Agenda for Forest Heath Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee on Thursday 22 September 2016, 6.00 pm

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, District Offices, College Heath Road

Contact: Christine Brain  Email: Christine.brain@westsuffolk.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

107.

Substitutes

Minutes:

There were no substitutes declared.

108.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Rona Burt, Christine Mason and Louise Marston.

 

Councillor Colin Noble was also unable to attend.

109.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 173 KB

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2016 (copy attached).

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 27 July 2016, were unanimously accepted by the Committee as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman.

110.

Public Participation

Members of the public who live or work in Forest Heath are invited to put one question/statement of not more than 3 minutes duration relating to items to be discussed in Part 1 of the agenda only.  If a question is asked and answered within 3 minutes, the person who asked the question may ask a supplementary question that arises from the reply.

 

A person who wishes to speak must register at least 15 minutes before the time the meeting is scheduled to start.

 

There is an overall limit of 15 minutes for public speaking, which may be extended at the Chairman’s discretion.

 

 

Minutes:

There were no questions/statements from members of the public.

111.

Ernst and Young - Presentation of 2015-2016 ISA 260 Annual Results Report to those Charged with Governance pdf icon PDF 224 KB

Report No: PAS/FH/16/020

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received Report No: PAS/FH/16/020, which presented the results of Ernst and Young’s (EY) audit of the financial statements for 2015-2016.

 

The report set out issues EY were formally required to report on to those charged with governance, under the Audit Commission Code of Audit Practice and International Standards on Auditing (ISA (UK and Ireland) 260).

 

The report also included the results of the work that EY had undertaken to assess the Council’s arrangements to secure value for money in the use of its resources, as the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee was charged with governance in accordance with powers delegated to it under the Council’s Constitution.

 

The Council’s unaudited 2015-2016 statement of accounts, signed by the Council’s Chief Finance Officer (Section 151 Officer) on 30 June 2016, had been updated to reflect adjustments recommended by EY from their audit work.  Members were advised that the adjustments were all immaterial to the overall financial position of the Council and were in most cases, merely presentational changes.

 

A copy of the Audit Results Report was attached as Appendix A, and was presented to the Committee by Mark Hodgson (Executive Director) and Mark Russell (Assistant Manager) from EY.

 

Also attached as Appendix B to the report was a Letter of Representation, on behalf of the Council in accordance with the audit of the financial statements for Forest Heath District Council for the year ended 31 March 2016.

 

Mr Hodgson confirmed that all work on the audit of the Council’s 2015-2016 financial statements had been concluded and no further errors had been identified.  Therefore, EY would be issuing an unqualified opinion and

certificate this evening, (22 September 2016), stating the Council had

proper arrangements in securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources. He explained that the Forest Heath accounts were the second set of accounts to be signed off for 2015-2016 and were equal best to St Edmundsbury, that he had seen so far this year. He wished to thank the Head of Resources and Performance and her team who had been helpful and instrumental in making this a very smooth audit for EY.

 

However, he wished to draw the Committee’s attention to a couple of key areas:

 

1)   On page 14 – There were no outstanding audit items.

 

2)   Unadjusted item(s) – Newmarket Leisure Centre had been accepted by the auditors, and was therefore no longer being shown as an unadjusted item.

 

3)   On page 20 – Standard representations had been requested.  However, there was one specific representation in addition to the standard representations, which was specific to the Solar Farm for contingent liability.

 

4)   On page 21  - Value for Money – There was one significant risk due to the budget gap over the next 3 – 4 years.  However, the Council had put place proper arrangements to secure value for money in the use of its resources. 

 

Members asked the report, and the Chairman, on behalf of the Committee wished to thank the Head of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 111.

112.

West Suffolk Annual Governance Statement 2015-2016 pdf icon PDF 218 KB

Report No: PAS/FH/16/021

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received Report No: PAS/FH/16/021, which sought members approval of the draft Annual Governance Statement for 2015-2016, attached as Appendix A.

 

The Annual Governance Statement provided stakeholders with the assurance that the Council had operated within the law and that the Council had met the requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015.  The Annual Governance Statement accompanied the Statement of Accounts.

 

The document had been prepared by the Officer Governance Group and was presented as a joint statement for St Edmundsbury Borough Council and Forest Heath District Council to reflect both councils working together and sharing services across West Suffolk.

 

The Head of Resources and Performance informed the Committee that the West Suffolk Annual Governance Statement had not changed materially since last year.

 

The Committee was asked to review and approve the draft Annual Governance Statement prior to it being signed off by the Chief Executive and the Leaders of the councils.

 

The Committee considered the draft West Suffolk Annual Governance Statement for 2015-2016.

 

Councillor Simon Cole moved the recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor John Bloodworth and with the vote being unanimous, it was

 

          RESOLVED

 

That the West Suffolk Annual Governance Statement for 2015-2016, attached as Appendix A to Report No: PAS/FH/16/021 be approved for signing by the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council.

