Agenda and minutes
Venue: Conference Chamber, West Suffolk House, Western Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3YU
Contact: Christine Brain: Democratic Services Officer
Email: christine.brain@westsuffolk.gov.uk
Items
No. |
Item |
78. |
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 Stephen Frost substituting for
Councillor Elaine McManus.
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79. |
Apologies for absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillor Elaine McManus.
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80. |
Minutes PDF 310 KB
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on
30 September 2021 (copy attached.)
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 30
September 2021 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the
Chair.
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81. |
Formal decision making on 'minded to' decisions
Taking into account the ‘minded
to’ decisions made during the non-decision making virtual
meeting of the Performance and Audit
Scrutiny Committee held on 30 September 2021, the Committee is
required to formally resolve the following matters:
1. Minutes of the
meeting held on 29 July 2021.
2. Regulation of
Investigatory Powers Act 2000 – Annual Report and Review of
RIPA Guidance
Minutes:
Taking into account the ‘minded
to’ decisions made during the non-decision-making virtual
meeting of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee held on 30
September 2021, the Committee was required to formally resolve the
following matters:
1. Minutes of the
meeting held on 29 July 2021.
2. Regulation of
Investigatory Powers Act 2000 – Annual Report and Review of
RIPA Guidance.
It was then proposed by Councillor Robert
Nobbs, seconded by Councillor Victor Lukaniuk, and with the vote
being unanimous it was:
RESOLVED:
That:
1)
The minutes of the meeting held on 29 July 2021, be confirmed as a
correct record, and signed by the chair.
2)
The Council’s RIPA Guidance, taking into account the
recommendations of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s
Office (IPCO), be approved.
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82. |
Declarations of interest
Members are reminded
of their responsibility to declare any pecuniary or local non
pecuniary interest which they have in any item of business on the
agenda no later than when that item is reached and, when
appropriate, 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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83. |
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.
In accordance with government guidance, the
Council has developed general protocols on operating buildings
safely in order to reduce the risk of the spread of coronavirus and
will apply to members of the public registered to
speak. We would therefore strongly
urge anyone who wishes to register to speak to notify Democratic
Services by 9am on the day of the meeting so that advice can be
given on the arrangements in place.
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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84. |
Ernst and Young - 2020 to 2021 Annual Results Report to those Charged with Governance PDF 129 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/21/018
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received Report number
PAS/WS/21/018, which presented the results from Ernst and
Young’s (EY) audit of the 2020 to 2021 financial statements
for West Suffolk Council. The report
set out issues they were required to report on to those charged
with governance. EY were also required
to report on the results of the work undertaken to assess the
council’s arrangements to secure value for money (VM) in the
use of resources.
The council’s unaudited 2020 to 2021
Statement of Accounts, signed by the Chief Finance Officer (Section
151 Officer) on 21 July 2021, had been updated to reflect any
adjustments recommended by EY over this period as a result of their
audit work. Members were informed that
these adjustments did not affect the council’s overall
financial position and were in most cases merely presentational
changes.
At the time of writing the report, it was not
anticipated that there would be any significant issues with the
accounts, but there were still a number of audit procedures to be
concluded.
A copy of the Audit Results Report dated 8
November 2021, attached at Appendix A to the report was presented
to the Committee by Mark Hodgson (Associate Partner). Attached at Appendix B to the report was West
Suffolk Council’s Letter of Representation, on behalf of the
Council in accordance with the audit of the financial statements
for West Suffolk Council for the year ended 31 March 2021.
Mark Hodgson presented the report and referred
the Committee to the executive summary on page 6, and updated
members on progress made in completing outstanding audit procedures
since 8 November 2021, as follows:
-
Leases - Completed and no matters to
report.
-
Accounts Payable - Completed and no matters to
report.
-
Accounts Receivable - Completed and no matters to
report.
-
Property, Plant and Equipment testing (including
Investment Property and the Solar Farm) – Awaiting assurance
reports from our EY Real Estate team and Transaction Support
teams.
