Venue: Virtual Meeting
Contact: Lucy Tyrrell, Tel 07741 607824; E-mail: lucy.tyrrell@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Link: video link to meeting oxon.cc/Audit27052020
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Apologies for Absence and Temporary Appointments Minutes: There were no apologies received.
Cllr Jeannette Matelot advised she will continue to attend the Committee on a temporary basis. |
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Declaration of Interests - see guidance note Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
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To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 15 January 2020 and to receive information arising from them. Minutes: The minutes of 15 January 2020 were agreed subject to the amendment to item 5/20 External Auditors, whereby Cllr Carter wished to clarify his point that he was not happy with verbal reports to, ‘I am happy to receive verbal reports, however would appreciate additional narrative to aid Members with their discussions prior to the meeting’.
Item 5/20, Councillor Phillips noted that her request for the External Auditors to review any contracts with the NHS stands as a request, to be followed up by the Internal Auditor.
Item 6/20, Chairman noted that deferred items should still be monitored. Councillor Smith agreed, and that members would benefit from an updated briefing, particularly the Oxford City Council Agency Agreement. Sarah Cox responded that actions have been updated and all implemented bar the best value review. An update has been scheduled for the Audit Working Group meeting for September if the Committee is satisfied with these timescales.
Item 6/20, Councillor Smith also noted the last point on locality meetings, and advised that due to this Councillors are not being kept adequately informed. Sarah Cox will feed these outstanding issues back to Paul Fermer, Assistant Director of Community Operations, including the issue with potholes. Councillor Smith also requested that members be informed if this arrangement includes trees on the highways, as this is not clear.
Item 4/20, Councillor Matthew requested that Memorandum of Understanding with The Vale of the White Horse District Council be circulated as agreed at the previous meeting.
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Petitions and Public Address This Cabinet meeting will be held virtually in order to conform with current guidelines regarding social distancing. Normally requests to speak at this public meeting are required by 9.00 a.m. on the day preceding the published date of the meeting. However, during the current situation and to facilitate these new arrangements we are asking that requests to speak are submitted by no later than 9.00 a.m. four working days before the meeting i.e. 9.00 a.m. on 21 May 2020. Requests to speak should be sent to lucy.tyrrell@oxfordshire.gov.uk together with a written statement of your presentation to ensure that if the technology fails then your views can still be taken into account. A written copy of your statement can be provided no later than 9.00 a.m. 2 working days before the meeting.
Where a meeting is held virtually and the addressee is unable to participate virtually their written submission will be accepted.
Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.
Minutes: None. |
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Steve Jorden, Corporate Director, Commercial Development, Assets and Investment - Introduction to Committee and overview of role 1.10 p.m. Minutes: Steve Jorden, Corporate Director for Commercial Development Assets and Investment introduced himself to the Committee and gave an overview of his role, including the breadth of his remit and past experiences relevant to the new position.
Steve Jorden responded to Dr Geoff Jones’ query regarding the role of the Chief Finance Officer having a status at least equivalent to other members of the Leadership Team, and confirmed that the Section 151 Officer whilst reports to him, has a direct line to the Chief Executive as and when needed. He also confirmed that the S151 officer is a member of the Corporate Leadership Team, fully supported by the Council. The Council is mindful of this guidance and has taken this into consideration
These arrangements are detailed in the Annual Governance Statement due to be presented at the next Audit Working Group meeting, of which he was invited to attend.
Councillor Smith asked how the joint role will be split between Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council? Steve Jorden responded that he aimed to continue supporting Councillors providing updates through Cabinet and Informal Cabinet meetings, and through the updates provided by the Chief Executive. His intention was that time would be split based on need, focused on outcomes for meeting the needs of Oxfordshire residents.
Steve Jorden also responded to questions regarding strategic review and analysis and wished to reassure Councillors that this is an important aspect of the role. Sarah Cox added that Strategic Risk Registers are reviewed at every Audit Working Group meeting, and the Committee are able to request specific areas of enquiry, of which members have full sight. The Chairman wished to remind members that although there is a core group of members who attend the AWG, all members are welcome to join.
Steve Jorden responded to the query from Councillor Phillips regarding his capacity to attend every meeting in the role of Monitoring Officer and clarified that he would endeavour to attend as many meetings as possible but where this is not possible his deputy would attend in his absence. Also, whilst not legally trained, he will be supported by an experienced team including Sukdave Ghuman, the new Head of Legal who will start at the beginning of June and Principal Governance Officer. He wished to reassure members that he has the relevant experience for this role and is supported by an experienced legal team.
