Agenda and minutes
Venue: Conference Chamber, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3YU
Contact: Christine Brain: Democratic Services Officer
Email: democratic.services@westsuffolk.gov.uk
Items
No. |
Item |
204. |
Substitutes
Any member who is substituting for another
member should so indicate, together with the name of the relevant
absent member.
Minutes:
The following substitution was declared:
Councillor Pat Hanlon substituting for
Councillor Janne Jarvis.
Councillor Marilyn Sayer substituting for
Councillor Sue Perry.
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205. |
Apologies for absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillors Janne Jarvis, Sue Perry and Karen Richardson.
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206. |
Minutes PDF 174 KB
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on
27 July 2023 (copy attached.)
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 27 July
2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the
Chair.
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207. |
Declarations of interest
Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any
disclosable pecuniary interest or other registerable interest which
they have in any item of business on the agenda,
no later than when that item is
reached and to leave the meeting prior to discussion and voting on the
item.
Minutes:
Members’ declarations of interest are
recorded under the item to which the declaration relates.
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208. |
Public participation
Members of the public who live or work in the
district are welcome to speak and may ask one question or make a
statement of not more than three minutes duration relating to items
to be discussed in Part 1 of the agenda only. If a question is asked and answered within three
minutes, the person who asked the question may ask a supplementary
question that arises from the reply.
The Constitution allows that 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 Chair’s
discretion.
Minutes:
There were no members of the public in
attendance on this occasion.
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209. |
Ernst and Young - Auditors Annual Report 2021 to 2022 PDF 125 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/23/017
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Resources presented
report number PAS/WS/23/017, which was the final version of the
external audit report from Ernst and Young on the council’s
2021 to 2022 final accounts. In July
2023 the Committee received a draft version which showed an
unqualified audit opinion. Since then,
these papers had been finalised and the letter of management
representation had been signed off by the Chief Finance Officer in
consultation with the Chair of Performance and Audit
Scrutiny. This concluded the audit work
for the 2021 to 2022 accounts and provided an unqualified opinion
that the final accounts gave a true and fair view of the financial
position of West Suffolk Council.
David Riglar, Partner at Ernst and Young (EY)
wished to draw the Committee’s attention to page 14, Appendix
B which related to the audit fees. He
explained that the scale fee of £55,050 was set a number of
years ago by the Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) and does
not change. On top of this fee, EY was proposing an additional fee
of £51,735 for additional hours undertaken by EY due to
increased professional and regulatory requirements and changes in
scope of work. However, the proposed additional fee had not yet
been discussed with the council and still remained subject to
determination by the PSAA.
The Committee scrutinised the report and asked
questions to which responses were provided. In particular discussions were held on how the
PSAA tendering process worked; what the audit process would look
like if the council opted out of the PSAA; and the valuation of
assets and the use of external valuers.
In response to a question raised on audit fees
and what the council was doing to test the additional proposed fees
as West Suffolk Council was deemed to be a low-risk authority,
David Riglar explained that EY had to abide by a number of factors,
for example EY had to provide a detailed account on all the
additional fees proposed for the PSAA.
He explained that the additional proposed fees for 2021 to 2022
were still to be agreed with the council and would also be subject
to review by the PSAA.
At the conclusion of the discussion
the Chair of the Committee asked if David Riglar could provide a
written summary on how the fee system worked and what safeguards /
checks were in place, which David Riglar agreed to provide.
There being no decision required, the
Committee noted EY’s Auditor’s Annual Report for
2021 to 2022 attached as Appendix A to report number
PAS/WS/23/017.
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210. |
Annual Governance Statement 2022 to 2023 PDF 119 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/23/018
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Resources presented
report number PAS/WS/23/018, which was the annual report prepared
by the Officer Group that provided assurances that West Suffolk
Council had met the requirements of the Accounts and Audit
Regulations 2015 and was an accompanying report to the next item on
the agenda, the Draft Statement of Accounts.
Attached at Appendix A to the report was the
West Suffolk Council Annual Governance Statement 2022 to 2023. A
key function of the council’s Performance and Audit Scrutiny
Committee was to review and approve the draft annual governance
statement prior to being signed by the council’s Leader and
Chief Executive. The draft annual
governance statement was being presented this evening for comments,
and the approval and signing would be sought at a later date and
timed to take into account the timetable for the external audit of
the 2022 to 2023 Statement of Accounts.
The Cabinet Member informed the Committee that
there were no significant governance issues to report.
The Committee scrutinised the report in detail
and asked questions to which comprehensive responses were
provided.
In response to a question raised under
“proposed activity, 2023 to 2024”, seeking an
explanation on what a Corporate Peer Challenge Review
was. The Committee was informed that
the last Peer Review was carried out in 2012. These were carried out by other local authority
Chief Executive’s, Section 151 Officers and Members. A formal
report is issued following the review along with an action plan on
how a council could further improve.
In response to a question raised in relation
to other council’s governance failings, the Cabinet Member
informed members that Cabinet were reviewing with Officers the key
areas of focus and potential learning for local
authorities.
In response to a question raised on working in
partnership with other authorities to work towards finalising a
potential Council Deal, the Cabinet Member agreed to seek a written
response on the current position.
The Committee discussed bench marking, which
officers agreed to include comparisons where necessary and
available.
The Committee suggested including two
additional items under “proposed activity for 2023 to 2024,
being:
-
Keeping a close watch on decarbonisation; and
-
An analysis on cancelling the Western Way Development.
In response to the above the Monitoring
Officer advised that the two suggestions would be raised with
relevant officers to seek clarification on whether and how they
could be included in the draft Annual Governance Statement.