-
IAS 19 – Pensions Liability. Completed and the
Liability had reduced by £0.488m as a result of an updated
IAS 19 report from the valuer.
-
Provisions - Completed and no matters to
report.
-
Reserves – underway and will be completed once
other procedures are complete, as it is the summary position of the
transactions.
-
Covid-19 Grants – Some remaining queries with
officers. Complete next week. One classification amendment to date
as reported in Section 4 of the report.
-
Housing Benefit Expenditure - Completed and no
matters to report.
-
Collection Fund Income - Completed and no matters to
report.
-
Related Party Transactions - Completed and no
matters to report.
-
Group Consolidation – waiting to complete
closing inventory procedures at the subsidiary.
-
Whole of government accounts submission – This
would not be completed by the time of issuing the audit opinion as
HM Treasury had not issued the guidance to auditors.
The overall message was the Committee could
take a ...
view the full minutes text for item 84.
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85. |
West Suffolk Annual Governance Statement 2020 to 2021 PDF 119 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/21/019
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received Report number
PAS/WS/21/019, which sought members approval of the draft West
Suffolk Annual Governance Statement for 2020 to 2021, attached at
Appendix A.
The Annual Governance Statement provided
stakeholders with assurance that the council had operated within
the law and that they had met the requirements of the Accounts and
Audit Regulations 2015. The Annual
Governance Statement accompanied the Statement of Accounts.
The draft Annual Governance Statement had been
prepared by the Officer Governance Group and was West Suffolk
Council’s second annual governance statement.
The Director (Resources and Property) informed
members that there were no issues to raise with the Committee.
The Committee considered the draft West
Suffolk Annual Governance Statement for 2020 to 2021 and did not
raise any issues.
Councillor Robert Nobbs then moved the
recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor Stephen Frost,
and with the vote being unanimous, it was:
RESOLVED
That the draft West
Suffolk Annual Governance Statement 2020 to 2021, attached as
Appendix A to Report number PAS/WS/21/019 be approved for signing
by the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive.
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86. |
2020 to 2021 Statement of Accounts PDF 194 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/21/020
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received Report number
PAS/WS/21/020, which sought members approval of the 2020 to 2021
Statement of Accounts for West Suffolk Council (Appendix A), in
accordance with powers delegated to it under the Council’s
constitution.
It was reported that the statutory
requirements for the report and approval of the Council’s
annual financial statements were set out in the Accounts and Audit
Regulations 2015. The regulations
require the council to submit draft accounts to its external
auditors, currently Ernst and Young (EY) by 31 May each year, with
member scrutiny and approval of the accounts required once the
audit had been concluded by 31 July each year. Due to Covid-19 and in response to a consultation
exercise carried out by it, the government had issued regulations
– the Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2021, to
amend these deadlines in relation to the 2020 to 2021 and 2021 to
2022 accounts. The revised dates were 1
August for the draft accounts and 30 September for final approval
and publication.
Due to the planned phased approach to
delivering the 2020 to 2021 audits across Suffolk, the external
audit of the draft accounts for West Suffolk did not begin until
mid-September and it was therefore not possible to complete the
audit and publish the accounts by the end of September in line with
the regulations. This situation was
allowed for by Regulation 10, paragraph (2a) of the Accounts and
Audit Regulations 2015.
The outcome of EY’s review of the
accounts was provided in the Annual Results Report, which were
included on the Committee’s agenda (PAS/WS/21/018 –
Appendix A), along with a verbal update by EY giving their current
position as of this evening (18 November 2021).
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.
The covering report summarised financial
highlights in 2020 to 2021; revenue expenditure; capital
expenditure; usable reserves; pension fund; annual governance
statement and payments to councillors.
The Director (Resources and Property) drew the
Committee’s attention to a couple of key areas, such as the
narrative report being user friendly; the audit to date showed no
change to the revenue outturn; the councils net worth; the balance
sheet, in particular long-term assets and the pension
liability.
