Accessibility settings

In order to remember your preferences as you navigate through the site, a cookie will be set.

Color preference

Text size

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Tewkesbury Borough Council Offices, Severn Room

Contact: Democratic Services Tel: 01684 272021  Email:  Democraticservices@tewkesbury.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

28.

Announcements

When the continuous alarm sounds you must evacuate the building by the nearest available fire exit. Members and visitors should proceed to the visitors’ car park at the front of the building and await further instructions (staff should proceed to their usual assembly point). Please do not re-enter the building unless instructed to do so.

 

In the event of a fire any person with a disability should be assisted in leaving the building.

Minutes:

28.1          The evacuation procedure, as noted on the Agenda, was taken as read.

28.2          The Chair welcomed the Engagement Lead from Grant Thornton, and the Counter Fraud Manager from the Counter Fraud Unit, to the meeting.

29.

Apologies for Absence and Substitutions

To receive apologies for absence and advise of any substitutions. 

Minutes:

29.1          Apologies for absence were received from Councillors K J Cromwell, S E Hillier-Richardson and V D Smith.  Councillor R E Allen would be acting as a substitute for the meeting. 

30.

Declarations of Interest

Pursuant to the adoption by the Council on 26 June 2012 of the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct, effective from 1 July 2012, as set out in Minute No. CL.34, Members are invited to declare any interest they may have in the business set out on the Agenda to which the approved Code applies.

Minutes:

30.1          The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 26 June 2012 and took effect from 1 July 2012.

30.2          There were no declarations made on this occasion.

31.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 141 KB

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2018.

Minutes:

31.1          The Minutes of the meeting held on 19 September 2018, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair. 

32.

Audit Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 243 KB

To consider the Audit Committee Work Programme.  

Minutes:

32.1           Attention was drawn to the Audit Committee Work Programme, circulated at Pages No. 8-14, which Members were asked to consider.

32.2           The Head of Corporate Services advised that the Corporate Risk Register would be considered at each Committee meeting going forward and the Work Programme had been updated accordingly.  It was

RESOLVED          That the Audit Committee Work Programme be NOTED.  

33.

External Auditor's Progress Report pdf icon PDF 486 KB

To consider the external auditor’s report on progress against planned outputs.

Minutes:

33.1           Attention was drawn to the external auditor’s progress report, circulated at Pages No. 15-26, which set out the progress that had been made in relation to the audit plan, together with any emerging national issues and developments that might be relevant to the Borough Council.  Members were asked to consider the report.

33.2           The Engagement Lead from Grant Thornton explained that, at the time of writing, work on the housing benefit return was being finalised for submission to the Department for Work and Pensions and she was pleased to report that had been completed by the deadline; this officially brought the 2017/18 audit work to a close.  In terms of 2018/19, Grant Thornton would continue to engage with Officers to help inform the risk assessment ready for next year.  An interim audit was scheduled for February 2019 and the audit plan would be brought to the next Audit Committee meeting in March.  There had been some changes to the accounting standards which would need to be discussed with Officers in terms of their impacts.  A debrief on the 2017/18 audit had taken place earlier that week which had been a good opportunity to consider the audit from the perspective of both the external auditors and the Council and look at what could be done differently going forward.  The remainder of the report comprised sector updates and relevant publications for information.

33.3           A Member was interested to know what extra work was anticipated as a result of Universal Credit and how this impacted on future plans.  The Engagement Lead indicated that the two key areas for which Grant Thornton had responsibility were the accounts - and how they flowed to the financial statements - and the housing benefit work.  They were still working through the specifics to try to understand Universal Credit in the context of the accounts; the external auditors were principally interested in whether the accounts showed a fair and true reflection of the income and expenditure of an authority, but it was too early to say what the direct response would be.  She provided assurance that Grant Thornton would advise Members as more information became available. 

33.4           A Member queried whether the impact of the changes in respect of the accounting standards would be financial or in relation to time.  The Engagement Lead confirmed that the timeframe for preparing the accounts had not changed but there had been changes to two of the significant accounting standards around the recognition of income and, specifically, in terms of the financial instruments – there would be more requirements and changes in terms of local authority investments as the standards tried to give more transparency about debts.  The Head of Finance and Asset Management reassured Members that the Finance Team was aware of the changes and did not foresee any problems with the accounts going forward.

33.5           It was

                  RESOLVED          That the external auditor’s progress report be NOTED.

34.

Counter Fraud Unit Report pdf icon PDF 216 KB

To consider the six monthly update from the Counter Fraud Unit.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

34.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Finance and Asset Management, circulated at Pages No. 27-32, which provided assurance over the counter fraud activities of the Council.  Members were asked to consider the six monthly update from the Counter Fraud Unit and make comments as necessary.

