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Agenda, decisions and minutes

Venue: County Hall, Oxford, OX1 1ND

Contact: Lucy Tyrrell, Tel 07741 607834; E-mail:  lucy.tyrrell@oxfordshire.gov.uk 

Link: video link to meeting

Items
No. Item

54/21

Apologies for Absence and Temporary Appointments

Minutes:

None received.

55/21

Declaration of Interests - see guidance note

Minutes:

None received.

56/21

Minutes pdf icon PDF 375 KB

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2021 and to receive information arising from them.

Minutes:

The minutes of 21 July 2021 were agreed by the Committee as an accurate record of the meeting.

 

In response to a query from Councillor Brad Baines, Sarah Cox, Chief Internal Auditor, confirmed that an update on the Blue Badge holder checks will come to this Committee as part of the Counter Fraud Update paper in November.

 

 

57/21

Petitions and Public Address

Currently council meetings are taking place in-person (not virtually) with social distancing operating in the venues.  However, members of the public who wish to speak at this meeting can attend the meeting ‘virtually’ through an online connection.  Places at the meeting are very limited due to the requirements of social distancing.  While you can ask to attend the meeting in person, you are strongly encouraged to attend ‘virtually’ to minimise the risk of Covid-19 infection.

 

Please also note that in line with current government guidance all attendees are strongly encouraged to take a lateral flow test in advance of the meeting.

 

Normally requests to speak at this public meeting are required by 9 am 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 9am four working days before the meeting i.e. 9 am on Wednesday 8 September 2021. Requests to speak should be sent to lucy.tyrrell@oxfordshire.gov.uk.  You will be contacted by the officer regarding arrangements for speaking.

 

If you ask to attend in person, the officer will also advise you regarding Covid-19 safety at the meeting.  If you are speaking ‘virtually’, you may submit 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 am 2 working days before the meeting. Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

Minutes:

None received.

58/21

Statement of Accounts Update pdf icon PDF 304 KB

2.10 p.m.

 

Report by the Director of Finance.

 

This report sets out the issues identified during the latter part of the audit and the additional work that is being undertaken, including further amendments to the accounts so the audit can be finalised.  

 

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to endorse the report         

 

Minutes:

Lorna Baxter, Director of Finance introduced the report which set out the issues identified during the latter part of the audit and the additional work that is being undertaken, including further amendments to the accounts so the audit can be finalised.

 

In response to Members’ questions, Lorna Baxter advised the following:

·         The audit is now not expected to be completed until October; however, this will not include sign off of the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) as the data collection tool kit will not be released by central government until December.  The auditors do not need to complete their work on WGA to reach their opinion on the audit, however this work must be completed before the audit certificate can be issued.

·         The majority of Property, Plant and Equipment valuations are carried out in-house by specialist RICS valuers, however the valuation of care homes was outsourced, and the contract for this work would need to be reviewed to determine liable costs arising from additional work undertaken.

·         The process for undertaking and verifying valuations will be reviewed during October 2021 to ensure a more robust process is in place for the preparation of the 2021/22 statement of accounts, which will be communicated to Members when this has been finalised.  (ACTION)

·         There is a short-term interim Chief Accountant to cover the vacancy of Head of Corporate Finance and are actively recruiting for this position.

 

RESOLVED to endorse the report.

59/21

Ernst & Young - Audit Results Report pdf icon PDF 5 MB

2.20 p.m.

 

Representatives from the external auditors, Ernst & Young, will attend to present the following report:

 

·         Oxfordshire County Council Draft Audit Results Report Year Ended 31 March 2021

·         Oxfordshire Pension Fund - Audit Results Report Year Ended 31 March 2021

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Maria Grindley and Chandrika Sharma of Ernst & Young presented the following report: Oxfordshire County Council Audit Results Report Year Ended 31 March 2021 which contained their substantive findings related to the areas of audit emphasis, their views on Oxfordshire County Council’s accounting policies and judgements and material internal control findings.  

