Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 1 - Epsom Town Hall

Contact: Democratic Services, 01372 732122  Email: democraticservices@epsom-ewell.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

11.

Question Time

To take any questions from members of the Public.

Please note: Members of the Public are requested to inform the Democratic Services Officer before the meeting begins if they wish to ask a verbal question to the Committee.

Minutes:

No questions were asked or had been submitted by members of the public.

12.

Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests in respect of any item of business to be considered at the meeting.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were made by Councillors in items on the agenda for this meeting.

13.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 88 KB

The Committee is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 25 June 2019 (attached) and to authorise the Chair to sign them.


Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 25 June 2019 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chairman.

14.

Internal Audit Progress Report pdf icon PDF 77 KB

This report summarises progress against the Audit Plan for 2019/20 and updates the Committee on the number of outstanding management actions from the 2018/19 and earlier audit programmes.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report summarising progress against the Audit Plan for 2019/20 and updating it on the number of outstanding management actions from the 2018/19 and earlier audit programmes.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Internal Audit Progress Report. The Committee was informed that this was the first Internal Audit Progress Report presented by the Council’s new Internal Auditor, Surrey Internal Audit Partnership (SIAP); the report took a new  style compared to reports of the previous auditor. Neil Pitman and Natalie Jerams were in attendance at the meeting as representatives of SIAP. The report noted the status of individual reports, progress made against the plan, summary of performance and any significant issues that would impact on the year-end opinion. The Committee noted that the report provided high level information on each audit, not the full management actions agreed from each audit. Section 4 of the report contained details of outstanding actions which had not been completed within the agreed timescale.

Members discussed whether full detail of management actions should be provided within the report in future. The Committee was informed that the Auditor’s report provided general assurance with regard to matters considered during their investigations, and that it was intended that only actions which had not been completed within the agreed timescale would be detailed.

In response to a question from a Member, the Internal Auditor informed the Committee that if issues were identified during an audit which could no longer be remedied, these would be recorded appropriately.

b)            Compliance with Public Sector Internal Audit Standards. The Committee noted that SIAP had been found to ‘generally conform’ with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards. Following a question from a Member, the Internal Auditor informed the Committee that this was the highest level attainable.

c)            Accounts Receivable Debt Management Audit. The Internal Auditor informed the Committee that they were confident that the management actions put in place would address the issues identified during the audit. The Committee was informed that the current outstanding balance was circa £900,000.

d)            Internal Audit Plan. The Committee was asked to note amendments to the Internal Audit Plan for 2019/20, as detailed in the Internal Auditor’s report. This approach was in line with CIPFA guidance.

Following consideration, it was resolved:

That the Committee:

(1)      Received the first internal audit progress report for 2019/20;

(2)      Noted the progress made in implementing management actions rolled forward from 2018/19.

 

15.

Annual Governance Statement and External Audit Findings pdf icon PDF 89 KB

This report sets out progress on the actions contained in the Council’s Annual Governance Statement and any in the Audit Findings issued by the External Auditor following the audit of the financial statements.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report setting out progress on the actions contained in the Council’s Annual Governance Statement and any in the Audit Findings issued by the External Auditor following the audit of the financial statements.

Following consideration, it was resolved:

 

(1)          That the Committee received the report on progress in implementing the Action Plan contained within the Annual Governance Statement.

 

16.

Risk Management Framework Annual Report pdf icon PDF 85 KB

This report enables the Committee to meet its responsibilities for monitoring the development of the Council’s risk management arrangements.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report enabling it to meet its responsibilities for monitoring the development of the Council’s risk management arrangements.

Following consideration, it was resolved:

 

That the Committee:

(1)      Had considered the contents of the report and confirmed that it was satisfied with the arrangements in place for risk management;

(2)      Had reviewed the Leadership Risk Register and not identified any risks which it wished to raise with the Leadership Team.

17.

Corporate Plan: Performance Report One 2019-20 pdf icon PDF 79 KB

This report provides an update on progress made against the Key Priority Targets 2019/20 as at Quarter 2.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report providing an update on progress made against the Key Priority Targets 2019/20 as at Quarter 2.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Position as at end of September 2019. The Committee noted that as at the end of Quarter 2 (September 2019), 15 targets had been achieved, 22 were Green, 13 were Amber and 1 was Red.

The report detailed that there was no data for 2 targets, due to issues relating to the validity of data for graffiti on Council owned land. The Committee was informed that there was the potential for multiple reports of the same graffiti instances, and that as a result it was not possible to accurately analyse the data.

b)            Progress toward targets. Following a question from a Member, the Committee was informed that progress toward achievement of targets was broadly similar to the same period in previous years. Officers anticipated that the number of targets at Amber or Red status would increase as the year progressed, as this had occurred in previous years.

c)            Setting of target dates. The Committee noted that all targets were set a date for completion. These dates were not amended in-year, providing a static benchmark for performance monitoring.

Following consideration, it was resolved:

That the Committee:

(1)      Noted the status of all 56 Key Priority Targets as at the end of Quarter 2;

(2)      Considered the update on those targets assigned red and amber status.

18.

Work Programme 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 73 KB

This report updates the Committee on its work programme 2019/20.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report updating it upon its work programme 2019/20.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Complaints Annual Report. The Committee was informed that this report had been removed from its work programme, as it would be presented to the Council’s Leadership Team in future due to changes in structure and process. It was noted that ombudsman complaints regarding the Council would continue to be included in the Annual Governance Statement presented to the Committee and Ombudsman’s Annual Letter to the Chairman.

Officers reminded the Committee that it could access and consider complaints information should it wish to when considering undertaking Scrutiny reviews.

Following consideration, it was resolved:

(1)      That the Committee noted the current position of its work programme 2019/20 attached at Annex 1.