34.2           The Counter Fraud Manager drew attention to the 2018/19 work plan, attached at Appendix 1, which gave an overview of the work being carried out.  She explained that a full review of the housing list had been undertaken to ensure people had been included in the correct bands and this would become an annual piece of work for the Counter Fraud Unit to deliver across the county.  Whilst undertaking this, the Counter Fraud Unit had also processed the related National Fraud Initiative anomalies which had resulted in 44 applications being removed from the waiting list and one banding change.  She went on to advise that, from September 2018, the Counter Fraud Unit had been tasked with undertaking the investigation of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and updates would be provided as this was rolled out.  One significant piece of work was the full review of the rating list; this was quite onerous in terms of going out and looking at properties but it was considered to be worthwhile and would be recommended to other Councils.  She went on to advise that, following a move away from joint working with the transfer of housing benefit investigation, the Counter Fraud Unit was working with the Department for Work and Pensions again in recognition of a disconnect with the Council Tax Reduction Scheme which had gone live on 26 November 2018 and there would now be a joint investigation of housing benefit, Universal Credit and the Council Tax Reduction Scheme.  She hoped that more work could be undertaken with other departments within the Council next year.

34.3          In respect of investigating fraud, a Member queried whether the Counter Fraud Unit was proactive in seeking it out, or whether it reacted to staff suspicions of anomalies, and the Counter Fraud Manager confirmed that it did both – it was able to take referrals and also worked to a list of tasks set for the year.  In response to a query regarding the verification of the housing list, Members were advised that it was very difficult to establish norms as it related to people and where they wanted to be housed.  This meant that the list was as good as it could be at that particular point in time; notwithstanding this, there was a requirement to look at the process and to make improvements through data sharing to ensure that everyone got what they were entitled to.  The Head of Corporate Services made the point that it was not just down to the Counter Fraud Team to identify fraud so it was important that skills were transferred to the Housing Team in order for incidents to be recognised from the outset.  It was to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

35.

Local Authority Serious and Organised Crime Checklist pdf icon PDF 145 KB

To consider the completed Serious and Organised Crime Checklist and the action plan arising from the checklist.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

35.1          The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 33-54, asked Members to consider the completed Serious and Organised Crime Checklist and the action plan arising from the checklist.

35.2          The Head of Corporate Services explained that public sector procurement was vulnerable to infiltration from serious and organised crime groups as there were multiple opportunities for exploitation.  In order to better understand the nature and scale of the threat in England, joint pilot work had been undertaken by local authorities and police forces in seven areas and, as a result, ten links had been identified between publicly procured services and organised crime.  One of the actions identified to help tackle this threat and reduce vulnerability was using the Serious and Organised Crime Checklist which enabled authorities to assess the risks within their organisations.  The checklist for Tewkesbury Borough, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, asked a number of key questions and had been completed by Senior Officers across various services together with the Counter Fraud Unit.  One area identified as needing improvement related to general awareness training for staff involved in purchasing and this was included in the arising action plan, attached at Appendix 2 to the report. 

35.3          Members were advised that Appendix 3 to the report set out a framework for an audit on serious organised crime and covered areas such as procurement, Human Resources and good governance.  The Internal Audit Team and Counter Fraud Unit would review these activities and a number of days had been allocated in their respective work plans to commence this work.  As with all audit work, the findings would be reported to the Audit Committee.  A Member queried how many days had been allocated for the audit and whether there was adequate time to carry out the work.  The Head of Corporate Services advised that Page No. 48 of the report set out the areas the Internal Audit Team was concentrating on and he confirmed that 15 days had been allocated within the current Six Month Audit Plan; these were mainly around Human Resources activities with the remainder of actions being covered over the course of three or four Audit Plans through joint working with the Counter Fraud Unit.

35.4           With regard to the Serious and Organised Crime Action Plan, a Member noted that this centred around things which could occur within the authority and he questioned the extent to which the Council was involved in fraudulent activity outside, for example within small businesses, and whether any work was done with Trading Standards.  The Counter Fraud Unit Manager confirmed that the Counter Fraud Unit had a Memorandum of Understanding with Trading Standards.  She made reference to a case involving modern slavery which was linked to a planning  issue, where a large number of caravans were located on a site, which highlighted the importance of raising awareness with staff, particularly those who were frequently out on site - such as Planning Enforcement, Environmental Health and Housing Officers -  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35.

36.

Internal Audit Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 126 KB

To consider the Internal Audit work undertaken and the assurance given on the adequacy of internal controls operating in the systems audited.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

36.1          The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 55-83, detailed the findings of Internal Audit for the period September-November 2018.  Members were asked to consider the audit work completed and the assurance given on the adequacy of the internal controls operating within the systems audited.