 

Maria Grindley highlighted that the audit work in respect of the Council opinion is substantially complete, however there have been delays in respect of valuation information on Property, Plant and Equipment which has extended the audit work, however it is expected that the accounts will be signed off in October subject to the remedial works being completed to the correct requirements.  This will be followed by the VFM Commentary; however, the Certificate cannot be completed until the WGA is complete which is awaiting further guidance from central government.

 

Maria Grindley and Chandrika Sharma responded to Members’ queries as follows:

·         There are no issues identified on journal entry testing to report to this Committee meeting, however any identified will be included in the final report.

·         There was a difference noted on the accounting for Dedicated School Grant (DSG) unusable reserve of approximately £1 m, currently in the unadjusted differences schedule, and once amended will be recorded as an amended misstatement.  However, if not amended will form part of our letter of recommendation.  Lorna Baxter, Director of Finance confirmed that as detailed in her report, an additional £0.9m from High Needs DSG will be moved from Earmarked Reserves to the DSG Adjustment Account.

·         Lorna Baxter advised that work has commenced in preparation of the implementation of the new leasing standards for local authorities and Maria Grindley added that they have identified the leases in place and formulated work required around that.  Members requested a briefing session, of which will be agreed with Lorna Baxter.  (ACTION)

·         The review into the assessment and disclosures on going concern have been completed and are satisfied that the going concern disclosure written into the statement of accounts adequately reflects the Council’s going concern assessment.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Brad Baines, Lorna Baxter advised that the error identified in the audit of the treatment of the Top Up Grant on the Firefighter’s Pension Fund was due to human error, however advised this has been amended.

 

The Committee went on to consider the report ‘Oxfordshire Pension Fund Audit Results Report year ended 31 March 2021’.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Roz Smith, Lorna Baxter advised that the Pension Fund Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2021 had been presented to the Pension Fund Committee meeting of 10 September 2021, and Maria Grindley advised that Officers have advised this document will be received today.

 

Maria Grindley responded to other Members’ questions as follows:

·         No concerns have been raised from the testing of journals involving investment income and valuation, and this is highlighted as a general area of concern for note only.

·         Items relating to the completion of the audit outstanding at  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59/21

60/21

Internal Audit Progress Report 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 331 KB

2.40 p.m.

 

Report by the Director of Finance.

 

This report presents the Internal Audit progress report for 2021/22.

 

The committee is RECOMMENDED to note the progress with the 2021/22 Internal Audit Plan and the outcome of the completed audits.

Minutes:

Sarah Cox, Chief Internal Auditor, introduced the report which provided an update on the Internal Audit Service including resources, completed and planned audits.  The report included individual Internal Audit reports since the last report to the June 2021 Committee and highlighted that since that update, no further red reports have been issued.

 

In response to Members’ questions, Sarah Cox advised of the following:

·         Whilst it is positive to received extended engagement from Corporate Directors, performance indicators may have to be extended for this work to take place and will be reported in the January update.

·         Ombudsman Reports and other external reviews feed into audit planning and any specific concerns would come through Corporate Directors.

·         The Property/Facilities Management audit scheduled for Q3/4 may be pushed back due to the current restructuring taking place, however, expect the audit will be able to provide support/scope in Q4 during this process.  Members advised they would like feedback on the restructuring progression at the next meeting.  (ACTION).

·         The weakness identified in the vulnerability scanning tool used by IT Services has been fully acknowledged and addressed.

 

RESOLVED to note the progress with the 2021/22 Internal Audit Plan and the outcome of completed audits.

 

61/21

Surveillance Commissioner's Inspection and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act pdf icon PDF 226 KB

3.00 p.m.

 

Report by the Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer.

 

The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ('the Act') regulates the use of covert investigatory 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 wishes to obtain information by the use of informants or officers acting in an undercover capacity.

 

Codes of Practice issued under the Act provide guidance to authorities on the use of the Act. The Code of Practice relating to covert surveillance specifies that elected members should review the authority's use of the Act and the supporting policy at least once a year. They should also consider internal reports on the use of the Act periodically.

 

The Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office oversees the use of investigatory powers by public bodies and as part of this oversight regime they will periodically inspect local authorities' policies, procedures and records relating to relevant activities.

