Agenda item

Officers introduced an update on the GRIP, reminding Members that the GRIP consisted of three core workstreams: financial governance, directorate governance and constitutional governance. The report summarised the progress since the last Audit Committee meeting.

The forecast position from Month 6 through to Month 9 had remained stable, which officers regarded as a positive development. Spend controls had been in place since before Christmas. Budget development for 2025/26 had embedded learning from this year’s issues, with savings delivery plans developed for proposals where appropriate. The Council will start the budget?setting and MTFS process significantly earlier next year.

Officers confirmed EFS progress was ongoing. The final Local Government Finance Settlement (announced the previous day) provided long?awaited clarity on national DSG deficit treatment: Councils will receive 90% of the DSG deficits in Autumn 2026, with further support anticipated thereafter. This significantly reduced local financial impact.

Significant preparatory work was underway to get ready for the 2025/26 audit.

The Council had increased transparency and oversight by reporting performance to Cabinet, Select Committees, and Full Council. A Governance Masterclass for senior managers had been delivered; and a Governance Toolkit was now available on the intranet. Officers emphasised the need to begin business and financial planning earlier than in previous years.

Members asked whether the budget?holder training programme had been tested for effectiveness. Officers responded that training had been rolled out to ensure understanding that financial responsibility extended beyond the Finance team. It was too early to meaningfully assess outcomes. Additional training will occur as part of Oracle process changes and the new EPM rollout. Cultural and behavioural change was expected to take time and would require repeated reinforcement.

There would be a two-stage process including a learning and development session with senior managers to understand changes within Oracle and changes to reporting budgets. At the start of the FMP, the aim was always to start 2026/27 monitoring on Oracle and so there would be training before month 2. The FMP was in two parts, the finance part and the Oracle part.

Members asked whether EY’s recommendations on Oracle were being integrated. Officers confirmed that improvements were underway around access, authorisation levels, and procure?to?pay processes. The Council was moving away from legacy processes to Oracle?standard methods. Integration between HR and Finance systems was being strengthened to ensure organisation and staffing data flowed correctly into Oracle. EY’s Oracle?related recommendations had been positively adopted, particularly those around price and quantity controls, HR–Finance integration, and improving technical configuration.

Members asked why many process, access, and governance issues appeared to be addressed after go?live. Officers explained that the original implementation effectively ‘lifted and shifted’ the legacy Oracle R12 configuration into Oracle Fusion, replicating old limitations. The Council was now correcting this by moving to a more standard, optimised Oracle configuration. Rather than rushing mid?year changes, officers intentionally aligned improvements with the start of the new financial year for stability and to avoid compounding past mistakes. Oracle improvements must be phased and cannot be completed in a single cycle without risking further errors.

Members asked whether officers understood the system’s full functionality.
Officers stated that Oracle was a cloud?based, continuously developing platform with far more functionality than required on day one. The aim was to ensure the system fully supported core processes from the start, then expand its use over time. Additional functionality will be introduced gradually through planned, properly governed phases.

Members asked if a formal Post?Implementation Review will be conducted.
Officers confirmed that an implementation review will be carried out after completion of the Finance Modernisation Programme.

Members welcomed the new cross?organisational approach, crediting strengthened senior leadership roles and a more integrated view of IT, HR, and Finance.

In response to a question about reviewing the Council Constitution, officers advised that a commissioned review from Lawyers in Local Government was received just before Christmas. The review took a broad?brush approach, examining legislative compliance and fitness?for?purpose. Recommendations included:

• Review of financial delegations and procurement rules (last updated in 2023).
• Greater transparency around Part 2 items, including considering transferring material into Part 1 where appropriate.
• Review of the Members’ Code of Conduct, which had not been updated since 2012; national changes are expected from central government.

Constitutional updates will be brought to Members – larger amendments aimed to be delivered for Annual Council in May. Routine updates continue under delegated authority where appropriate.

RESOLVED: That the update to the Governance Review Improvement Plan was noted.