Councillor Matthew welcomed that part of his remit was to review the ‘sweating of assets’, as he has seen little evidence of this taking place previously. Steve Jorden responded that he could not comment on what had gone before, however his role is to work with the relevant teams and realise that potential.
The Chairman stated that these may encompass assets within Councillor’s divisions, and they would welcome updates regarding these. Councillor Matthews agreed, and added that councillors would have information that would be useful for those individual areas.
The Chairman thanked Steve Jorden for attending the meeting.
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Statement of Accounts 2019/20 Update PDF 463 KB
Report by Director of Finance.
As the body identified as 'Those Charged with Governance' within the Council, The Audit and Governance Committee is responsible for signing the Statement of Accounts at the meeting of the committee in July.
This report sets out the revised timetable for the publication of the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts following the publication of revised legislation and guidance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Members of the Committee are asked to ratify the Council's Significant Accounting Policies for 2019/20, as selected and approved by the Director of Finance. The CIPFA/LASAAC Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom defines Accounting Policies as ‘the specific principles, bases, conventions, rules and practices applied by an authority in preparing and presenting financial statements’. The accounting policies describe how the Council has interpreted and applied the code and form the basis of the preparation of the accounts.
The report also sets out the approach to the Narrative Report for inclusion in the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts, including the content of the Narrative Report and the approval process before the draft Statement of Accounts is published for Public Inspection on 8 June 2020.
The Audit and Governance Committee is RECOMMENDED to: a) note the revised timetable for the publication of the 2019/20 Unaudited Statement of Accounts and period of public inspection b) ratify the accounting policies as approved by the Chief Finance Officer and included as an appendix to this report c) note the content and timetable for the 2019/20 narrative report Additional documents: Minutes:
Hannah Doney highlighted the three sections of the report, including the detailed extension of timeframes and the adjustments to the narrative statement to reflect COVID.
Hannah Doney responded to points raised by members of the Committee as follows:
Lorna Baxter reminded the Committee that the document presented so far is the setting out of the schedule of work, more detailed information will be available when the accounts have been fully prepared.
RESOLVED: to a) note the revised timetable for the publication of the 2019/20 Unaudited Statement of Accounts and period of public inspection b) ratify the accounting policies as approved by the Chief Finance Officer and included as an appendix to this report c) note the content and timetable for the 2019/20 narrative report.
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1.40 p.m.
Representatives from the external auditors Ernst & Young will attend to update the Committee. Additional documents:
Minutes: Janet Dawson presented the three reports to the Committee and noted the following:
Janet Dawson responded to member’s questions as follows:
The Chairman asked if there are still outstanding negotiations with Carillion, and can we receive this information at the next meeting? Lorna Baxter confirmed that we are in a position to settle very soon., which will be reflected in the accounts, however as this is a contractual settlement, would not be subject to a public meeting.
Janet Dawson advised the Committee that they are working to the original timetable, however it will not be as quick as when on site. The Chairman requested Lorna Baxter update the Committee of any changes.
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Annual Report of the Chief Internal Auditor 2019/20 PDF 707 KB
Report by the Chief Internal Auditor.
This is the annual report of the Chief Internal Auditor, summarising the outcome of the Internal Audit work in 2019/20, and providing an opinion on the Council's System of Internal Control. The opinion is one of the sources of assurance for the Annual Governance Statement.
The committee is RECOMMENDED to consider and endorse this annual report.
Minutes: Sarah Cox introduced the report. There were no conflicts of interest throughout the year and no limitations on the work. For the first time in several years, work has not been completed to the overall plan due to the pandemic.
Officers responded to points raised by members of the Committee as follows:
RESOLVED: to consider and endorse this annual report.
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Q1 Internal Audit Strategy & Annual Plan 2020/21 PDF 270 KB 2.20 p.m.
Report by Director of Finance.
This report presents the Internal Audit Strategy and Quarter 1 Internal Audit Plan for 2020/21.
The Committee is RECOMMENDED to comment and note the Internal Audit Strategy for 2020/21 and Internal Audit Plan for quarter 1. Minutes: Sarah Cox introduced the report. The report presents the Internal Audit Strategy for 2020/21, and Internal Audit Plan for quarter 1. Sarah Cox highlighted that this is a fluid plan reflecting the ‘agile’ state of auditing due to the pandemic, and will bring an updated plan to the July meeting.
Officers responded to points raised by members of the Committee as follows:
RESOLVED: to comment and note the Internal Audit Strategy for 2020/21 and Internal Audit Plan for quarter 1.