 

This paper provides an overview of the use of activities falling within the scope of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 by Oxfordshire County Council in the period from April 2020 to March 2021. It also provides a summary of the partial inspection of the authority undertaken by the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office in 2020. The report also provides the committee with an opportunity to review and comment on the policy, which is provided as an annex to the report.

 

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

 

b)   Note the Policy document at Annex 1 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 when revising the Policy.

 

 

 

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Anita Bradley, Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer introduced the report which provided a summary of the covert activities undertaken by the council between April 2020 and March 2021, and to review and comment on the council’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act Policy.

 

Anita Bradley and Richard Webb, Assistant Director of Regulatory Services responded to Members’ queries as follows:

·         CCTV is outside the scope of this Act as it is covert, however it can be used if required for additional evidence.

·         Joint work takes place with the Police during investigations.  In relation to RIPA, one agency authorises activity so the lead investigator will undertake this and do separately.

·         There is a code of practice on the use of underage volunteers with full agreement and collaboration with their parents/carers.

·         Guidance linked to the policy, available on our intranet, states clearly if taking surveillance not as part of RIPA should come to the Monitoring Officer for decision and is extremely rare.

·         Additional safeguarding measures for underage volunteers could be included within the policy, however these are already covered within Trading Standards internal procedures.  However, Members requested that an additional section on safeguarding of underage volunteers be inserted into the introduction of the Policy on Compliance with the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA).  (ACTION)

 

RESOLVED to

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

(b)  Note the Policy document at Annex 1 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 when revising the Policy subject to the inclusion of a reference on safeguarding of underage volunteers.

62/21

Local Government Ombudsman's Review of Oxfordshire County Council pdf icon PDF 337 KB

3.20 p.m.

 

Report by the Monitoring Officer

 

Each year, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) issues an Annual Review Report about each council. This relates to the complaints made to the LGSCO about the Council in the previous financial year. So this report updates the Committee on this area of governance for the year 2020/21, reflecting on those complaints that were considered by the Ombudsman up to 31 March 2021.

 

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to comment on the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Annual Review of Oxfordshire County Council for 2020/21, and the work undertaken by the Council since with regard to its handling of complaints.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Anita Bradley, Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer introduced the report that updated the Committee on the Annual Review Report issued by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) relating to complaints made to the LGSCO about the Council in the previous financial year, reflecting on those complaints that were considered by the Ombudsman up to 31 March 2021.

 

In response to queries raised by Members, Anita Bradley responded as follows:

·         Customer complaints are in a different area of the Council, and currently under a performance review.  Members requested that the process of complaints be included in this report for future reference.  (ACTION)

·         The 16 reported cases are the number of cases investigated by the Ombudsman rather than those received by the Council.

·         Comparative data and trends could be included in future reports.

·         The Voice of the Customer project focuses on ensuring that the outcome of the customer is a good as it could be at the first opportunity and will provide further statistical analysis when finalised.

·         Members requested statistical data regarding the number of residents and how this may have increased compared to the number of complaints received by area, of which Anita Bradley agreed to review and report back in her next report.  (ACTION)

 

RESOLVED to comment on the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s Annual Review of Oxfordshire County Council for 2020/21, and the work undertaken by the Council since with regard to its handling of complaints.

 

63/21

Monitoring Officer Annual Report pdf icon PDF 429 KB

3.30 p.m.

 

Report by the Monitoring Officer.

 

This report gives an overview from the Monitoring Officer of democratic and ethical governance activity, during the year 2020/21, in relation to the functions of the Committee.  The report reflects on the implications of the pandemic for democratic decision making, the occurrence of code of conduct complaints and other member-related matters.

 

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to consider and endorse the report.

 

Minutes:

Anita Bradley, Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer introduced her report which gave an overview of democratic and ethical governance activity during the year 2020/21, in relation to the functions of the Committee.  The report reflected on the implications of the pandemic for democratic decision making, the occurrence of code of conduct complaints and other member-related matters.

 

Anita Bradley responded to Members’ questions as follows:

·         Members Allowances come under Full Council and will form part of the February Full Council meeting as part of the budget setting process.