36.2          Members were advised that full details of the work undertaken were attached at Appendix 1 to the report.  An audit of financials e-ordering had been carried out following the introduction of this new purchasing module which had replaced the paper purchase orders that had been used on an ad-hoc basis.  The system had been rolled out to all services and Internal Audit had checked how well it was managed.  Overall, there was a satisfactory level of control and the authorisation level in the system was correctly inputted. One area for improvement had been identified as a number of orders were being raised at the point when the final invoice was received; orders should be raised at the point of the order so it could be reflected in the appropriate budget.  All users had received training on the module but it would be necessary for more targeted training and a further recommendation had also been made around monitoring.  The Head of Corporate Services went on to confirm that departments were required to set-up their own suppliers with supporting evidence which required validation and authorisation from a member of the Finance Team prior to any payments being made in order to mitigate risk of fraud.  A recommendation had been made around Disabled Facilities Grants as there was currently no record of commitment maintained by the service to see what was left in the budget.  Members were advised there was adequate separation of duties within the invoices sampled; however, it had been identified that, as the Finance Team processed invoices for payment, there was potential that the same Officer could raise a purchase order, goods receipt and process the payment without checks or validation from another Officer.  This was considered to be low risk and verbal assurance had been given that two Officers were always involved in the process; notwithstanding this, it was recommended that a monthly report of all purchase orders raised within Financial Services be reviewed and signed-off by the Finance Manager to confirm payments were genuine.  A Member queried what supporting evidence was required in order to set-up a new supplier and was advised that it was necessary to validate that it was an official supplier so it would usually be headed notepaper from the supplier; the information was not taken at face value so additional checks would be carried out, for example, a second source would be used to check the contact telephone number etc.  The Internal Auditor confirmed that, once the supplier information had been entered into the system, this went to the Finance Team to review the bank account details.

36.3           Members were informed that an audit had also been carried out of Adelante, the Council’s  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

37.

Risk Management Strategy and Corporate Risk Register pdf icon PDF 94 KB

To consider the updated Risk Management Strategy and recommend it to the Executive Committee for approval; and to consider the risks and mitigating controls within the corporate risk register.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

37.1          Attention was drawn to the report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 84-112, which attached the updated Risk Management Strategy and the Corporate Risk Register.  Members were asked to consider the Risk Management Strategy and recommend it to the Executive Committee for approval and to consider the risks and mitigating controls within the corporate risk register.

37.2           The Head of Corporate Services explained that the Risk Management Strategy, attached at Appendix 1 to the report, formalised the Council’s risk management arrangements and had been written to provide guidance on how corporate risks and projects could be evaluated and scored on a consistent basis.  The strategy was proportionate to the size and needs of the Council and the key element was the reinstatement of the Corporate Risk Register, a high-level tool to demonstrate risks and control measures in a concise manner.  The scoring within the Corporate Risk Register was based around three stages: gross risk score – the inherent risk without any mitigating controls in place; current risk score – the assessed risk after the application of controls; and target risk score – the proposed risk score by applying future controls if the current risk score was deemed to be too high.  Internal Audit work would support the integrity of the register in ensuring that risks were being effectively managed and would give assurance in terms of whether the register was complete and if the controls detailed within it were in place and working effectively.  The register would be a live document which would be taken to Management Team on a monthly basis and would be a regular item on Audit Committee Agenda going forward.

37.3          Members expressed the view that the Risk Management Strategy was justified and agreed that the Corporate Risk Register was a useful tool.  It was subsequently

RESOLVED          1. That it be RECOMMENDED TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE that the Risk Management Strategy be APPROVED.

2.That the risks and mitigating controls within the Corporate Risk Register be NOTED.

38.

Monitoring of Significant Governance Issues pdf icon PDF 123 KB

To consider the monitoring report on the Significant Governance Issues identified in the Annual Governance Statement and to review progress against the actions.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

38.1          The report of the Borough Solicitor, circulated at Pages No. 113-120, set out the Significant Governance Issues and the action to be taken to address them as identified in the Council’s Annual Governance Statement.  Members were asked to consider the progress made against those issues.

38.2          Members were advised that the table set out at Appendix 1 to the report comprised the Significant Governance Issues and the proposed actions and timescale for completion, with a further column indicating the progress as at 30 November 2018.  The Borough Solicitor indicated that there had been movement on all actions and all would be completed within the financial year.  It was

RESOLVED          That progress against the Significant Governance Issues identified in the Council’s Annual Governance Statement be NOTED.