Agenda and minutes

Councillors Raymond Graham and Richard Lewis declared Personal Interests in Agenda Item 12 – Oral Update on the Corporate Services & Partnerships Policy Overview Committee review into the Effectiveness of the Audit Committee and its Terms of Reference, as both Members were Members of the Corporate Services & Partnerships Policy Overview Committee. They both remained in the room and took part in discussions on the item.

Councillor George Cooper declared a Personal Interest in Agenda Item 6 – Internal Audit Progress Report as he was a Governor of St Mary’s Catholic Primary School. He remained in the room and took part in discussions on the item.

Councillors Raymond Graham, Paul Harmsworth and Richard Lewis all declared Personal Interests in Agenda Item 6 – Internal Audit Progress Report as they were all Members of the Pensions Committee. They all remained in the room and took part in discussions on the item.

Agreed as accurate records.

To confirm that all items marked Part I will be considered in public and that any items marked Part II will be considered in private.

It was agreed that Agenda Item 16 – Internal Audit Progress Report which was in Part II of the Agenda be considered in private. The rest of the Agenda was considered in public.

Members were provided with an update on the preparation on the Annual Governance Statement which was last reported at the last meeting of the Committee. The Head of Policy, Performance and Partnerships reported that steady progress had been made to deliver the key components which fed into the draft AGS.

These included updating the evidence and collecting cross-Council assurance statements. The Council was on schedule to publish the AGS alongside the Statement of Accounts in September 2012.

The Head of Audit & Enforcement referred to the monitoring and control of some construction projects which had been identified in the 2010-11 AGS as having some historic weaknesses. She said she would provide an update on this at the next meeting of the Committee.

Reference was made to the significant governance issues for 2011/12 which were identified in paragraph 5 of the statement. These would be addressed in the coming year to enhance the Council’s governance arrangements.

Reference was made to paragraph 3.2 of the statement and the governance arrangements of the Council. Members were informed that the arrangements for the Standards Committee would change in July 2012 to reflect the new ethical framework for Members, introduced by the Localism Act 2011.

The Chairman drew Members’ attention to the section on the Members training programme and that the Council had in place a comprehensive induction and training programme for elected councillors along with specific training on risk, scrutiny, planning and licensing rules. This was welcomed.

Reference was made to paragraph 4.2 and the role and responsibilities of the S151 Officer. The Deputy Director of Finance informed the Committee that as S151 Officer, although he reported to the Deputy Chief Executive & Corporate Director for Central Services, he had full access to the Chief Executive and the Cabinet.

A point was raised in relation to the Council’s policy on Elective Home Education and whether there were any concerns regarding this. The Head of Policy, Performance & Partnerships undertook to get back to the Member who raised this. 

RESOLVED –

1. That the draft AGS and the comments and views made, be noted.  

The Head of Audit and Enforcement provided Members with a summary of Internal Audit activity in the period from 20 February 2012 to 31 May 2012.

One audit in the current report had received limited assurance, nine had received Satisfactory Assurance, of which three were school audits, and six received Full Assurance of which three were school audits.

The following issues were raised by Members:

·        Internal Audit – Resources – Reference was made to the vacant School’s Auditor post. The Head of Audit & Enforcement reported that the recruitment process was already underway for this post and there would be no impact on operations.

·        Audits of a sample of establishments (day centres) - The Head of Audit & Enforcement reported that these were planned to be undertaken for 2012/13.

·        Hillingdon Grid for Learning – It was noted that an audit of the service would be carried out in 2012/13.

·        Utilities – Water Management – The Committee noted the management response to the audit findings.

·        Capita Online Payment System – The Committee noted that the actions required in the two high risk areas had now been implemented. 

·        HR Payroll Changes and Trigger Dates – The Committee noted management comments on this audit.

·        Investigation 56 – The Head of Audit & Enforcement would provide Members with an update on this investigation.

·        Greenwich Leisure Contract – The Head of Audit & Enforcement provided Members with an update of this issue which had been raised at the last meeting. The implementation date for the outstanding actions had been pushed back till November 2012 and these were being progressed.

·        Fleet Management – The Head of Audit & Enforcement provided Members with an update of this issue which had been raised at the last meeting. There was only one outstanding action and she was satisfied that this would be implemented.

·        Fuel at Harlington Road Deport – The Head of Audit & Enforcement updated Members with this audit and reported that all outstanding recommendations would be implemented by July 2012.