·         Changes in legislation on punitive measures on Councillor behaviour have not received parliamentary time, and following the Committee on Standards in Public Life recommendation, it is acknowledged the sanctions are not sufficient, however would appeal to Members to set the tone via peer pressure and group discipline.

·         The rise of social media use by Councillors would suggest a social media policy beneficial for the Council, the current policy is not linked to the code of conduct for Councillors and will undertake to review this.  (ACTION)

 

RESOLVED to consider and endorse the report with the additional recommendation of additional Councillor Code of Conduct training.

 

64/21

Constitutional Review Work Programme pdf icon PDF 229 KB

3.40 p.m.

 

Report by the Monitoring Officer.

 

The Council has a duty to keep its constitution under review. This includes all relevant codes and protocols, and the procedure rules for committees. As well as corrections, updates, amendments, and developments to the constitution.

 

The constitution forms a key part of the Council’s governance framework, setting rules, principles, and procedures to enable the Council to take decisions and do its work effectively.

 

This report proposes that the Monitoring Officer undertakes a review of the constitution to ensure that it is fit for purpose, supported by a Councillor Constitution Working Group.

 

The Audit & Governance Committee is RECOMMENDED to

 

a)    Consider the results of the Member engagement exercise on the Constitution set out in Appendix1

b)   To endorse the process for the 2021 review of the Constitution

c)    To comment on the proposed Project Plan for the review

d)   To agree to the establishment of an informal cross-party Constitution Review Working Group comprising 3 Liberal Democrat-Green Alliance members, 3 Labour members, 2 Conservative members and 1 Independent Member

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Anita Bradley, Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer introduced the report which proposed that the Monitoring Officer undertake a review of the constitution to ensure that it is fit for purpose, supported by a Councillor Constitution Working Group.

 

In response to Members’ queries, Anita Bradley advised of the following:

·         Named substitutes could be included, however it is more important that Members are engaged and willing to support the review process.

·         Expertise from officers across the Council will be called upon for input and will be supported by the Monitoring Officer to ensure legislation is followed and encompassed within the document.

·         Council structure is not part of this constitution review, a change of governance would come from Full Council following its annual meeting, and instruction thereof is outside the remit of this Committee.

·         The terms of reference for this Committee would require further review to undertake a governance review of the whole Council, however, would require the Monitoring Officer to take further advice prior to implementation.

 

RESOLVED to

(a)  Consider the result of the Member engagement exercise on the Constitution set out in Appendix 1.

(b)  To endorse the process for the 2021 review of the Constitution.

(c)  To comment on the proposed Project Plan for the review.

(d)  To agree to the establishment of an informal cross-party Constitution Review Working Group comprising 3 Liberal Democrat-Green Alliance Group members, 3 Conservative-Independent Alliance Group members, 2 Labour & Co-operative Party Group members and 1 Independent member.

(e)  Consideration be given to further member training to undertake the Constitutional Review.

 

65/21

Audit Working Group pdf icon PDF 218 KB

4.00 p.m.

 

Report by the Director for Finance.

 

This report presents the matters considered by the Audit Working Group meeting of 8 September 2021.

 

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the report.

Minutes:

Dr Geoff Jones introduced the report which summarised the meeting of the Audit Working Group meeting held on 8 September 2021 where the group received the quarterly update from Internal Audit.  Officers attended to provide updates on the implementation of the agreed action plan from the 2020/21 audit of Childrens’ Placement Vacancies.  The group also reviewed the reporting and assurances arrangements over risk management to both the AWG and Audit & Governance Committee.

 

RESOLVED to note the report.

 

66/21

Audit & Governance Committee Work Programme 2021/22 pdf icon PDF 201 KB

4.15 p.m.

 

To review the Committee’s work programme.

 

Minutes:

The following amendments/additions were made to the Audit & Governance Work Programme 2021/22:

 

19 January 2022 change to 05 January 2022

 

Constitution Review (Anita Bradley/Glenn Watson)

 

16 March 2022

 

Constitution Review (Anita Bradley/Glenn Watson)