Apologies were received from Councillor Charles Mathew (Councillor Mike Fox-Davies substituting) and Councillor Les Sibley (Councillor Michael Waine substituting).

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 5 July 2017 and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting of 5 July 2017, as circulated in the Addenda, were approved and signed.

The Chairman asked the Secretary to seek updates from the Director for Infrastructure Delivery on two points noted in the minutes:

·         The latest assessment of the highways contract and decision on whether to extend it or not.

·         A factsheet to be circulated to Members.

Councillor Roz Smith reminded Members to send in questions in advance for the discussion on the highways contract at the November meeting.

Dr Geoff Jones noted that the Carillion contract is on the agenda for the October meeting of the Audit Working Group on Wednesday 18 October 2017 at 2pm and all Members are welcome to attend.

2.10pm

Report from the Director of Finance

The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 require the Director of Finance to publish the unaudited Statement of Accounts 2016/17 no later than 30 June 2017 and certify that they give a true and fair view of the County Council’s financial position and income and expenditure for the year. This was achieved on 31 May 2017. The Regulations require the Statement of Accounts to be considered by a committee of the Council by 30 September 2017 and, following that consideration, to be approved by resolution of that committee. This report presents the accounts to the Audit & Governance Committee for consideration and approval, with the findings of the audit available in Ernst & Young LLP’s audit results reports.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)          Consider and approve the Statement of Accounts 2016/17 at Annex 1;

(b)          Note the Summary Accounts 2016/17 at Annex 2;

(c)          Agree that no changes are required to the Annual Governance Statement, previously approved by the Committee on 26 April 2017;

(d)          Consider and approve the Letter of Representations 2016/17 for the Oxfordshire County Council accounts at Annex 3;

(e)          Consider and approve the Letter of Representations 2016/17 for the Oxfordshire Pension Fund accounts at Annex 4;

(f)           Agree that the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee (or Deputy Chairman in his absence), can make any further changes to the Statement of Accounts 2016/17 and / or letters of representation that may arise during completion of the audit.

Ms Skivington introduced the report on the Statement of Accounts.  A small number of changes had been agreed with Ernst & Young since the draft.  Addenda 2 includes extra information requested by Members.

Councillor Helen Evans asked if the narrative report sufficiently recognised risks relating to increased demand on child services following the closure of centres and also the problems of delayed discharges and closure of care agencies.  She suggested that future reports focus on outcomes rather than outputs.

Ms Butler responded that the increased demand on social care is a national trend and may result from increased awareness.  She emphasised that preventative services are still there but are now more targeted.  The Council is working hard with partners on early intervention.

Mr Leigh described the difficulties for care providers in recruitment – particularly in Oxfordshire.  The reablement service commissioned from the NHS is only operating at 60% due to the same problem.

Councillor Michael Waine asked for further information to be provided to him on Hill End Trust Fund.

Councillor Ian Corkin asked if the plans by central government to end the National Funding Formula transitional protections by the end of 2020 should be reflected under Plans for future service delivery.  Ms Baxter responded that government funding is very certain up to 2019/20.  There will then be a shift to reliance on business rates and council tax but this doesn’t impact on the current year budget.

Councillor Roz Smith asked if any changes agreed with the chairman under point f) of the recommendations could be communicated to Committee Members.  Ms Baxter responded that it would depend on the complexity of any change – more complex issues would be addressed at the next meeting.

RESOLVED to:

(a)          Consider and approve the Statement of Accounts 2016/17 at Annex 1;

(b)          Note the Summary Accounts 2016/17 at Annex 2;

(c)          Agree that no changes are required to the Annual Governance Statement, previously approved by the Committee on 26 April 2017;

(d)          Consider and approve the Letter of Representations 2016/17 for the Oxfordshire County Council accounts at Annex 3;

(e)          Consider and approve the Letter of Representations 2016/17 for the Oxfordshire Pension Fund accounts at Annex 4;

(f)           Agree that the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee (or Deputy Chairman in his absence), can make any further changes to the Statement of Accounts 2016/17 and / or letters of representation that may arise during completion of the audit.