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Progress update on Annual Governance Statement Actions PDF 213 KB 2.30 p.m.
Report by Director of Law & Governance and Monitoring Officer.
Each year the Council must approve an Annual Governance Statement. This Committee is instrumental in this and will be invited to approve a new Statement in May 2020. The Statement provides a description of the effectiveness of the Council's governance framework and an Opinion as to its sufficiency. It also normally includes a set of governance actions that will form a priority for the year ahead.
In last year’s Annual Governance Statement, several governance actions were listed as priorities for 2019/20. The Committee asked for a separate update on the outcomes from these actions before the Committee then goes on to consider the Annual Governance Statement for the forthcoming year. As such, this report includes a brief update on the priority actions identified for the 2019/20 year. The final position on them will be given in the Annual Governance Statement in May this year.
The Committee is RECOMMENDED to consider and note the outcomes so far on the governance actions agreed in last year’s Annual Governance Statement.
Additional documents:
Minutes: Nick Graham introduced the report and noted that this publication is an update on the actions listed as priorities for 2019/20, and will be presented to the Audit Working Group in their June meeting, to be agreed at the next Audit & Governance Committee meeting in July.
Officers responded to members queries as follows:
RESOLVED: to consider and note the outcomes so far on the governance actions agreed in last year’s Annual Governance Statement.
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Scale of Election Fees and Expenditure PDF 219 KB 2.40 p.m.
Report by Director of Law & Governance and Monitoring Officer.
Each year the Council needs to set a scale of election fees and expenditure for the holding of elections of county councillors. This Committee has delegated responsibility for approving the 'scale of fees’.
In accordance with the Council’s practice, a review has been undertaken in consultation with the City and District Councils of Oxfordshire, who assist in running the County Council’s elections and by-elections. The Districts are generally mindful of the County Council’s scale of fees, when setting their own fees for local elections and also use it in the event of any County council by-election. Therefore, the Scale of Fees aims to provide a framework, and to steer an even course between the individual requirements of all the districts and the County.
The proposed scale of fees and expenditure for 2020/21 is included as an Annex to this report. The Committee is requested to approved the proposed Scale of Fees to apply from 1 April 2020.
The Committee is RECOMMENDED to approve the Scale of Expenditure for the financial year 2020/21, as shown in Annex A to this report, for the election of County Councillors and any other local referendums.
Additional documents: Minutes: Nick Graham highlighted to members that there will be District Council, Parish and Police and Crime Commissioner elections in the next year.
Glenn Watson introduced the report and the following were his responses to Members’ questions:
RESOLVED: to approve the Scale of Expenditure for the financial year 2020/21, as shown in Appendix A to this report, for the election of County Councillors and any other local referendums.
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Audit & Governance Committee Annual Report to Council 2019 PDF 503 KB 2.45 p.m.
Report by the Chairman of the Audit & Governance Committee to be presented to The Council.
The Annual Report sets out the role of the Audit & Governance Committee and summarises the work that has been undertaken both as a Committee and through the support of the Audit Working Group in 2019/20.
The Committee is RECOMMENDED to consider the Annual Report and suggest any additions or amendments.
Minutes: The Chairman introduced the report and thanked the Chief Internal Auditor. The Chairman requested that the document be changed to reflect our thanks to the Trading Standards for their support.
RESOLVED: to consider the Annual Report and suggest any additions or amendments.
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2.55 p.m.
Report from the Corporate Director for Customer and Organisational Development.
Also attached are the draft minutes from the Joint Audit & Governance and Performance Scrutiny (Transformation) Sub-Committee of 30 January 2020 for information.
The Committee is RECOMMENDED to
a) agree, in conjunction with the Performance Scrutiny Committee, that the work of the Transformation Sub-Committee is complete in having overseen the start-up phase of the council’s Transformation Programme and that future oversight now reverts back to its two parent committees; and
b) consider on an ongoing basis which specific change activities it wishes to include on its forward plan.
Additional documents: Minutes: The report by the Corporate Director for Customer and Organisational Development was received by the Committee and the following issues raised:
RESOLVED to: a) agree, in conjunction with the Performance Scrutiny Committee, that the work of the Transformation Sub-Committee is complete in having overseen the start-up phase of the council’s Transformation Programme and that future oversight now reverts back to its two parent committees; and b) consider on an ongoing basis which specific change activities it wishes to include on its forward plan.
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3.00 p.m.
To review the Committee’s Work Programme. Minutes: It was agreed that due to the number of items due to be discussed at the next meeting, the start time would be moved to 1.00 p.m.
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