Agenda, decisions and minutes

No apologies were received.

In relation to Agenda Item 11, Councillor Helen Evans, declared that she is a director of an NGO that holds a contract with Oxfordshire County Council for advocacy services.

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 26 April 2017 and 16 May 2017 and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting on 26 April 2017 were agreed and signed subject to the following correction: delete the name of the Non-voting Member from the list of Voting Members.

The minutes of the meeting of 16 May 2017 were agreed and signed.

Cllr Roz Smith noted that it was regarded as good practice for committees to be chaired by a member of the opposition which was not the case here.  The Chairman responded that that practice usually applied to scrutiny committees.

RECOMMENDATION: That the Committee agrees to change the date of the Committee meeting originally scheduled for 13 September 2017 to take place on 6 September 2017, starting at 2pm.

The Chairman thanked Members for agreeing to the change of date.

RESOLVED: to change the date of the Committee meeting originally scheduled for 13 September 2017 to take place on 6 September 2017, starting at 2pm.

2.10pm

Report by the Director of Finance.

This report presents the updated Audit Working Group Terms of Reference and requests that the Committee appoint the new Audit Working Group members.

The committee is RECOMMENDED to:

a)            Approve the Audit Working Group Terms of Reference; and

b)           Appoint the members and substitute members of the Audit Working Group.

Ms Cox presented the Audit Working Group Terms of Reference.  The main change from the previous Terms was that the Deputy Chairman of the Audit & Governance Committee will be substitute for the Chairman at Working Group meetings.

Dr Geoff Jones, who chairs the Working Group, described how it operates, saving time at full Committee meetings and allowing more detailed questioning of officers.  All Members were welcome to attend meetings.

It was agreed to amend the proposed Terms of Reference to have four Members in addition to the Chairman and four substitutes.

RESOLVED to

a)            approve the Audit and Working Group Terms of Reference subject to amendments to allow for four members of the Committee in addition to the Chairman of the Working Group and four substitute members; and

b)           appoint the following members of the Audit Working Group:

·         Councillor Nick Carter

·         Councillor Ian Corkin

·         Councillor Helen Evans

·         Councillor Roz Smith

and the following substitutes:

·         Councillor Paul Buckley

·         Councillor Tony Ilott

·         Councillor Charles Mathew

·         Councillor Deborah McIlveen

2.30pm

Oxfordshire County Council has had a contractual relationship with Skanska for seven years. Over this time Council officers and Skanska have worked closely together to ensure continuous improvement in the way that services are delivered and that value for money is being achieved in undertaking a highway maintenance function. There is governance in place to regularly monitor the performance of the contractor and the shared outcomes achieved from the partnership and to benchmark the service against other authorities.

The presentation will address 5 main themes

·         The highways contract and how it works

·         Value for Money and performance management

·         Changes to the ways of working

·         Asset valuation and the depreciation of the asset

·         Progress against previous Payment Audits

Mr Jenkins made a presentation on the Highways contract covering the history of the contract and the latest developments.  He responded to questions from Members as follows:

·         The latest assessment of the contract and decision on whether to extend it will take place over the next month.  The advantage of extending the contract well into the future is that it allows contractors to invest more in new resources such as equipment.

·         Assessments focus on the health of the relationship and whether it is delivering for the county.

·         There is a machine that automatically assesses road conditions and this is compared to the condition that is expected given the money spent.

·         Regarding roadworks management, it is only really possible to measure inputs, for example, that adequate notice of roadworks is given.

·         Generally roads are in worse repair in towns than in rural areas because there are more of them and they are more heavily used.

·         There is no detailed analysis available yet as to why perception of the state of Oxfordshire roads is below the national average although statistics indicate that the roads are actually above the national average condition.

·         A factsheet will be available to Members in the next week or so.

·         Systems are definitely improving but there is still a long way to go.

Members stated that they had many more questions about the contract and it was agreed to receive another update at the Committee’s meeting in November.

3.10pm

Report by the Director of Finance

The report sets out the Treasury Management activity undertaken in the financial year 2016/17 in compliance with the CIPFA Code of Practice.  The report includes Debt and Investment activity, Prudential Indicator Outturn, Investment Strategy, and interest receivable and payable for the financial year.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the report, and to RECOMMEND Council to note the Council’s Treasury Management Activity in 2016/17.

