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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk L39 2DF. View directions

Contact: Kirsty Breakell 

Items
No. Item

1.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

There were no apologies received.

2.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE

To be apprised of any changes to the membership of the Committee in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4.

Minutes:

There were no changes to the Membership of the Committee.

3.

URGENT BUSINESS

Note, no other business is permitted unless, by reason of special circumstances, which shall be specified at the meeting, the Chairman is of the opinion that the item(s) should be considered as a matter of urgency.

Minutes:

There were no urgent items of business.

4.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 299 KB

If a Member requires advice on Declarations of Interest, he/she is advised to contact the Legal and Democratic Services Manager in advance of the meeting.   (For the assistance of members a checklist for use in considering their position on any particular item is included at the end of this agenda  ...  view the full agenda text for item 4.

Minutes:

There were no Declarations of Interest.

5.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 297 KB

To receive as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 26 October 2021.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 October 2021, be approved as a correct record.

6.

PUBLIC SPEAKING pdf icon PDF 243 KB

Residents of West Lancashire on giving notice, may address the meeting to make representations on any item on the agenda except where the public and press are to be excluded during consideration of the item. The deadline for submission is 10.00am on Friday 21 January 2022.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

7.

Grant Thornton Audit Committee Progress Report pdf icon PDF 124 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Finance, Procurement & Commercial Services.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Grant Thornton Progress Update report as contained on pages 13-32 of the Book of Reports.

 

The Chairman invited Georgia Jones, Audit Manager Grant Thornton, to present the report to the Committee.

 

Comments and Questions were raised as follows:

·         PSAA to mediate regarding the increased fee request by Grant Thornton

·         Grant Thornton employees overseas working on accounts and associated costs being same as those employees working in the UK.

·         No assurance can be given by Grant Thornton that their work will not be paused if increased fee cannot be agreed, but would be a last resort.

·         Only 3 of the 15 Councils across Lancashire have published their accounts.

·         Request for it to be minuted again that the most common reason for delay is lack of resources, Covid Pandemic and the Government placing extra work on the Auditors.

·         Accounts to be completed and brought to an extra meeting of Audit & Governance on 22 March 2022.

 

RESOLVED:     That the Grant Thornton Progress Update Report be noted.

 

8.

Risk Management Framework Update pdf icon PDF 247 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Finance, Procurement & Commercial Services

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Risk Management Framework Update report as contained on pages 33-88 of the Book of Reports, which set out details of the operation of the Risk Management Framework over the last twelve months.

 

The Chairman invited the Risk and Insurance Officer to present the report to the Committee.

 

Comments and Questions were raised as follows:

·         Incorporating Risk Management with Internal Audit being an advantage

·         Risk Management being part of the Members and Officers induction process.

·         External Consultant carrying out risk review and the report to be brought to the Committee by the Officer. No additional cost to WLBC. 

·         Wished to thank the Risk and Insurance Officer for all the work done and changes made, making the process easier for Members to understand.

 

RESOLVED:     A. That the continuing effective operation of the Risk  Management Framework as detailed in the annual report 2021 (Appendix A), be noted.

B. That the proposed amendments to the Risk Management Framework Policy & Strategy (Appendix B) and Toolkit (Appendix C), be endorsed for approval by Cabinet in March 2022.

 

9.

Internal Audit Activities - Progress Report pdf icon PDF 217 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Finance, Procurement & Commercial Services.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Internal Audit Progress report as contained on pages 89-102 of the Book of Reports which advised of progress against the 2021/22 Internal Audit Plan.

 

The Chairman invited the Internal Audit Manager to present the report to the Committee.

 

Comments and Questions were raised as follows:

·         Report on bulky waste to be brought to May 2022 Audit and Governance Committee meeting.

·         Public incorrectly claiming grants and processes being put in place to monitor claims.

·         External review of the Audit department to be carried out.

·         Wished to thank the Internal Audit Manager and her Team for their hard work.

 

RESOLVED:     That Members note progress in the year to date.

 

(Note: Councillor Mee arrived during this item)

 

10.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIPA) Act regular monitoring of use of powers pdf icon PDF 215 KB

To consider the report of the Legal and Democratic Services Manager.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Legal and Democratic Services Manager as contained on pages 103-104 of the Book of Reports, the purpose of which was to report on the Council's use of its power under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

 

The Chairman invited the Principal Solicitor to present the report to the Committee.

 

Comments and Questions were raised as follows:

·         Possible use of cameras to catch fly tippers

·          To be minuted that Council not using powers as no cause to, and not because simply not using them

 

RESOLVED:     That it be noted that the Council has not had cause to use its powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) during the last 12 months.

 

11.

Work Programme pdf icon PDF 190 KB

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Committee's Work Programme as set out on page 105 of the Book of Reports.

 

Comments and Questions were raised as follows:

·         Possible briefing on procurement

·         Briefing goes under the heading of Training via member Development. Wants this to be reviewed and either not listed, or to become training and longer than 30  minutes.

 

RESOLVED:  That the work programme be agreed