There being no decision required, the
Committee noted the report, subject to seeking clarification
on the above two proposed suggestions.
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211. |
Draft Statement of Accounts 2022 to 2023 PDF 196 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/23/019
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Resources presented
report number PAS/WS/23/019, which was the draft set of accounts
for the financial year ending 31 March 2023.
Regulations required that accounts should be
submitted to the council’s external auditors, Ernst and Young
by the 31 May each year with a view that a final set of accounts
could be scrutinised following the audit.
However, given that the current timetable for
external audit was that it would not being auditing the accounts
until November 2023 at the earliest, these were being brought to
the Committee as a draft set of unaudited accounts in order for the
Committee to have sight of them in a timely manner.
The headlines from the draft accounts for 2022
to 2023 was that as well as a budgeted use of the General Fund of
£0.475m to offset ongoing Covid income recovery there was a
further budget deficit of £0.57m being driven by inflationary
pressures on fuel; utilities and supplies and services. There was also a £1.3m pressure from the
local government pay award. However,
following these impacts, the General Fund still finished the year
at the targeted level of £5m.
The narrative report set out on pages 55 to 63
provided a full summary of all major items contained within the
draft accounts. Following the decision
made on the Western Way Development, a narrative would be included
in the draft accounts.
The Director (Resources and Property) then
drew the Committee’s attention to the Balance Sheet, set out
on page 73, and made specific reference to the long-term assess;
current assets; and long-term liabilities.
The Committee scrutinised the draft accounts
in detail and asked a number of questions to which comprehensive
responses were provided. In particular
discussions were held on the meaning of baseline funding; the
councils five-year asset management plan in relation to leisure
facilities and managing financial risks and understanding those
risks.
In response to a question raised on whether
the £5m was reflective of the council’s reserve levels,
the Committee was informed that the council’s minimum policy
level was £5m which related to the general fund. Along side this amount, was also the earmarked
reserves.
It was suggested that under the section
“Overview of the financial year 2022 to 2023” that
comparatives and projections for the following year should be
included. In response the Committee
were informed that the accounts were predominately backwards
looking and followed a set format, but officers would consider more
comparative information in the narrative.
In response to a question raised regarding the
Bury St Edmunds leisure centre, the Committee was advised that
provision was in the budget and that would drive what the council
would spend. The council had an
investment plan to not borrow for longer than the life expectancy
of any building.
At the conclusion of the discussion, it was
suggested that the statement of accounts should include paragraph
numbers to make it easier to read and navigate the statement of
accounts.
There being no decision required the Committee
noted ...
view the full minutes text for item 211.
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212. |
Complaints and Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman: Annual Report 2002-2023 PDF 166 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/23/020
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Governance and
Regulatory presented report number PAS/WS/23/020, which provided an
overview of the type of complaints received and the action taken to
remedy those complaints.
It was an annual requirement to report on the
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s (LGSCO) annual
report and the council had extended the report to advise on the
corporate complaints considered by the council.
Generally, only when a complaint had
progressed through the council’s internal complaints
procedure would the (LGSCO investigate a complaint. Complaints were investigated even if they had
already been upheld by the council.
During 2022 to 2023, 14 complaints were made
to the LGSCO in the preceding 12 months only one was
upheld. This complaint related to a
parking appeal. The LGSCO found some
fault with the council but no significant injustice to the
complainant.
The Committee considered the report and did
not raise any issues, only to commend the report.
There being no decision required, the
Committee noted the annual report from the LGSCO for 2022 to
2023.
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213. |
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 - Annual Report and Review of the RIPA Guidance PDF 121 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/23/021
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Governance and
Regulatory presented report number PAS/WS/23/021, which was an
annual requirement to review the council’s Regulations of
Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) guidance and report on any
authorisations granted.
RIPA provided a statutory mechanism for
authorising certain types of covert surveillance. The overwhelming majority of surveillance
undertaken by the council would be done overtly, meaning there
would be nothing secretive or hidden about the way it was
conducted. In many cases officers would
be going about council business openly, for example a routine
inspection by an Environmental Health Officer, or would have
notified the subject of the investigation that they were likely to
be under surveillance, for example where a noise maker was warned
that noise would be recorded if continued.
However, the councils RIPA guidance made sure
that when the council did use covert surveillance, for example
persons subject to surveillance were unaware that it was or may be
taking place to help prevent or detect crime or disorder the
council did so in compliance with RIPA.
Local authority use of directed surveillance
under RIPA was limited to the investigation of crimes which attract
a six-month custodial sentence. The
council would only carry out covert surveillance where such action
was justified and proportionate and had a small pool of senior
officers who were trained to authorise applications which must then
be granted by a Magistrate. The council
could also access communications data if justified and authorised
accordingly.
Over the last year no authorisations had been
applied for and the only amendment to the policy had been to
strengthen the guidance in relation to the use of social media.
The Committee considered the report and did
not raise any specific issues.
There being no decision required the Committee
noted the annual report and review of the RIPA Guidance.
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214. |
Work programme update PDF 114 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/23/022
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received report number:
PAS/WS/23/022, which updated members on the current status of its
rolling work programme of items for scrutiny during 2020-2021
(Appendix 1).
In response to a question raised on how the
Committee could add items to its forward working programme in
addition to statutory items, the Democratic Services Officer
referred members to the Councils Constitution, Part 4, Procedure
Rules, where it sets out under paragraph 7.1 how members could give
notice that they wished an item relevant to the functions of the
Committee to be included on its agenda.
The Director (Resources and Property) further suggested that at its
training session in February 2024 on “effective finance and
budget scrutiny” the Committee could discuss with the
training provider what more the Committee should be
scrutinising.
There being no decision required, the
Committee noted the update.
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