Agenda and minutes

Apologies were submitted on behalf of Councillor Hodgkins.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Finance Audit & Performance Committee held on 23 February 2015.

It was moved by Councillor Morrell, seconded by Councillor Moore and

RESOLVED – the minutes of the meeting held on 23 February be confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

No interests were declared at this stage.

Report of CW Audit.

The committee received the latest Internal Audit progress report. During discussion, the following points were raised:

·         The intention to annually review housing applications

·         The number of applicants on the housing waiting list (it was agreed that a response to this would be sought)

·         The intention not to replace the Asset Maintenance Surveyor in Housing Repairs, but to integrate the post within the Housing Investment Manager role, which had been recently recruited. A further review of this was requested in 6-8 months.

The Internal Auditor reported that the Housing service had recently undergone a restructure and in light of that, he felt the outcome of the audit was positive.

RESOLVED – the report be noted and a further report on Housing Repairs be brought to the December meeting of the committee.

Report of CW Audit.

Members received the 2014/15 Annual Internal Audit Plan which summarised the work of Internal Audit for 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 and gave an opinion on internal control of “significant assurance”.

RESOLVED – the report be noted.

Report of PWC.

Members received an update from PwC, the Council’s external auditor, in light of PwC being appointed as internal auditor for the authority. It was explained that, until PwC had finished its external audit work, they would be unable to take on the role of Head of Internal Audit, so this would be held by the Chief Officer until the conclusion of the 2014/15 audit (end of September 2015). Members were assured, however, that the internal audit team was an entirely separate team to that undertaking the external audit role and that no reliance would be placed on the work of internal audit by external audit.

Report of the Head of Internal Audit.

Members were introduced to a member of the future internal audit team from PwC, who explained how they would operate, the technology they would use in undertaking internal audit work and the relationship they would have with the committee. It was noted that the final audit plan would be brought to the next meeting and members were encouraged to communicate any views on the plan to the internal auditor or chief officer in the meantime.

RESOLVED – the draft internal audit plan for 2015/16 be noted.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Corporate Direction).

The committee received the year to date position on performance indicators, benchmarking, service improvement plans and corporate and service area risks. It was reported that five indicators were predicted not to meet target by the end of the year.

A member queried what action was being taken to address the below target number of disabled employees. In response it was stated that this target was not within our control but that disabled applicants were offered an interview so as much as possible was done to enable employment of disabled people. Officers agreed to provide members with a definition of what constituted a ‘disability’.

In relation to sickness absence, whilst it was acknowledged that our position was good, members asked how others had achieved a lower rate of absence. In response members were informed that the Absence Management Framework was being reviewed and that other authorities would be contacted as part of that work.

With regard to performance relating to residual household waste and recycling, a member asked how performance had been affected since the changes to the recyclable materials that could be collected had been implemented. In response it was noted that the authority’s performance in these areas was actually improving.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Community Direction).

As part of its programme of service reviews, the committee gave consideration to a review of Cultural Services. During discussion, the following points were made:

·         The construction of the new leisure centre was on schedule

·         There had been an increase in resident satisfaction with the quality of sports facilities

·         There had been a decrease in casual swimming participation in line with the national trend.

RESOLVED – the report be noted.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Corporate Direction).

Further to a request at the previous meeting, a report was presented which provide an update on action plans. It was noted that targets had been exceeded for most performance indicators.

RESOLVED – the report be noted.

Verbal update in response to request at previous meeting.

Following a request at the previous meeting, members received a verbal update on section 106 debts. It was noted that there were six debts that were over 120 days old, amounting to circa £98,000. Due to the possibility that land and therefore liability may have been transferred following development, the legal team was having to go through each case individually prior to issuing a final notice.

To consider the passing of a resolution under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 excluding the public from the undermentioned item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 6 and 10 of Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act.

On the motion of Councillor Camamile seconded by Councillor Moore, it was

RESOLVED – in accordance with section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1, 6 and 10 of Part I of Schedule 12A of that Act.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Corporate Direction).

Members received an update against recommendations arising from the Audit Commission’s “Protecting the Public Purse” publication and the proposals regarding the provision of corporate fraud services. It was reported that all actions in the checklist had been implemented and would therefore not be included in future updates. An update on cases logged on the corporate fraud register and the initial outcomes of the latest “National Fraud Initiative” exercise were also presented to members.

RESOLVED – the report be noted.