Agenda item

Report CSD19020

The Annual Governance Statement (AGS) formed a part of the Council’s statutory accounts, and was coordinated by Internal Audit following CIPFA guidance. The AGS was approved by General Purposes and Licensing Committee each year alongside the annual accounts. Members received a copy of the final AGS for 2017/18 and were invited to provide comments at the start of the process for developing the AGS for 2018/19.

Members made the following comments –

Councillor Allen emphasised that it was important that senior posts were filled and not left vacant (page 3).

Councillor Allen commented that although a meeting had been held to consult with representatives of residents associations on budget priorities, there were no longer any similar meetings open to residents (Page 5). Officers responded that this consultation was now conducted primarily online, and Members commented on whether this was an effective way to consult, and on the cost of holding the public meetings.

Councillor Wells commented that he was pleased that the Constitution Improvement Working Group had recommended that the time allowed for public questions at Council meetings should be increased from fifteen minutes to thirty minutes, which improved transparency.

Councillor Wells stated that it was important that there was a culture where Internal Audit could do their work; he was concerned that there should be a process to ensure that Portfolio Holders addressed all Priority 1 audit recommendations. The Head of Audit explained that his Team always agreed an action plan with management to address all recommendations, which his Team followed up rigorously. This was now also tied in with the risk management process and managed more closely.

Councillor Tickner asked about the reference to “other key postholders” being able to fulfil their responsibilities in the final bullet point of Principle A (page 5). Officers responded that this was about senior officers being able and willing to raise concerns, and having an atmosphere and culture where this could happen. The Director of Corporate Services stated that he had never felt unable to give hard advice to Members or officers.

Councillor Bennett asked whether Internal Audit was free from political pressure. He suggested that Members should only be allowed to comment once Internal Audit reports were published and should explain their concerns. The Director of Corporate Services stated that he had not seen any evidence of undue political pressure; in fact, Members had considerable rights to free speech so any rules which attempted to restrict this could potentially be unlawful. The Head of Audit stated that his Team checked their reports very carefully for accuracy. He was not aware of recommendations being challenged by Members, and felt able to assert his independence. 

Councillor Tickner raised the issue of the Council supporting the voluntary/third sector (page 9). The Contracts and Commissioning Sub-Committee would be considering how the Council contracted with third sector organisations at a forthcoming meeting.

Councillor Wells suggested that the bullet point relating to key controls over systems and processes (page 13) should refer more specifically to the financial management system, the contracts database system and risk registers.

Councillor Tickner commented on the previous practice at Audit Sub-Committee where files of paper invoices were available once a year, and each Member could chose an invoice at random for investigation. The Head of Audit confirmed that all invoicing was now online, but sample checks were still carried out as part of regular audits on the payment system.

Councillor Stevens asked whether the Council had a complete list of its own buildings, and whether this was used to ensure that all assets were properly maintained. The Head of Audit confirmed that the Council did have this information, which was used, for example, for insurance purposes, and the Council ensured that fire risk assessments were carried out for all properties. 

RESOLVED that the Committee’s comments as set out above be considered in drawing up the 2018/19 Annual Governance Statement.