The Director (Resources and Property) also
wished to thank EY and the council’s finance team for its
work, as it had continued to be a challenging time in carrying out
audits.
The Committee scrutinised the draft accounts
in detail and asked questions to which responses were provided on
interest and investments; Barley Homes shares; external audit costs
(fees); and senior officers’ remuneration.
In response to a question raised regarding
external audit fees and what percentage fee increase would the
council expect next year, Mark Hodgson, Associate Partner from EY
explained that in working out audit fees for 2021 to 2022 EY would
use this year’s audit fee as a starting point. Discussions would then take place ...
view the full minutes text for item 86.
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87. |
Arrangements for Appointment of External Auditors PDF 161 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/21/021
Minutes:
The
Committee received Report No: PAS/WS/21/021, which asked the
Committee to consider options available for the appointing process
for External Auditors from 2023 to 2024.
The
Council could choose one of the following options:
1)
Procurement via Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd
(PSAA);
2)
Establish a stand-alone appointment; or
3)
Set up a Joint Auditor Panel/local joint procurement
arrangements.
The report set out in detail
the advantages and disadvantages for each of the three options and
legal implications.
The Committee was advised
that opting into the PSAA arrangements for
the appointing process would be the best option to work alongside
other Councils and influence a particularly difficult
market. The proposed contract duration
was five years, with an option to extend for a further one or two
years with supplier agreement using a single tender, restricted
procedure.
The Committee scrutinised the
report in detail and asked questions to which officers duly
responded. In particular the Committee
asked how the PSAA process worked, to which officers explained the
process was carried out last time in lots through a national
procurement process, which was considered a guarantee for a good
quality audit service; and whether officers had approached other
authorities who did not use the PSAA.
In response to a question
raised regarding audit fees, officers explained that the PSAA set
the scale fees.
Councillor Cliff Waterman then
moved the recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor Phil
Wittam, and with the vote being unanimous, it was:
RECOMMENDED: That
1)
The Committee notes
the arrangements and options for appointing External Auditors to
audit the Final Accounts of the Council from
2023/2024.
2)
Subject to the approval of Cabinet and Council,
it was recommended to continue to “opt-in” to the
sector led body (Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd (PSAA)) for
the independent appointment of the Council’s external
auditor, beginning with responsibilities for the financial year
2023/2024.
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88. |
Internal Audit Mid-Year Progress Report 2021 to 2022 PDF 117 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/21/022
Additional documents:
Minutes:
[Councillor Andy Neal left the meeting at
6.25pm following the conclusion of this item.]
The Committee received Report number
PAS/WS/21/022, which updated members on progress made against
internal audit’s 2021 to 2022 work plan approved by this
committee in May 2021 and provided a flavour of the work undertaken
in the year to date.
Attached at Appendix A to the report was the
Mid-year Internal Audit progress report 2021 to 2022.
Based on the work completed to date, all audit
opinions issued within the period had been “good” or
“reasonable” with no “limited” or “no
assurance” opinions being issued.
Therefore, there were no significant areas of concern to highlight
from the audit work completed to date.
The Committee considered the report and did
not raise any issues.
There being no decision required, the
Committee noted the progress made against the 2021 to 2022
Internal Audit Plan.
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89. |
2021 to 2022 Performance Report (Quarter 2) PDF 345 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/21/023
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received Report number
PAS/WS/21/023, which set out the Quarter 2 performance and forecast
year-end financial position for West Suffolk for 2021 to 2022.
The Service Manager (Resources
and Performance) presented the budget monitoring and referred to
page 295 of the report, setting out the key headlines for the
current revenue outturn position, which showed a balanced forecast
year end position. This position took
into account the £2m provision for the effects of Covid-19 in
the 2021 to 2022 approved budget, based on £1.1m anticipated
pressures and utilisation of the £0.9m local authority
Covid-19 support grant.
