Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received for the meeting from Councillors S Cowman, S Hirst and R Ray.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 April 2024 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest in respect of matters contained in the agenda.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interests.

There was no public participation.

Report of the Chief Executive enclosed

The Chief Executive submitted a report for Committee to consider the need for working groups under the remit of the Accounts and Audit Committee.

There were currently no active working groups.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve that there is currently no need for a working group under the remit of the Accounts and Audit Committee

The Director of Resources and Temp P/T Chief Executive submitted a report for Committee to consider the Local Code of Corporate Governance for 2024/25.

The Code was reviewed and approved annually by this committee and was the Council’s forward-looking statement of how the governance culture of the organisation will be driven. Within the framework there were seven core principles that looked to steer the application of good governance in everything that members and staff undertook by highlighting how their work on behalf of the council would be approached.

The document clearly communicated the key Governance principles and the expected ‘behaviours’ or culture that the CIPFA/Solace publication ‘Delivering Good Governance in Local Government’ would expect, and there was clear linkage to how such ‘behaviours’ or culture could be evidenced within the Council, principle by principle.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve the Local Code of Corporate Governance as attached to the report.

The Director of Resources and Temp P/T Chief Executive submitted a report providing an update to the Committee in respect of progress made in delivery against 2024/25 Internal Audit Plan. It brought attention to matters relevant to members of the Committee and it provided a summary of internal audit activity which was a requirement of the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS).

There were currently six audits where work of varying degrees was being undertaken. There had been one referral for investigation, which remained an open investigation. Progress and coverage on the audit plan had been good and had enabled a sound draft audit opinion to be formed in May 2024.

The Director of Resources and Temp P/T Chief Executive submitted a report for information providing the committee with:

·         An independent opinion on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the Council’s framework of governance, risk management and internal control

·         A summary of the internal audit work that supported the Opinion

·         Any impairments or restrictions in scope of work undertaken; and

·         The outcomes of the self-assessment that the audit work undertaken was in conformance with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS).

The overall opinion of the Internal Audit Manager for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 was “Substantial Assurance.”

The Director of Resources and Temp P/T Chief Executive submitted a report providing Committee with an update on progress of the production, publication, and external audit of the Statement of Accounts for 2023/24 and the Annual Governance Statement.

The Statement of Accounts (subject to audit) were made available on the website on 5 June 2024. The audited documents would be presented to Committee later in the year. Included in the report was a guide by Grant Thornton providing Members with a useful insight into the Statement of Accounts and Annual Governance Statement.

Grant Thornton presented their audit progress report, along with audit deliverables and a sector update. Initial planning work was undertaken for the 2023/24 audit in March 2024 with some work outstanding in relation to IT systems. The audit plan was submitted in April 2024. The year end audit was scheduled to be completed over the summer and would be reported to Committee in the Audit Findings Report in November 2024.

None.

There were no reports from representatives on outside bodies.

None.

There were no items under this heading.