Agenda

All Members present are required to declare, at this point in the meeting or as soon as possible thereafter:

(i)         any disclosable pecuniary interests and / or

(ii)        other interests arising under the Code of Conduct

in respect of any item(s) of business being considered at this meeting.

The Committee is asked to confirm as a true record the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 2^nd September 2026 (attached) and to authorise the Chair to sign them.

This report presents the proposed Finance Procedure Rules and the Procurement and Contract Procedure Rules to the Shadow Audit & Governance Committee for consideration and endorsement prior to inclusion in the draft Constitution for East Surrey Council.

Section 9P of the Local Government Act 2000 requires every local authority to prepare, maintain, and keep up to date a formal constitution. This document controls how the local council operates, makes decisions, and handles its governance. It is therefore essential that the unitary authority of East Surrey establish new Procedure Rules ahead of vesting day on 1st April 2027.

The Finance and the Procurement and Contract Procurement Rules (“the Rules”) importantly set out arrangements for how the council:

-       governs the manner in which the financial activity is conducted and its financial interests are safeguarded; and

-       authorises and manages expenditure and resulting commercial contracts with other organisations.

The purpose of this report is to set out the proposed approach to Risk Management for East Surrey Council (ESC) for consideration and approval.

This report sets out the minimum viable arrangements that enable ESC to have oversight of corporate risk (the most significant risks to the organisation in the delivery of its Council Strategy and priorities), to have awareness of corporate risks inherited from legacy councils, assurance that legacy council service risks are being managed effectively, and that risk escalation arrangements are in place. A suite of draft tools is provided that would enable the development of a Corporate Risk Register as organisational and governance arrangements develop.

Apart from the management of corporate risk and escalation arrangements, legacy councils would continue to operate according to their current risk management policies and frameworks post-vesting day.

Harmonisation of service risks, risk matrices, systems and other arrangements would take place post-vesting day as services and organisational structures stabilise. A comprehensive Risk Management Framework would be developed, including elements such as risk appetite and risk tolerance.

The recommendations in this report provide a proportionate and deliverable approach to risk management ahead of vesting day.

This report provides the East Surrey Shadow Audit & Governance Committee with a brief introduction to the role and purpose of internal audit, the committee’s responsibilities with regard to internal audit and a high level overview of how it is proposed these arrangements will work for East Surrey Council from 1 April 2027.

The Committee are also asked to agree to the proposal to provide a detailed and interactive workshop/training session for the committee, ahead of Vesting Day, covering all aspects of internal audit work.

The purpose of this report is to advise the Audit & Governance Committee of the 2026/27 retrospective annual complaints reporting approach for legacy councils following Vesting Day.

Annual complaints reports for the 2026/27 reporting year cannot be completed until after the legacy councils and their usual governance routes have ceased.

The Committee is asked to note that three statutory annual complaints reports will be produced for Housing, Adult Social Care and Children’s Social Care only. Historic Corporate complaints data will be retained for future reference, analysis and benchmarking.

The Committee is requested to note its forward work programme for 2026-27.