Issue - meetings

To present a report on the management responses to the External Auditor’s recommendations as requested at the March 2025 A&S committee.

The Committee received a report presenting the management responses to the External Auditor’s recommendations as requested at the March 2025 A&S committee.

The following matters were considered:

Councillor Lawrence gave a verbal statement to the Committee.

a)             Publishing Urgent Decisions. The Chief Executive acknowledged  that there had been confusion on occasion regarding the publishing of urgent decisions and that often the delay had been caused by human error, where the initiating officer believed the authorising officer would publish the decision and vice versa. The Strategic Leadership team have taken notice of that issue and clarified the urgent decision process so it is clear what process should be followed and to ensure that the same mistakes aren’t made in the future. She also highlighted that there is a difference between an urgent decision and an urgent matter, which may take the form of a late paper being added to an agenda following publication.

b)             Report changes. The Chair asked what changes have been made to the report in comparison to the one presented to the Committee in July. The Director of Corporate Services (S151) explained that both reports reaffirm SLT’s commitment to transparency. He highlighted that there is an explanation in the report regarding the use of exempt items and ensuring items are only made exempt where legally necessary and all other reports are discussed and received in public. He informed the Committee that both reports reference the LGA peer review and the external audit findings and make clear that any issues raised will be revisited in the next audit cycle.  The September report includes additional reflections and actions following further internal consideration and recognises the discussions that happened at the Audit and Scrutiny Committee in July.  The September report highlights that restricted reports and agenda items are placed at the end of the agenda, to minimise disruption to public attendees and viewers and to ensure that all of the agenda that can be discussed in public is held in the public session. The September report has added a comment about regular catch ups with external auditors throughout the year, which have been scheduled to ensure timely communication on key matters. The September report also acknowledges the rationale for exempt items and recognises that sometimes it isn’t always clear as to why an item is exempt, so it is the intention and plan going forwards to ensure that it is always made clear why an item is exempt, both to Councillors and Members of the Public. The September report also welcomes external audit to commence a review of historic exempt reports for assurance and refers to training session for councillors and staff on the decision-making process. The September report also acknowledges that the issue under review should have been flagged earlier to auditors and confirms that regular meetings have now been scheduled to prevent reoccurrence. The Chair thanked officers and raised that this report is the response of a valid check and challenge from the committee.

c)             Restricted reports. A  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22