(g)          note the revisions to Notes 12 and 16 set out in Addenda 2.

2.40pm

A representative from the external auditors, Ernst & Young, will attend to present the following items:

·         Final Accounts Audit

·         Oxfordshire Pension Fund Audit Results Report

Mr King summarised the OCC Audit Results Report and Mr Witty summarised the Oxfordshire Pension Fund Audit Results Report.

On the objection related to LOBO loans Mr King reported that their provisional view was not to uphold. 

A notice of objection has been received relating to investment in fossil fuels and climate change which they have first to consider if it is an eligible objection.

Members asked about the likelihood of the auditors challenging valuations.  Mr King stated that they would be looking for valuations to be within a reasonable range.  He added that they do challenge valuations and in one case for another authority there was an adjustment of £92 million following their review.

RESOLVED: that the Committee notes the reports.

3.00pm

Report by the Director of Finance

This report presents the Internal Audit progress report for 2016/17.

The committee is RECOMMENDED to note the progress with the 17/18 Internal Audit Plan and 17/18 Counter Fraud Plan and the outcome of the completed audits.

Ms Cox presented the quarterly progress report.  There are no red reports since the last report to this Committee.  Other Local Authorities have had issues with providers in the area of public health so OCC are checking this now.

Officers responded to Members’ questions as follows:

·         The ICT team is currently managing responsibility for cyber security.  There are two external checks, one commissioned by OCC and another on government compliance.

·         It is policy in residential care package payments to add 7 days after the date of death.

·         Overpayments are quite small in the overall budget.  A recent review indicated that 50% were due to faults on the Council’s side and 50% were due to the provider not having informed the Council.  Strong letters are being sent to the providers on this matter.

·         The requirement for ICT to alert the payments team of any Care Package Line Item (CPLI) amendments or deletions that will have a material impact upon payments is an interim solution.

RESOLVED: to note the progress with the 17/18 Internal Audit Plan and 17/18 Counter Fraud Plan and the outcome of the completed audits.

3.20pm

Presentation by Lorna Baxter, Director of Finance.

Mr Shaw and Ms Macleod went through a presentation updating the transformation programme “Fit for the Future”.  Officers responded to Members’ questions during the presentation as follows:

·         The programme was not just about making monetary savings but also about making services more responsive and introducing agile working allowing staff to be out around the county.

·         Where there are similar requirements in different departments e.g. on-line booking systems, the programme will consolidate to a single approach.

·         OCC is not doing this in isolation - officers study approaches in other councils and we are a pilot for some work in the government’s digital strategy.

·         There is also engagement with customers through surveys and a Usability Lab to test services.

Members asked for the programme to be a fixed item on locality meeting agendas with information relevant to the local area provided.

3.50pm

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ('the Act') regulates the use of covert activities by Local Authorities. It creates the statutory framework by which covert surveillance activities may be lawfully undertaken. Special authorisation arrangements need to be put in place whenever a Local Authority considers commencing covert surveillance or considers obtaining information by the use of informants or officers acting in an undercover capacity.

As part of the legislative regime, the Office of Surveillance Commissioners carry out inspections from time to time to examine an authority’s policies, procedures, operations and administration.  On 25 May 2017, Assistant Commissioner (His Honour Brian Barker CBE, QC) visited the County Council to inspect the processes of the Council and the Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.  This report summarises the findings of the Inspector’s investigation, which were generally positive with several helpful recommendations for improvement. The Committee is invited to raise any questions or comments.

Codes of Practice under the Act require that elected members review the Authority’s use of the Act periodically and review the Authority’s policy annually. This report therefore also provides a summary of the activities undertaken by Oxfordshire County Council that fall within the scope of this Act for the period from April 2016 to March 2017.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)                  Consider and note the use of activities within the scope of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act by the Council and the Office of Surveillance Commissioners report, and

(b)                  Note the revised Policy and Guidance documents at Annexes 2 and 3 and to comment on any changes to the Policy for Compliance with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 that the committee would wish the Monitoring Officer to consider.

