it was confirmed that there were no issues with authorisation and the percentage of retrospective orders was low. In relation to the latter, concern was expressed that invoices were still being paid without orders. It was explained that these were likely to be payments that were raised through other interfaces, for example the Orchard system, and therefore not put through the purchasing system. The internal auditor was unable to confirm due to not having the details at the meeting. It was agreed that internal audit would assist officers in analysing the detail of the invoices to be able to report back on the type and number of transactions that were being paid without a purchase order. It was agreed that this would be reported back to the June meeting.

 

RESOLVED – a report be brought back to the June meeting.

400.

Internal Audit report - partnerships pdf icon PDF 979 KB

Report of the Internal Auditor

Minutes:

The committee gave consideration to the internal audit report in relation to the ICT partnership. It was reported that the risks highlighted had been rectified in the new contract that had commenced in January.

 

RESOLVED – the report be noted.

401.

Internal Audit report - Revenue & Benefits partnership pdf icon PDF 1 MB

Report of the Internal Auditor

Minutes:

Members received the revenues & benefits partnership internal audit report.

 

RESOLVED – the report be noted.

402.

Audit Committee effectiveness pdf icon PDF 134 KB

To commence the annual review of the effectiveness of the Audit Committee.

Minutes:

In accordance with best practice and the commitment given to an annual review of the operation of the Audit Committee, members gave consideration to a report into the effectiveness of the committee. Members were asked to complete the checklist and return to the Democratic Services Officer by the end of March and an anonymous summary of these forms would be used as a basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the committee at the following meeting.