Whilst the overall level of the
council’s General Fund and reserve would be reassessed in
light of the pandemic, at the time of writing this report, around
£421,000 of the £1,506,000 budgeted contribution of the
General Fund was proposed to be utilised in order to fund the
remaining forecast deficit. The
council’s financial position and ability to reduce the impact
where possible had been helped by previous financial planning and
the creation of the West Suffolk Council as well as quick and
effective action to reduce costs as guidance and infection rates
changed.
The Service Manager (Resources
and Performance) then referred to page 296 of the report, which set
out a graphical representation on how Covid-19 had impacted the
council over the year. The first graph
showed the financial impact of Covid-19 and the second graph showed
how the impact had been mitigated.
Pages 297 of the report, which
set out the council’s forecasting spend of £28.6m from
its capital budget of £49.5m for 2021 to 2022 with a proposed
carry forward of £20.6m as a result of project
timings. The council’s
forecast balance on earmarked revenue reserves at the end of the
financial year was £34.2m after Section 31 grant adjustments,
against a budgeted closing balance of £32.2m.
Attached to the Quarter 2
performance report were a number of appendices, presented by the
Service Manager (Policy, Projects and Performance) which set out
the performance and financial position for 2021-2022, as
follows:
-
Appendix A: Performance Indicators –
Commentary
-
Appendix B: Performance Indicators –
Growth
-
Appendix C: Performance Indicators – Families
and Communities
-
Appendix D: Performance Indicators –
Housing
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Appendix E: Performance Indicators – Day to
Day
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Appendix F: Income and Expenditure Report
-
Appendix G: Capital Programme
-
Appendix H: Earmarked Reserves
-
Appendix I: Strategic Risk Register
The Service Manager (Policy, Projects and
Performance) then drew members attention to two areas, being
homelessness and channel shift.
The number of households in temporary
accommodation reported this quarter was 73, compared to 69 in the
previous quarter and 87 in quarter 2 (2020-2021). In July 2020 the highest figure reported was 132
households in temporary accommodation, with the average being 59 in
the year before Covid.
The number of households in bed and breakfast
accommodation this quarter was 9, compared to 10 in the previous
quarter, and 19 in quarter 2 (2020-2021). In April 2020 the highest figure ...
view the full minutes text for item 89.
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90. |
Delivering a Sustainable Medium-Term Budget PDF 203 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/21/024
Minutes:
[Councillor Cliff Waterman left the meeting at
7.10pm, prior to the vote taking place.]
At its meeting on 30 September 2021, report
number PAS/WS/21/016 outlined the process and approach to setting
the council’s 2022 to 2023 budget and the principles and
challenges faced in achieving this.
The Committee received report number
PAS/WS/21/024, which updated members on assumptions
and anticipated savings and initiatives proposed or delivered to
date to deliver a sustainable and balanced budget for 2022 to
2023.
The financial impact of
Covid-19 on the council’s budget was likely to be felt for
many years. Therefore, the council
would need to make provision in its medium-term budget plans for
recovery to pre-covid levels. Any
long-term impact of Covid-19 on the council’s services would
only be established in due course.
Proposals and key budget
assumptions to date, were set out in Section 2 of the
report. The net impact of the key
assumption changes were included in
Table 1 of the report. These changes
gave rise to a working budget deficit for 2022 to 2023 of
£0.42m, £1.46m for 2023 to 2024, £2.06m for 2024
to 2025 and £2.60m for 2025 to 2026.
Significant working was
continuing to take place to achieve a 2022 to 2023 balanced budget
by February 2022. It was report that a
number of areas were already in progress, including:
-
Conclusion of the income and expenditure line by
line review and the identification of saving initiatives and
opportunities.
-
Discussions with Barley Homes Limited (the Councils
wholly owned Housing Company) regarding any dividend announcement
for the 2021 to 2022 years financial performance.
-
The setting of the councils Council Tax Base for
council tax setting purposes (Council decision, December
2021)
-
The monitoring of the councils in year Council Tax
Collection.