Mr Graham introduced the report and he and Mr Webb responded to Members’ questions as follows:

·         Trading Standards are only exempt from authorisation by another officer – they can authorise their own cases.

·         The volume of use does not justify quarterly reports.  Issues can be reported to the Audit Working Group if they arise.

·         In relation to concerns in the report about investigations directed to the protection of children and vulnerable adults, officers engage with legal services to ensure proper use.

RESOLVED to:

(a)                  Consider and note the use of activities within the scope of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act by the Council and the Office of Surveillance Commissioners report, and

(b)                  Note the revised Policy and Guidance documents at Annexes 2 and 3 and to comment on any changes to the Policy for Compliance with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 that the committee would wish the Monitoring Officer to consider.

4.10pm

Report by the Monitoring Officer

The Audit and Governance Committee is responsible for promoting standards of conduct for elected councillors and co-opted members and for ensuring the integrity of the democratic decision-making process.  Consequently, the Monitoring Officer reports annually to this Committee on relevant actions and issues that have occurred in the previous year. This report therefore summarises certain activities for the year 2016/17 including the run-up to the May 2017 election and consequent governance actions.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to consider and endorse the report.

Mr Graham summarised the report and noted the low number of complaints against councillors.

New members and returning members praised the induction sessions arranged for councillors following the election.  Councillor Helen Evans also found the pre-election event on how to become a councillor to be excellent and hoped it would be repeated in the future.

The Chairman asked about the granting of dispensations to councillors referred to in paragraph 2.  Mr Watson responded that it might be necessary, for example, if too many Members at a meeting would be otherwise disbarred from discussions.

RESOLVED: to consider and endorse the report

4.30pm

Report by the Monitoring Officer.

Each year, the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) issues an Annual Review Report about each council in relation to the complaints made to the Ombudsman about that Council in the previous financial year. My report to this Committee therefore informs members about the LGO’s Annual Review Report for Oxfordshire County Council for the year 2016/17. 

In short, fewer complaints about the Council have been upheld by the Ombudsman in 2016/17 compared to the previous year, even with slightly more complaints being referred to her.  Put into the context of county council performance generally, the Council has the third lowest number of upheld complaints per 100,000 residents (seven upheld complaints). This is an improvement on last year (fifth lowest) and remains encouraging. It continues to suggest that the Council’s system of control expressed through its own complaints processes is working well.

This is not a case for complacency however and this report sets out the LGO’s findings, the wider context and also details the complaints upheld by the LGO during 2016/17.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note and comment upon this report and on the Local Government Ombudsman’s Annual Review of Oxfordshire County Council for 2016/17.

Mr Graham summarised the report.  There was a slight increase in referrals to the Ombudsman and this was a national trend.  There was no increase in the proportion upheld.

Asked about the level of financial address involved in successful cases, officers responded that there are a series of tariffs and compensation payments can be included.  The highest amount was £3,500.

Members welcomed the report and noted that the number of complaints was relatively low for such a large organisation.  They complimented council officers for the quality of the processes and their good judgement in dealing with cases.

RESOLVED: to note this report and the Local Government Ombudsman’s Annual Review of Oxfordshire County Council for 2016/17.

4.50pm

To review the Committee’s Work Programme.

The Committee agreed to move the following items from the September 2018 meeting to the July 2018 meeting:

·         Statement of Accounts 2017/18

·         Ernst & Young – Final Accounts Audit

The Chairman announced that he had a meeting the following day with the Chairmen of the Scrutiny Committees to coordinate work plans.  As a result it was possible that two more issues may be added to this Committee’s work programme

·         Cyber Security

·         Scrutiny Review

Mr King informed the meeting that Mr Witty will no longer be the EY representative at Committee meetings as he will be retiring shortly.  The Chairman and Members thanked Mr Witty for his work and wished him a happy retirement.