 

 

113.

2015-2016 Annual Statement of Accounts pdf icon PDF 294 KB

Report No: PAS/FH/16/022

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received Report No: PAS/FH/16/022, which sought Members approval of the 2015-2016 Annual Statement of Accounts, attached as Appendix A, in accordance with powers delegated to it under the Council’s Constitution. 

 

EY had commenced the audit of the Council’s draft Statement of Accounts in July 2016, with a view to its completion prior to the 30 September 2016 deadline for publication.  The results of EY’s review of the accounts were provided in the Annual Results Report, which was included on the Committee’s agenda (PAS/FH/16/020).  The attached Statement of Accounts (Appendix A) had been amended (as appropriate) to take on board issues raised by the audit process up to the date of distribution.

 

EY had confirmed this evening (22 September 2016) that the audit of Forest Heath District Council had been concluded and would be issuing an unqualified opinion on the financial statements and the value for money conclusion that the Council had made the appropriate arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the Council’s use of resources.  This meant the Committee was in a position to sign the 2015-2016 Statement of Accounts off.

 

The Head of Resources and Performance wished to thank the Finance Team for all their work involved in pulling together a clean set of accounts and also thanked EY for their work.

 

However, the Head of Resources and Performance wished to bring to the Committees attention one material movement in relation to the net expenditure / (income) on the pension assets / liabilities, which was set out on page 86 of the Annual Audit Accounts.

 

The Committee scrutinised the draft accounts in detail and asked questions to which officers duly responded.  Discussions were held on the turnover and expenditure for markets; the actuarial losses on pension assets/liabilities; the general fund reserve for Teal and Woodcock; and the Home of Horseracing Museum, Newmarket.

 

In particular, a Member raised a question to which a response was given as follows:

 

Statement of Accounts

 

i)      Pages 76-77 – It was suggested that in future the charts should include income received and money spent on in relation to the Barley Homes Group Limited and the Solar Farm.  The Head of Resources and Performance agreed to look into this for next years Annual Statement of Accounts.

 

The Chairman and the Committee wished to convey its thanks and commended the Finance Team in the work involved in closing the accounts.

 

Councillor Simon Cole moved the recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor Peter Ridgwell and with the vote being unanimous, it was

 

          RESOLVED: That

 

1)   The 2015-2016 Statement of Accounts, attached as Appendix A to Report No: PAS/FH/16/022 be approved in accordance with the powers delegated to it under the Council’s Constitution.

 

2)   The Chairman of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee signs the certification of the 2015-2016 Statement of Accounts on behalf of the Committee.

 

3)   The Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance, be given delegated authority to make any presentational and non-material changes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 113.

114.

Arrangements for Appointment of External Auditors pdf icon PDF 260 KB

Report No: PAS/FH/16/023

Minutes:

The Committee received Report No: PAS/FH/16/023, asked the Committee consider the options available for appointing External Auditors in time to make a first appointment by 31 December 2017, following the closure of the Audit Commission, and the end of the transitional arrangements.

 

It was the Council’s statutory responsibility to appoint a local auditor to audit its 2018-2019 accounts by 31 December 2017.  In meeting this statutory responsibility the Council could choose one of the following options:

 

1)   Establish a stand-alone Auditor Panel to make the appointment on behalf of the Council;

 

2)   Commence work on exploring the establishment of local joint procurement arrangements with neighbouring authorities; or

 

3)   Use an existing independent panel of the Authority (this would only be applicable where a suitably constituted panel already existed).

 

The report set out in detail the advantages and disadvantages for each of the three options.  The Council had until December 2017 to make an appointment, which meant one of the three options would need to be in place by Spring 2017 in order that the contract negotiation process could be carried out during 2017.

 

The Committee was advised that option 3 would provide for better economies of scale in keeping audit fees down and having a Suffolk wide auditor.

 

The Committee considered the report and noted the arrangements for appointing External Auditors at the conclusion of the 2017-2018 audit.

 

Councillor Simon Cole moved the recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor Chris Barker and with the vote being unanimous, it was

 

          RECOMMENDED

 

That subject to the approval of full Council, Option 3, to ‘opt-in’ to the sector led body (Public Sector Audit Appointments Limited) for the independent appointment of the Council’s External Auditor, beginning with responsibilities for the financial year 2018-2019, be approved. 

115.

Work Programme Update pdf icon PDF 128 KB

Report No: PAS/FH/16/024

Minutes:

The Committee received Report No: PAS/FH/16/024, which provided information on the current status of the Committee’s work programme.  Attached as Appendix 1 to the report were details of items scheduled to be presented to the Committee during 2016-2017.

 

The Committee considered its work programme, and there being nod decision required, noted the contents of the report.

 

 

In this section