Agenda and minutes

Audit & Governance Committee - Tuesday, 30th January, 2024 7.00 pm

Venue: Cabinet/Committee Room - 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk L39 2DF

Contact: Duncan Jowitt 

Items
No. Item

40.

APOLOGIES

Minutes:

None

41.

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 Daniels, and the appointment of Councillor Juckes for this meeting only, thereby giving effect to the wishes of the Political Groups.

42.

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.

43.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST pdf icon PDF 112 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 43.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

44.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING pdf icon PDF 72 KB

To receive as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2024.

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 24 October 2023 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

45.

PUBLIC SPEAKING pdf icon PDF 73 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 26 January 2024.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no items under this heading.

46.

Statement of Accounts 2020-21, 2021-22 & 2022-23 pdf icon PDF 2 MB

Report of the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services (Section 151).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Corporate Director of Transformation, Housing & Resources submitted a report presenting the Council's Annual Statement of Accounts for 2020-21, the Draft Statement of Accounts for 2021-22 which had been amended following the 2020-21 audit, and the Draft Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 for the consideration of Members.

 

The Chairman welcomed and invited Georgia Jones, Director, Grant Thornton, to present the Statements to the Committee.

 

The Committee considered the Statements contained on pages 13 to 404 of the Book of Reports, which had been presented to Members for approval and comments and questions were raised about:

 

·       whether the council was being charged professional fees for the changes - Georgia Jones said that as a gesture of goodwill, Grant Thornton would knock £100 off the final bill for the minor amendment made.

·       the letter of representation,

·       the likely timescales for the other audits,

·       reductions in annual rental income

·       details in respect of the most important leases.

 

RESOLVED: That the Statement of Accounts for 2020-21 set out in Appendix A of the report be approved and that the Statement of Accounts for 2021-22 set out in Appendix B and the Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 set out in Appendix C be noted.

47.

External Audit Findings Report (AFR) pdf icon PDF 113 KB

To consider the report of the Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services (Section 151).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to the External Audit Findings Report as contained on pages 405 to 470 of the Book of Reports.

 

The Chairman invited Georgia Jones, Director, Grant Thornton, to present the report to the Committee. She explained that these were the final adjustments and that there were no changes.

 

RESOLVED: That the External Audit Findings Report be noted.

48.

Internal Audit Progress Report 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 123 KB

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

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Corporate Director of Transformation, Housing & Resources submitted a report for the consideration of Members advising of progress against the 2023/24 Internal Audit Plan.

 

The Chairman invited the Corporate Compliance and Governance Manager to present the report.

 

The Committee considered the report of progress against the 2023/24 Internal Audit Plan detailed on pages 471 to 482 of the Book of Reports, that had been presented to Members for approval and comments and questions were raised about:

 

·       whether the recommendations in respect of car parking had been implemented,

·       how seriously senior management were taking the outstanding recommendations,

·       credit was given for the amount of detail in the report,

·       the funds allocated for the recruitment of Planning Enforcement Officers.

 

The Head of Finance, Procurement and Commercial Services agreed to bring a list of the outstanding issues to the next meeting of the committee.

 

RESOLVED: Members noted the progress in the year to date

49.

Quarterly Report on Procurement Exemptions pdf icon PDF 112 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered the Quarterly Report on Procurement Exemptions as contained on pages 483-488 of the Book of Reports, which had been presented to Members.

 

RESOLVED: that the Council's exemption activity be noted.

50.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) regular monitoring of use of powers pdf icon PDF 120 KB

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

Minutes:

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services submitted a report on the Council’s use of its powers under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).

 

RESOLVED: Members noted that the Council has not had cause to use its powers under RIPA during the last 12 months.

51.

Audit and Governance Committee Work Programme pdf icon PDF 71 KB

To note the work program and consider any amendments or additional items for inclusion.

Minutes:

The following minor changes to items on the work programme were suggested and the Democratic Services Officer agreed to make the amendments:

 

·       remove the item Grant Thornton – Audit Progress Report from May and replace with Grant Thornton Progress Update from the July listing.