Agenda item

Report CSD16130

The Committee considered the final report of the Audit Sub-Committee on the refurbishment of Manorfields which outlined the findings of the review.

Manorfields was a former residential care home which had been converted into a temporary accommodation provision to enable the local authority to meet its statutory housing duties.  The original estimated cost of the necessary works had been £563,437, however a range of additional works had been identified during the refurbishment, including the replacement of the boiler and new fire doors, and it was now expected that the final cost of works would be approximately £798k.  At its meeting on 12^th January 2016, the Care Services PDS Committee requested that a number of issues identified around the refurbishment of Manorfields be considered by Audit Sub-Committee, particularly regarding the cost of the refurbishment.  The review had been undertaken by Audit Sub-Committee during Spring 2016 and the final report of the review was published on 1^st August 2016.

The review concluded that the investigation into the refurbishment of Manorfields had been difficult due to an inadequate audit trail to support the project, key decisions and variances.  Internal Audit had found that the Manorfields project was not robustly managed in terms of financial management and contract monitoring, and that there was a need for management to consider how to address several areas of weakness identified during the investigation.  As no tendering process was undertaken for this project, Internal Audit could not state that value for money had been achieved, but it was noted that the business case for Manorfields should still allow for significant savings to the Local Authority, despite any overspend on refurbishment works.

In considering the final report of the Audit Sub-Committee, Members generally discussed a range of concerns identified in the report.  In response to a question from a Member around what reassurance could be given that a similar situation could not happen again, the Chief Executive confirmed that lessons had been learned from the review and that the identified issues were been addressed at a corporate level, including the introduction of new processes and procedures based on best practice.  The actions taken included the restructuring of all contracts and the appointment of a Director of Commissioning.  The Chairman underlined the need to ensure that the new processes and procedures were followed.  The Chairman also noted that due to continued challenges around housing supply, the length of stay for residents of Manorfields was likely to be longer than initially envisaged and that this should be considered at a future meeting of the Care Services PDS Committee. 

A Ward Councillor was pleased to see that complaints in relation to the operation of Manorfields, including those for anti-social behaviour, were being addressed which would be reassuring for local residents and residents of Manorfields.

The Chairman requested that two reports be provided to the meeting of Care Services PDS Committee on 10^th January 2017.  These would comprise an evaluation of the service provided at Manorfields including occupation, quality of service and the impact on residents of Manorfields and in the local area, and a report following up on the recent audit findings and contract management and monitoring, including changes being made within the Local Authority to improve contract management and monitoring.

RESOLVED that Members’ comments on the final report of the Audit Sub-Committee on the refurbishment of Manorfields be noted.