Venue: Cabinet/Committee Room - 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk L39 2DF
Contact: Duncan Jowitt
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APOLOGIES Minutes: There were no apologies for absence received.
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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 E Pope and the appointment of Councillor T de Freitas for this meeting only, thereby giving effect to the wishes of the Political Groups. |
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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. |
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DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 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 36. Minutes: Councillor N Hennessy had declared a pecuniary interest in respect of Agenda Item 16, Quarterly Exemption Report, due to her role as Chairman of the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Authority and therefore left the meeting and took no part in the decision-making process in relation to this item. . |
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MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING To receive as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting held on 31 July 2024. Minutes: RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting held on the 31 July 2024 be received as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. |
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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 25 October 2024. Additional documents: Minutes: There were no items under this heading. |
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Statement of Accounts 21-22 and 22-23 To consider the report of the Director of Finance and Resources (Lead Member: Councillor Anderson).
Additional documents:
Minutes: Consideration was given to the Statement of Accounts 21-22 and 23-24 report from our External Auditors Grant Thornton.
The Chairman welcomed and invited Georgia Jones of Grant Thornton to present the report to the Committee.
The Committee considered the Statement of Accounts 21-22 and 23-24 report as contained on pages 17 to page 290 of the Book of Reports which had been presented to Members to seek the approval of the Council's Annual Statement of Accounts for 2021-22 and 2022-23 and that the Independent Auditor reports and audit certification for the Financial Statements 2021-22 and 22-23 be noted.
Comments and question were raised in respect of the following:-
· Clarity on the statement "To be a financially sustainable Council by 2023" as detailed on priority point 4 of 6 on the Councill's vision, on page 25. · How many other Councils are currently affected by backstop legislation. · The robust savings plan. · Asset sealing calculations.
RESOLVED: (A) That the Statement of Accounts for 2021-22 accounts as set out in Appendix A to the report be approved.
(B) That the Statement of Accounts for 2022-23 accounts as set out in Appendix B to the report be approved subject to a restatement of the pension asset from £26.678m to nil, following receipt of a retrospective asset ceiling calculation from our actuary, Mercer.
(C) That the option within the Independent Auditors Report for the Financial Statements 2021-22 and audit certification be noted.
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Draft Statement of Accounts 23/24 To consider the report of the Director of Finance and Resources (Lead Member: Councillor Anderson).
Additional documents: Minutes: Consideration was given to the report of the Director of Finance and Corporate Resources as contained on pages 291 to 422 of the Book of Reports. The purpose of the report was to note and review the Draft Statement of Accounts for 2023-24.
The Chairman invited the Corporate Finance Manager (Deputy 151) to present the report.
RESOLVED: That the Statement of Accounts for 2023-24 set out in Appendix A of the report be noted. |
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Letter of Representation To consider the report of the Director of Finance and Resources (Lead Member: Councillor Anderson).
Additional documents: Minutes: Consideration was given to the Letter of Representation 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 report from our External Auditors Grant Thornton.
The Chairman invited Georgia Jones of Grant Thornton to present the report to the Committee.
The Committee considered the Letter of Representation 21-22 and 22-23 repot as contained on pages 423 to page 434 of the Book of Reports which had been presented to Members for approval.
RESOLVED: (A) That the Letter of Representation for 2021-22 accounts be approved.
(B) That the Letter of Representation for 2022-23 accounts be approved. |
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External Audit 23-24 Progress Report To consider the report of the Director of Finance and Resources. (Lead Member: Councillor Anderson)
Additional documents: Minutes: Consideration was given to the External Audit Progress Report 2023-24 report from our External Auditors Grant Thornton.
The Chairman invited Georgia Jones of Grant Thornton to present the report to the Committee.
The Committee considered the External Audit Progress report for 2023-24 as contained on pages 435 to pages 454 of the Book of Reports which had been presented to Members to note the External Audit Report on the Statement of Accounts for 2023-24.
Comments and question were raised in respect of the following:-
· If the progress level was at the point it should be.
RESOLVED: That the External Auditor report on the Statement of Accounts for 2023-24 be noted. |
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Internal Audit Activities - Progress Report To consider the report of the Director of Finance and Resources. (Lead Member: Councillor Anderson)
Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to provide Members with the Internal Audit Progress Report.
The Chairman invited the Principal Auditor to present the report.
The Committee considered the report as contained on pages 455 to 466 of the Book of Reports, which had been presented to Members to advise of the progress made against the 2024/25 Internal Audit Plan.
Comments and questions were raised in respect of the following:
· Whether there was any significant financial loss from the three referrals detailed in the report in relation to fraud. · A point was raised around the agency staffing report.
RESOLVED: That the progress in the year to date be noted. |
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To consider the report of the Chief Legal and Democratic Services Officer. (Lead Member: Councillor Gagen). Additional documents: Minutes: The Chief Legal and Democratic Services Officer submitted a report on the Council's Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act – Annual Setting of the Policy and Review of use of Powers (RIPA).
The Committee considered the RIPA activity as contained on pages 467 to 468 of the Book of Reports, which had been presented to Members. The Report also included the RIPA Policy attached as an appendix to the Report as contained on pages 471 to 489 of the Book of Reports.
RESOLVED: That the Council's RIPA Activity and the RIPA Policy contained at Appendix 1 of the Report be noted. |
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Outstanding Audit Recommendations To consider the report of the Director of Finance and Resources. (Lead Member: Councillor Anderson).
Additional documents: Minutes: The Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to provide Members with the Outstanding Audit Recommendations.
The Chairman invited the Principal Auditor to present the report.
The Committee considered the report as contained on pages 495 to 504 of the Book of Reports, which had been presented to Members for approval.
RESOLVED: That the status of outstanding audit recommendations and progress to date to ensure they are implemented be noted. |
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To note the Work Programme and consider any amendments or additional items for inclusion. Minutes: Consideration was given to the Committee's 2024/25 Work Programme as set out on page 505 of the Book of Reports.
RESOLVED: That the Work Programme be noted. |
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EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC It is recommended that members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph ... view the full agenda text for item 47. Minutes: RESOLVED: That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of that Act and as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption under Schedule 12A outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information
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Quarterly Exemption Report To consider the report of the Director of Finance and Resources. (Lead Member: Councillor Anderson).
Minutes: The Director of Finance and Corporate Resources (151 Officer) submitted a report on the Council's grants of exemptions from Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and/or the Council's Contract Procedure Rules.
The Committee considered the Quarterly Report on Procurement Exemptions as contained on pages 507 to 548 of the Book of Reports which had been presented to Members.
A question was raised on the number of exemptions that had been submitted since the last meeting of the Audit and Governance Committee.
RESOLVED: That the Council's exemption activity as reported in the appendices to the report be noted.
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