Mr Turner presented the report and Officers responded to questions from Members as follows:

·         The treasury management team comprises two full time staff and part of the role of the Strategic Finance Manager - Treasury Management, Banking and Income.

·         Local authorities who borrow from the Council are not required to say what they use the money for.  Our concern is simply that they are of suitable standing.

·         The figure for the total rate of return for fixed deposits during 2016/17 will be circulated to Members after the meeting.

·         It is difficult to compare debt across local authorities because different classes of authorities have different levels of debt.

·         The interest rate secured for local authority investments will be included in future reports.

RESOLVED: to note the report, and to RECOMMEND Council to note the Council’s Treasury Management Activity in 2016/17.

3.30pm

Report by the Director of Finance

This report presents the updated Internal Audit Charter and also the Internal Audit Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme.

The committee is RECOMMENDED to:

a)         Approve the Internal Audit Charter; and

b)        Note the Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme.

Ms Cox introduced the report.  The Internal Audit Charter must be signed by the Chairman of the Committee.

Members asked if they could be confident that there was sufficient staff to deliver the plan.  Dr Jones stated that the staff resource would be below the norm for the Council’s size but he was happy that the plan will be delivered. The Committee’s private briefing with the Chief Internal Auditor before the Committee meeting in September will provide an appropriate opportunity to discuss the matter further.

RESOLVED: to

a)         approve the Internal Audit Charter; and

b)        note the Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme.

3.50pm

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

·         Progress Report

Mr Witty presented the update on the plan which was issued in January.  He reported that no issues have emerged from the interim reviews.

Asked how samples are selected for substantive testing, Mr Witty responded that EY have a selection methodology that is risk based and items are selected at random.  With regard to Bulk Data Upload (BDU), individual payments are tested by sample.  It is the validity of the payment that is tested, regardless of the processing system.

RESOLVED: to note the report.

4.10pm

Report by the Director of Finance.

In July 2015 the Council joined the Hampshire Partnership with HR and Finance operations being delivered through their Integrated Business Centre (IBC). The Audit and Governance Committee has received regular updates on the operation of the partnership, and issues arising This report covers the period from January 2017.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to:

a)            note the report;

b)           confirm whether updates are required routinely and at what frequency, or reported by exception should material issues arise;

c)            agree to receive a detailed presentation on the Customer Service Improvement Programme. 

Mr Dyson presented the report which included updates on finance and human resources and officers responded to questions from Members.

·         There will be a meeting reviewing pension payments on 23 July and a meeting on customer services on 26 July.

·         OCC did not pay for the independent review so we do not know how much it cost or how long it will take.

·         Blocked payments are now a performance matter.  Those responsible for the blockages are now being targeted.  Governance is working in this regard.

It was agreed to receive a presentation on customer services at the November meeting of this Committee and decide then how often updates are required.

RESOLVED to

a)            note the report;

b)           agree to receive another update at the November 2017 meeting and to decide then when to receive further updates; and

c)            agree to receive a detailed presentation on the Customer Service Improvement Programme at the November 2017 meeting.

4.30pm

Report by the Monitoring Officer.

Each year the Monitoring Officer undertakes a survey of senior managers about the effectiveness of Internal Audit at Oxfordshire County Council.  There is no longer a statutory requirement for a formal annual review of the effectiveness of Internal Audit, however this Committee last year agreed that the Monitoring Officer should continue to undertake this survey and report its outcomes to the Committee.

This report summarises the responses to the survey. In short, the survey of the extended County Council Management Team reveals a positive picture of the effectiveness of Internal Audit during the year 2016/17.

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note and comment upon the report.

Mr Graham presented the report on the review which, while no longer required, provides useful information for the Chief Internal Auditor.

Members asked what proportion of surveys were returned.  Mr Graham confirmed that it was sent to Tier 3 managers which amounted to 66 individuals from whom 20 responses were received.  The feedback was generally positive except for one response.

RESOLVED: to note the report.

4.50pm

To review the Committee’s Work Programme.

The Committee agreed to add the following items to the meeting on 8 November 2017:

Update on the Highways Contract

Presentation on the Customer Service Improvement Programme

The Chairman proposed to meet with Officers to discuss a possible review of the contract with Carillion given the already lengthy agendas for the September and November meetings.