Agenda item

  3.1    Outstanding Matters

3.2  Use of Cash Payments across the Council

  3.14  Previous Priority One Recommendations

  3.17  Progress and new issues since the last meeting

  3.23  Value for Money (VfM)

3.26  Current Matters

3.27  New Priority One Recommendations

3.44  Officer expenses

3.47  Housing Benefit Update

3.50  Publicity of Housing Benefit cases

3.57  Housing Benefit - future proposals

3.67  Partnership Working

3.77  Risk Management 

Report DR10100

The Sub-Committee considered a report that informed Members of recent audit activity across the Council and provided updates on matters arising from the last Audit Sub Committee.  The following matters were raised in particular:

(a)  Use of cash payments across the Council

Members received an update on the use of purchase cards and pre-paid cards.  The Sub-Committee heard that the value of transaction on the cards was between £40 and £200.  The cards could be used for payments on travel, sundry items, hotel accommodation and internet purchases.  Members heard that there was a transparent process for monitoring usage of the cards with line managers, internal audit, corporate procurement and the finance department authorised to monitor the use of the cards.  Purchase cards were also paid every month which meant that no outstanding balance remained on the cards.

The Sub-Committee considered moving to an Oyster card based scheme for the pre-paid cards for young people leaving care.  Members felt that the use of Oyster cards would be a natural progression as young people would have experience of using Oyster cards.  The Head of Corporate Procurement stressed that young people were free to spend the money on the pre-paid cards as they wished.  The Director of Resources suggested that the use of Oyster cards would have to be explored further in the future.

The Sub-Committee were told that personalised cards would be rolled out from the end of January 2011.  In terms of the pre-paid cards for CYP a contractor had been appointed and the project would commence in January 2011.

The Head of Corporate Procurement stressed that the system of purchase cards would provide the Local Authority with better procurement intelligence and would provide all the information the Council needed in developing a procurement strategy.

RESOLVED that the Sub-Committee receive an update report on purchase cards and pre-paid cards in December 2011.

(b)  Previous Priority One Recommendations

(During consideration of this item Councillor Simon Fawthrop declared a personal interest as an employee of a utility company and the parent of a child in a Bromley school.)

(i)  Debtors

Referring to paragraph 3.16, Councillor Julian Grainger suggested that it would be helpful to have more detailed information on the debtors in each of the subsets listed in Appendix (i) as this would allow Members to have a clearer picture of whether debts were decreasing or increasing in each subset.  The Head of Benefits and Revenues responded that the detailed information was reported to the Executive and Resources PDS Committee but suggested that a more sophisticated data set could be provided to the PDS Committee in future.

Referring to Appendix (i) a Member asked what action had been taken to resolve the dispute between the school and department.  The Head of CYP Finance reported that the dispute related to fees due to the Property Division.  Following further investigation the Head of CP Finance would report back to the Sub-Committee.  Members also suggested that a report should be provided to the Children and Young People PDS Committee on school debts.

Members considered the issue of schools transferring to academy status and the Head of CYP Finance reported that as schools transferred to academies any outstanding debts owed to the Local Authority could be recovered.  During the process of the transfer to academy status the Local Authority would become a joint signatory on cheques and every effort would be made to recover debts at this time,

RESOLVED that a report outlining the issues of school debt be referred to the Children and Young People PDS Committee.

A Member noted that over half of the long term debtors were for residential care.  The Director of Resources explained that the biggest part of this long term debt was where charges were placed on properties and the Council was waiting for properties to be sold.  Members of the Sub-Committee suggested that this issue should be referred to the Adult and Community PDS Committee for further review.

RESOLVED that the Adult and Community PDS Committee should receive a report, including a breakdown of the ACS-General category for debts over a year old and should be asked to make recommendations on how to reduce the level of long-term debt.

(ii)  IT Disaster Recovery

A Member suggested that it would be prudent to have a disaster recovery plan for both LB Bromley and LB Lewisham.  The Director of Resources reported that this was currently being reviewed and a documented procedure would be implemented.

(iii)  Officers’ Expenses

A Member noted that expenses for subsistence within the CYP Department had increased.  The Head of CYP Finance reported that he would investigate and send an email to Members of the Sub-Committee outlining the reasons for the increase in the expenses.

Another Member suggested that it would be helpful to have details of the number of officers claiming the expenses as this would allow a more proportional view of the levels of expenses being taken.

(iv)  Housing Benefit Update

A Member asked if the Local Authority claimed all the legal costs.  The Deputy Chief of Audit reported that he believed that solicitor costs were recovered.  The Assistant Director (Audit and Technical) suggested that the Sub-Committee should be provided with a breakdown of the costs that are recovered in the next report.

RESOLVED that an update be provided at the next meeting and that Officers seek to recover all reasonable costs incurred in Housing Benefit prosecutions.

The Sub-Committee considered proposals for publicising to claimants the successes in prosecuting benefit fraud cases.  A number of proposals were considered such as including the latest press releases in letters sent to claimants.  Following discussion the Sub-Committee supported the idea of including logos highlighting the sanctions for benefit fraud and the number of people convicted of benefit fraud.  The Chairman suggested that Officers should be tasked with considering the comments made by the Sub-Committee and developing a proposal that could be reported to the next meeting.

Councillor Nicholas Bennett also requested that Members have sight of the forms sent to claimants.

RESOLVED that a proposal for advising claimants about benefit fraud prosecutions be presented to the Sub-Committee at the next meeting.

In considering the future government proposals for the investigation of benefit fraud Members of the Sub-Committee expressed grave concerns surrounding whether a centralised government department could be as effective in tackling benefit fraud as a local centre with local knowledge.  Members stressed the importance of local knowledge in combating fraud.

RESOLVED that:

(a) the Chairman write to the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of the Sub-Committee to outline Member’s concerns regarding the government’s proposals for the investigation of benefit fraud;

(b) the matters arising from the internal audit progress report be noted;

(c)  the breakdown for officer expenses be noted;

(d)  the continuing achievements of the counter fraud benefit partnership with Greenwich Council be noted; and

(c)  the success of partnership working with LB Greenwich be noted and referenced as a model for future such arrangements.