·        Deansfield – The Head of Audit & Enforcement would update Members at the next meeting of the Committee on progress on the outstanding recommendations from the audit.

·        CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme -   The Head of Audit & Enforcement would update Members at the next meeting of the Committee on progress on the outstanding recommendations from the audit.

·        Records Management - The Head of Audit & Enforcement would update Members at the next meeting of the Committee on progress on the outstanding recommendations from the audit.

·        Glebe Primary – The Head of Audit & Enforcement would check on the date that this audit was finalised and update Members at the next meeting of the Committee.

·        Fusion Management Contract - The Head of Audit & Enforcement would update Members at the next meeting of the Committee on progress on the outstanding recommendations from the audit but she believed that all outstanding recommendations had been implemented.

The Committee noted the significant achievement that all the audit recommendations for 2007-08 and 2008-09 had now been implemented. 

RESOLVED -

1. That the in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Members were provided with a report from the Head of Audit & Enforcement which supported the Annual Governance Statement. The report included the following:-

• An opinion on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the organisation’s control environment
• Disclosure of any qualifications to that opinion
• A summary of the audit work from which the opinion was derived
• Issues relevant to the Annual Governance Statement
• Comments on compliance with standards and the results of the internal audit quality assurance programme.

RESOLVED:

1. That the audit opinion and the evidence on which it was based be noted.

Members were reminded that the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2011 required that the Council annually conducted a review of its Internal Audit function.

The Committee was informed that this year’s review had been carried out by the Head of Audit of the City of London. In addition he assessed the Head of Audit & Enforcement role against the standards set out in the CIPFA document, ‘The Role of the Head of Audit in Public Sector Organisations’ which had been issued in 2011.

The audit service was found to be largely compliant, apart from exceptions already noted by the Committee. There were two minor recommendations which were made as points of good practice.

Reference was made to the recommendation made in relation to the Internal Audit function potentially having a wider role in the delivery of the BID transformation programme. The Deputy Director of Finance reported that discussions had taken place with both the Chief Executive and Deputy Chief Executive regarding this and both were of the view that although Internal Audit should continue to have full oversight of the transformation programme they should not be routinely involved in the delivery of the programme itself. This was partly because they would not have the capacity to do so and it would take valuable Internal Audit resource away from other priorities but also so that they could remain independent of the programme which would be important when they came to audit revised operations following BID reviews." 

The Committee also noted that the Head of Audit & Enforcement was no longer responsible for planning enforcement.  

RESOLVED -

1.      That the Annual Review of Internal Audit report be noted     and the Head of Audit at the City of London be written to, thanking him for his work and his assessment.

Consideration was given to a report which provided details of the Corporate Fraud Manager’s Risk Assessment and Work Plan.

Reference was made to the Department of Works and Pensions intention to form a Single Fraud Investigation Service, and this report provided officers with an opportunity to provide transparency over inputs and outputs, which would help the Council focus its resources in the future. 

Reference was made to a recent article in The Financial Times relating to a pension fraud and Members asked that this be referred to the Pensions Committee for their information.

RESOLVED -

1.      That approval be given to the Corporate Fraud Team Work Plan for 2012/13.

The report provided Members with a consolidated summary and overview of the proactive and reactive work undertaken throughout the year.

The report was noted.

The Deputy Director of Finance provided Members with an update on the Treasury Management policy in view of the recent issues with the credit rating of certain financial institutions.

The Committee noted the information reported and were supportive of the approach adopted by the Deputy Director of Finance.

The Committee was informed that the proposals and recommendations which came out of the review would be fully considered and taken forward by the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Finance, Property & Business Services, and where appropriate taken to a future Council meeting for consideration.

Details of the work carried out by the Committee during 2011-12 were contained in the report.

Minor amendments were made to the report.

RESOLVED –

1. That, with the amendments suggested, the report be noted and Council be asked to approve the report.

The Committee noted the following:

·        Auditing Practices Board – Consultation on the Work of Internal Auditors, together with a summary of the report produced by Deloitte

·        Auditing Standards Board Paper on Professional Scepticism

·        National Fraud Briefing – Paper issued by the Audit Commission.

Noted.

The report on this item was included in Part II as it contained information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the Authority holding that information) and the public interest in withholding the information outweighed the public interest in disclosing it (exempt information under paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12 A to the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 as amended.

RESOLVED –

1.      That the information contained in the report be noted.