Agenda and minutes

Any Member who is substituting for another Member should so indicate, together with the name of the relevant absent Member.

There following substitutions were declared:

Councillor Patrick Chung for Councillor David Roach.

Councillor Ivor Mclatchy for Councillor Karen Richardson.

Councillor Frank Warby for Councillor Sarah Broughton.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Sarah Broughton, Karen Richardson and David Roach.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 25 January 2017(copy attached).

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 January 2017 were unanimously accepted by the Committee as an accurate record and signed by the Chairman.

Members of the public who live or work in the Borough are invited to put one question or 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 of the meeting is scheduled to start.  There is an overall time limit of 15 minutes of public speaking, which may be extended at the Chairman’s discretion.

Public participation had been included within the previous informal discussions and there had been no questions/statements from members of the public.

Report No: PAS/SE/17/006

(For reference purposes, Forest Heath District Council’s Report Number is PAS/FH/17/008)

Further to the joint informal discussions held prior to the meeting with Forest Heath District Council’s Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, the Committee formally considered Report No: PAS/SE/17/006.

Members had scrutinised the report and asked questions to which responses were provided.

Councillor Frank Warby moved the recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor Patrick Chung, and with the vote being unanimous, it was:

          RESOLVED

That the Internal Audit Charter attached as Appendix A to Report No: PAS/SE/17/006, be approved.

Report No: PAS/SE/17/007

(For reference purposes, Forest Heath District Council’s Report Number is PAS/FH/17/009)

Further to the joint informal discussions held prior to the meeting with Forest Heath District Council’s Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, the Committee formally considered Report No: PAS/SE/17/007.

Members had scrutinised the report and asked questions to which responses were provided.

Councillor Betty McLatchy moved the recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger, and with the vote being unanimous, it was:

          RESOLVED:

          That:

(1)        The Internal Audit Plan for 2017-2018, attached as Appendix C to Report No: PAS/SE/17/007, be approved.

(2)        The conclusion drawn in respect of the annual review of the effectiveness of internal audit, be endorsed.

(3)        The contents of the Annual Internal Audit Report 2016-2017 and the Managing the Risk of Fraud, Theft and Corruption Report, as set out Appendices A and D to Report No: PAS/SE/17/007, be noted.

Report No: PAS/SE/17/008

(For reference purposes, Forest Heath District Council’s Report Number is PAS/FH/17/010)

Further to the joint informal discussions held prior to the meeting with Forest Heath District Council’s Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, the Committee formally considered Report No: PAS/SE/17/008.

Members had scrutinised the report, and there being no decision required, the Committee noted the Council’s performance using the Balanced Scorecards for the final quarter of 2016-2017.

Report No: PAS/SE/17/009

(For reference purposes, Forest Heath District Council’s Report Number is PAS/FH/17/011)

Further to the joint informal discussions held prior to the meeting with Forest Heath District Council’s Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, the Committee formally considered Report No: PAS/SE/17/009.

Members had scrutinised the report, and there being no decision required, the Committee noted the Council’s performance indicators to be used in  2017-2018.

Report No: PAS/SE/17/010

(For reference purposes, Forest Heath District Council’s Report Number is PAS/FH/17/012)

Further to the joint informal discussions held prior to the meeting with Forest Heath District Council’s Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, the Committee formally considered Report No: PAS/SE/17/010.

Members had scrutinised the report, and there being no decision required, the Committee noted the contents of the Quarter 4 West Suffolk Strategic Risk Register Monitoring Report 2016-2017. 

Report No: PAS/SE/17/011

(For reference purposes, Forest Heath District Council’s Report Number is PAS/FH/17/013)

Further to the joint informal discussions held prior to the meeting with Forest Heath District Council’s Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, the Committee formally considered Report No: PAS/SE/17/011.

Members considered the report, and there being no decision required, the Committee noted the contents of its forward work programme for 2017-2018. 

Report No: PAS/SE/17/012

The Committee received Report No: PAS/SE/17/012, which updated members on the outcome of the annual certification of grant claims by Ernst and Young (EY) as detailed in their Certification of Claims and Returns Annual Report 2015-2016, attached as Appendix A.

Mark Hodgson, Executive Director from EY presented the report, which summarised the results of the certification work that had been undertaken by EY staff as part of the annual audit of grant claims to government departments and also set out the scale fee for carrying out this work.  He explained that from 1 April 2015, the duty to make arrangements for the certification of relevant claims and returns, and to prescribe scale fees for this work was delegated to the Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd (PSAA) by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Mark Hodgson drew relevant details from the report to Members’ attention, and explained the one claim relating to the Housing Benefits Subsidy Claim.  He also informed Members that the PSAA had determined an indicative scale fee for 2015-2016 for the audit of the Housing benefits subsidy claim of £30,822.  However, EY were proposing a reduction of £6,100 to the fee to reflect the reduced amount of audit work that needed too be completed resulting in an actual fee of £24,722 (subject to PSAA agreement).

Members scrutinised the report and there being no decision required, the Committee noted the contents of the report.

Report No: PAS/SE/17/013

The Committee received Report No: PAS/SE/17/013, which set out how EY intended to carry out their responsibilities as the Council’s external auditors.

The purpose of the report was to provide the Committee with a basis to review EY’s proposed approach and scope for the 2016-2017 audit along with the planned fees to complete the work as set out in the Audit Plan (Appendix A) .  The report also provided the Committee with a basis to review 2017-2018 indicative fees (Appendix B).

Mark Hodgson (Executive Director) from EY presented the report, which summarised EY’s assessment of the key risks which drive the development of an effective audit for the Council, and outlined their planned audit strategy in response to those risks.  Officers would be working with EY over the coming months to ensure that these risks were managed and where possible, come to an agreement over their treatment prior to the issuing of the Annual Governance Report and Audit Opinion (due to be issued by EY in September 2017.  Mark Hodgson drew relevant details from the report to Members’ attention.

Members scrutinised the report and their being no decision required, the Committee noted the contents of the report.

Report No: PAS/SE/17/014

The Committee received Report No: PAS/SE/17/014, which set out he financial performance for 2016-2017. 

Attached at Appendix A was the revenue outturn position as at 31 March 2017, which showed an overall underspend of £160,000.  In accordance with the recommendations from report COU/SE/17/004 (Budget and Council Tax Setting: 2017-2018 and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2017-2021) the underspend of £160,000 had been transferred to the Council’s Invest to Save Reserve, included in Appendix D.

An analysis of revenue variances for 2016-2017 was attached as Appendix B. 

Attached as Appendix C was the Council’s capital financial position for the year end 2016-2017, which showed expenditure of £3,802,446. 

Appendix D to the report set out a summary of earmarked reserves for the year end position for 2016-2017.

The Committee scrutinised the report and asked questions to which officers duly responded. 

In particular members discussed the “street lighting renewals”, and noted that street lighting was currently being upgraded to the latest standards and once completed would then be transferred to Suffolk County Council. 

There being no decision required, the Committee noted the 2016-2017 revenue outturn and capital outturn positions as set out in Appendices A and C to Report No: PAS/SE/17/014