Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received on behalf of Councillor I Davis.

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

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 4, the Committee noted the termination of Councillors J Finch and D Daniels and the appointment of Councillors A Fennell and K Juckes for this meeting only, thereby giving effect to the wishes of the Political Groups.

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.

There were no urgent items of business.

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 19.

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 31 May 2022.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 31 May 2022 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

(Note: The Chairman commented in respect of Minute 15 - Derby Street Refurbishment Audit Report will return to a future meeting of the Committee with an update to be provided by the External Auditor, Grant Thornton).

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 22 July 2022.

There were no items under this heading.

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

Consideration was given to the Grant Thornton Update Report as contained on pages 185 to 199 of the Book of Reports.

The Chairman invited Georgia Jones, Key Audit Partner - Grant Thornton, to present the report to the Committee.

Comments and questions were raised as follows:

·         Difficulties during Pandemic and catch-up work/capacity issues in Team

·         A staff re-structure of the Finance Team at WLBC has been undertaken and this will now provide stability moving forward

·         A notice of delay for the 2020/21 audit has been published on the Council's website in line with regulation

·         Clarification/breakdown of the increase in fees - Grant Thornton/ Justify to PSAA for agreement

·         Project Plan for Audit 2020/21 – Autumn 2022

·         Grant Thornton revising samples following some changes made to the 2020/21 Accounts

·         Civica Improvement modules / wider transactional

·         Impact on Annual Governance Statement due to non-receipt of 2020/21 Accounts

·         Audit deliverables - The Head of Finance commented that revised 20/21 Accounts, in full Group format, would be distributed to members of the Audit and Governance Committee by 31 August 2022

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

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

Consideration was given to the Internal Audit Activities – Progress Report as contained on pages 201 to 218 of the Book of Reports, which was to present the 2021-22 Internal Audit Annual Report and Opinion for consideration.

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

·         The Chair suggested that the level be reduced from Moderate to Limited due to the number of Limited and No Assurance Audit Reports.  This was rejected as it is the Corporate Compliance and Governance Managers independent opinion based on a number of factors, not just the results from Internal Audit Reports.

·         Peer Review

·         Risk Management / Pentana Training

·         Independence of the Corporate Compliance and Governance Manager

·         Style of working and efficiencies - MS Teams / face to face

RESOLVED: That the Internal Audit Annual Report and Opinion for 2021-22 be noted.

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

Consideration was given to the Internal Audit Activities – Progress Report as contained on pages 219 to 229, which advised of progress against the 2022/23 Internal Audit Plan.

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

·         14% of planned work completed

·         One Internal Auditor has provided significant support to enable the completion of the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit

·         Assurance Reports - D100 – Corporate / Housing Stock

·         Performance Indicators – On target to complete Audit Plan by end of Financial Year

·         Assurance Audit of Voids – Substantial piece of fieldwork/ lifecycle

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

To consider the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation, Housing and Resources.

Consideration was given to the report of the Corporate Director of Transformation, Housing and Resources as contained on pages 231 to 247 of the Book of Reports, which provided an overview of West Lancashire Borough Councils obligation in meeting statutory regulatory requirements relating to the processing of personal, confidential, or identifiable data under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Councils duty to be transparent through compliance within the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The Corporate Compliance and Governance Manager outlined the report and responded to comments and questions in respect of:

·         No changes to legislation 2020/21 GDPR Training

·         Annual Training refresher for all staff

RESOLVED: That the Annual Report of the Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO), as set out in Appendix 1 of the report, be noted.

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

Consideration was given to the report of the Legal and Democratic Services Manager as contained on pages 249 to 250 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).

The Legal and Democratic Services Manager outlined the report and responded to a question in relation to the pilot use of CCTV surveillance.  She informed Members of the difference between 'overt' surveillance, where signage is used and ''covert surveillance where the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) apply.

RESOLVED: That it be noted that the Council has not had cause to use its powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2020 (RIPA) during the last 12 months.

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

Consideration was given to the annual Governance Statement 2020/21 as contained on pages 251 to 267 of the Book of Reports.

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

Resolved:      That the Annual Governance Statement 2020/21, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be deferred for approval pending the following actions:

1. That a follow up report be presented to a future meeting of the Committee from External Auditor Grant Thornton, in respect of feedback on the Derby Street Refurbishment Internal Audit Report which gave a 'no assurance' opinion to the Audit and Governance Committee
2. That the Council’s Financial Statements are available on the Council’s website with note to say the 2021 Accounts are yetto be completed and audited.

3    That the Council produces Financial Statements in accordance with CIPFA’s Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the UK following International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The Financial Statements are scrutinised by the External Auditor with a separate report produced.  (This is to be looked in to by Officers as the 2020/21 Accounts are not yet complete and have not been audited).

To consider and note the Committee Work Programme 2022-2023.

Consideration was given to the Committee's 2022/23 Work Programme as set out on page 269 of the Book of Reports.

The Chairman informed that Georgia Jones, Key Audit Partner, Grant Thornton would provide a Briefing to Members on 'Value for Money' in October.  He also asked for any suggestions to be put forward for the May 2023 meeting.

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

B.        That Georgia Jones, Key Audit Partner, Grant Thornton, provide a Briefing to Members on 'Value for Money' on 25 October 2022.