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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Cabinet/Committee Room, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk L39 2DF. View directions

Contact: Julia Brown 

Items
No. Item

29.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

Apologies were received on behalf of Councillor P O'Neill.

30.

MEMBERSHIP OF THE COMMITTEE

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

Minutes:

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, the Committee noted the termination of Councillor D Daniels and the appointment of Councillor J Howard for this meeting only, thereby giving effect to the wishes of the Political Groups.

 

31.

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.

 

32.

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 32.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

33.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 305 KB

To receive as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2022.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2022 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

 

34.

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 October 2022.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

 

35.

External Audit Progress Report pdf icon PDF 4 MB

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

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the External Audit Progress Report as contained on pages 285 to 298 of the Book of Reports.

 

The Chairman welcomed and invited Georgia Jones, Director and Ying Li Assistant Manager Grant Thornton, to present the report to the Committee.

 

Comments and Questions were raised as follows:

·         Ongoing progress and audit deliverables

·         Scope and role of external audit work

·         Value for money

·         financial resilience / sustainability

·         Two further risks of significant weakness added in addendum/ review arrangements

·         Progress in October reflecting revaluation of land and buildings

·         Fees increased

 

RESOLVED: That the External Audit Progress Report be noted.

 

36.

External Audit addendum to the Audit Plan 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 991 KB

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

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the External Audit Addendum to the Audit Plan 2020/21 as contained on pages 299 to 304 of the Book of Reports.

 

The Chairman invited Georgia Jones Director and Ying Li Assistant Manager Grant Thornton, to present the report to the Committee.

 

Comments and Questions were raised in respect of:

·         Update on Value for money - significant risks

·         Two additional risks for audit consideration

·         Procurement arrangements

 

RESOLVED: That the External Audit Addendum to the Audit Plan 2020/21 be noted.

 

37.

External Quality Assessment of Internal Audit 2023 pdf icon PDF 35 KB

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

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services as contained on pages 305 to 308 of the Book of Reports, the purpose of which was to consult members of the Audit & Governance Committee on the format of the external review of internal audit that is required by the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards and due in 2023.

 

The Corporate Compliance & Governance Manager outlined the details of the report.

 

RESOLVED:

 

A.   That the Audit and Governance Committee members authorise proceeding with the procurement of an external provider to undertake an external assessment of the Internal Audit Service in the form of a validated self-assessment.

 

B.    That Audit and Governance Committee members delegate authority to the Corporate Compliance & Governance Manager and the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services (Section 151 Officer) to agree the specification of the assessment, assess quotations received based on cost and quality and to appoint an external provider to undertake the validated self-assessment review.

 

38.

INTERNAL AUDIT ACTIVITIES - PROGRESS REPORT pdf icon PDF 217 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services as contained on pages 309 to 318 of the Book of Reports, which advised of progress against the 2022/23 Internal Audit Plan.

 

The Corporate Compliance & Governance Manager outlined the report and responded to comments and questions raised by Members:

 

·         33% of planned work completed

·         Internal Audit staffing resources

·         Concern in respect of Assurance reports: Playground Inspections – Limited Assurance / Information Governance – Door Security – Limited Assurance

 

RESOLVED:

A.   That Members note progress in the year to date.

 

B.   That a progress report for the Playground Inspections Audit Review be brought to the next committee meeting.

 

 

39.

ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 132 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the report of the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services as contained on pages 319 to 336 of the Book of Reports. The purpose of which was to consider the Council’s Annual Governance Statement for 2020/21.

 

The Corporate Compliance & Governance Manager outlined details of the report.

 

RESOLVED:

A.   That the Annual Governance Statement 2020/21, set out in Appendix 1, be approved, and commended to the Leader and Chief Operating Officer for signature subject to the following amendments:

1.    That the review of the Local Code of Corporate Governance will be undertaken annually and presented to Audit and Governance Committee for approval by 31 January 2023.

2.    That Page 11 of Appendix (page 334 of the Book of Reports) be amended to remove the wording  in the significant governance issue section: 'issues out of the Council's control' to read "There has been a delay in the completion of the external audit of the Council's Financial Statements for 2020/21.  This was due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, staffing resources and the need to meet new requirements such as the completion and incorporation of Group Accounts in the Financial Statements".

 

 

40.

REGULATION OF INVESTIGATORY POWERS ACT - 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 337 to 338 of the Book of Reports, the purpose of which was to report on the Council’s use of its powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

 

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.

41.

WORK PROGRAMME pdf icon PDF 188 KB

To consider the Committee Work Programme 2022-2023.

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the Committee's 2022/23 Work Programme as set out on pages 339 to 340 of the Book of Reports.

 

The Chairman suggested that a joint presentation with Internal / External Audit take place in respect of 'Annual Accounts' on 31 January 2023.  He informed that the briefing will require longer than 30 minutes, and that the Audit & Governance Committee meeting on this date will potentially start at 7.30pm to accommodate this.

 

RESOLVED:

A.  That the Committee Work Programme 2022/23 be agreed as follows:

1.    That a joint briefing from Internal/External Audit on 'Annual Accounts' be presented prior to the Committee on 31 January 2023.

2.    That the Audit & Governance Committee 31 January 2023 to potentially start at 7.30pm in order to accommodate the above mentioned briefing.

3.    That the 'Social Value in Procurement' briefing be moved from 31 January 2023 to 30 May 2023.

4.    That a briefing in respect of 'Fraud' be held prior to the meeting of July 2023.