Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 24 February 2021 as an accurate record.

[To Follow]

Due to late distribution, it was agreed that the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10 June 2021 be deferred to the next meeting.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct and the statutory provisions of the Localism Act, Members and co-opted Members of the Council are reminded that it is a requirement to register disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and gifts and hospitality to the value of which exceeds £50 or multiple gifts and/or instances of hospitality with a cumulative value of £50 or more when received from a single donor within a rolling twelve month period. In addition, Members and co-opted Members are reminded that unless their disclosable pecuniary interest is registered on the register of interests or is the subject of a pending notification to the Monitoring Officer, they are required to disclose those disclosable pecuniary interests at the meeting. This should be done by completing the Disclosure of Interest form and handing it to the Democratic Services representative at the start of the meeting. The Chair will then invite Members to make their disclosure orally at the commencement of Agenda item 3. Completed disclosure forms will be provided to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion on the Register of Members’ Interests.

No disclosures of interest were made.

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

There were no items of urgent business.

This report details the work completed by Internal Audit in 2020/21 and the overall level of assurance for the Council’s internal control environment to support the Annual Governance Statement (AGS).

The Committee received a report detailing the findings of the Head of Internal Audit’s Annual Report.

Simon Maddocks, Head of Internal Audit, introduced the report.

Following consideration, it was resolved that the Committee:

1.         Agreed to note the Head of Internal Audit Report 2020/21 and the overall Limited level of assurance of the Council’s systems of internal control.

This report details the conclusions and recommendations of the Redmond review and the responses from MHCLG on behalf of the Government.

The Committee received a report detailing the findings of the Redmond Review.

Simon Maddocks, Head of Internal Audit, introduced the report.

The following matters were raised by the Committee:

a)         Future of service: It was noted that the Committee had made positive change with regards to how it approached Governance issues

b)         Further progress: Following a question from a Member, the Officer confirmed that the National Audit Office had been asked to look at codes they had sent. The findings of these would be incorporated in the 2021 Audit. It was noted that consistent conversations were being had to ensure ongoing progress.

Following consideration, it was resolved that the Committee:

1.         Agreed to note the outcomes of the Redmond review.

An update on the Fairfield Halls investigation.

[To Follow]

The Committee received a verbal introduction from a representative of the Council’s Internal Auditor, Grant Thornton, highlighting that the Committee had asked for the audit findings report from the external auditor of Brick by Brick and this was not Grant Thornton and therefore this was not for Grant Thornton to provide.

An update on the Audit Findings for 2019/20.

[To Follow]

The Committee received a verbal update from a representative of the Council’s Internal Auditor Grant Thornton, highlighting that:

•           The Audit Team had recently recommenced work with the Finance Team

•           It was predicted that the Audit Findings report could be drafted once numbers had been ascertained, potentially towards the end of the month;

•           The draft report would go to Members once it was ready, and a meeting date would be secured with the Committee Chair.