The Committee at its January
2022 meeting would receive an update on the Capital Programme which
was currently being revised and updated with known
changes.
The Committee considered the
report and asked questions to which responses were
provided. Discussions were held Table
1, in particular the Solar Farm sales income for 2022 to
2023.
In response to a question
raised regarding the £0.42m budget gap for 2022 to 2023,
officers advised the council was working towards a balanced budget
without using council reserves.
Councillor Phil Wittam then
moved the recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor Nick
Clarke, and with the vote being unanimous, it was:
RECOMMENDED:
That
Cabinet be recommended to include the proposals as detailed in
section 2 and Table 1 at paragraph 3.6 of report number
PAS/WS/21/024, in the medium-term financial plans to
2026.
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91. |
Treasury Management Report - September 2021 PDF 367 KB
Report number: FRS/WS/21/005 was
considered by the Financial Resilience Sub-Committee on 8 November
2021.
The Service Manager (Finance and Performance)
will update the Committee verbally on any issues or recommendations
arising from the consideration of this report.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received Report No:
FRS/WS/21/005, which had been considered by the Financial
Resilience Sub-Committee on 8 November 2021. The Service Manager (Finance and Performance)
provided a verbal update on the Sub-Committee’s consideration
of the report, which provided a summary of investment activity for
the first half of the 2021-2022 financial year.
The 2020-2021 Annual Treasury Management and
Investment Strategy sets out the Council’s projections for
the current financial year. The budget
for investment income for 2021 to 2022 was £45,000, which was
based on a 0.25% target interest rate of return on investments.
At the end of September 2021, interest earned
during the first half of the financial year amounted to
£34,122 against a profiled budget for the period of
£22,500, a budget surplus of £11,622.
External borrowing as at 30 September 2021 remained at £4m with the
council’s level of internal borrowing increasing slightly to
£48,039,000 as at 30 September 2021. Overall borrowing, both external and internal was
expected to increase over the full financial year, but not by as
much as was originally budget for.
The report also included a summary of the
borrowing activity during the period; borrowing strategy and
sources of borrowing; borrowing and capital costs –
affordability; borrowing and income – proportionality;
borrowing and asset yields; CIPFA consultation on prudential code
and market information.
The Service Manager (Finance and Performance)
referred the committee to paragraph 4.5 of the report, which set
out the forecast for the council’s Capital Financing
Requirement (underlying need to borrow) over the next three
years. The council, along with
Arlingclose would continue to explore alternative sources of
borrowing to ensure the council was ready to externally borrow in
the most advantageous way, when it needed to.
Attached at Appendix 1 to the report
was Arlingclose economic and interest rate forecast.
The Sub-Committee
has scrutinised the report on 8 November 2021, and asked questions
to which responses were provided. In particular detailed discussions were
held on the Council preparing itself for external borrowing by the
end of the financial year, whilst interest rates were at an
historic low; and lending monies to other local authorities as set
out in the report.
The Performance and Audit
Scrutiny Committee scrutinised the report in detail and asked
questions to which responses were provided. In particular detailed discussions were
held on external borrowing and what was the councils trigger point
in borrowing externally, as inflation was on the rise and interest
rates remained historically low.
In response to a question raised on what the
trigger point might be to borrow externally, officers advised that
about £23m needs to be returned to central government next
year which could be a trigger in exercising the need to borrow
externally.
The Committee suggested the council needed to
get some interest rate certainty now and should be looking to lock
in the low borrowing rates, externalising our underlying need to
borrow. In response, the Cabinet Member
for Resources and Property welcomed the Committees comments on
external borrowing.
It was ...
view the full minutes text for item 91.
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92. |
Work programme update 2022 PDF 116 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/21/025
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received report number:
PAS/WS/21/025, which updated members on the current status of its
rolling work programme of items for scrutiny during 2020-2021
(Appendix 1).
The Committee considered its rolling work
programme and did not raise any issues.
There being no decision required, the
Committee noted the update.
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In this section
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