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 |
108. |
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 Mick Bradshaw substituting for
Councillor Andy Neal.
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109. |
Apologies for absence
Minutes:
Apologies for absence were received from
Councillors James Lay and Andy Neal.
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110. |
Minutes PDF 303 KB
To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on
27 January 2022 (copy attached.)
Minutes:
The minutes of the meeting held on 27 January
2022 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the
Chair.
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111. |
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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112. |
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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113. |
Internal Audit Annual Report (2021 to 2022) PDF 120 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/22/005
Additional documents:
Minutes:
[Councillor Karen
Richardson arrived at 5.20pm during the consideration of this
item.]
The Service Manager (Internal Audit) presented
Report No: PAS/WS/22/005 which provided members with an overview of
the work carried out by Internal Audit for the year ending 31 March
2022.
The annual audit opinion, attached at Appendix
A to the report was split into the four constituent elements of
governance; risk; internal control and financial control with a
specific conclusion drawn on each, as well as the direction of
travel.
The council recognised that fraud, theft and
corruption were an ever-present threat to the resources available
in the public sector. Appendix B
attached to the report demonstrated West Suffolk’s progress
in developing and maintaining an anti-fraud and anti-corruption
culture and publicised the action taken where fraud or misconduct
had been identified.
The Committee considered the report in detail
and asked questions, to which responses were provided. In particular discussions were held on the
implementation of the new cash system, the Welcome Back Fund and
claims to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities.
In response to a question raised relating to
revenues and benefits fraud and how it compared with other local
authorities, officers explained that on a fraud perspective, the
council was broadly similar to other local authorities.
In response to a question raised asking
whether the fee earning work carried out by internal audit was a
competitive price, officers explained that the majority of the work
carried out was for the Anglia Revenues Partnership under an
agreement with the council’s audit team. East Suffolk Council and Fenland District Council
also undertook some auditing work, but West Suffolk Council was the
only council which charged.
In response to a question raised relating to
the language and wording used in the report, officers thanked the
Committee for its comments and agreed to look at the wording for
future reporting to the Committee.
In response to a question raised on why
“risk” had been given an audit opinion of
“reasonable” and not “good” and further
questioning what were the particular control issues affecting
“risk”, officers agreed to provide a written response
to the Committee.
There being no decision required, the
Committee noted the Internal Audit Annual Report
2021 to 2022, attached at Appendix A and the Annual Fraud Report
2021 to 2022, attached at Appendix B to Report No:
PAS/WS/22/005.
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114. |
Outline Internal Audit Plan (2022 to 2023) PDF 135 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/22/006
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Service Manager (Internal Audit) presented
Report No: PAS/WS/22/006, which provided members with a proposed
2022-2023 Audit Plan, attached at Appendix B. Attached at Appendix A to the report was the
covering Internal Audit Plan Report.
The proposed Audit Plan was a risk-based plan
of work for the internal audit team, which took into account the
need to produce an annual internal opinion for the council which
concludes on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the
council’s framework of governance, risk management and
internal control.
It was important that the audit
plan was flexible and able to adapt to changing risks facing the
council, thereby ensuring that audit resources were used where they
would add maximum value. During the
year, specific audits might therefore need to be taken out of the
plan or added in, according to changing circumstances.
The Service Manager (Internal Audit) drew
relevant issues to Members’ attention.
The
Committee considered the report and in particular suggested
that in Appendix B, Corporate and business area audits (IT Audit)
that the council also considers speaking with stakeholders as
well.
Councillor Victor Lukaniuk moved the
recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor Robert Nobbs,
and with the vote being unanimous, it was:
RESOLVED:
That the Internal
Audit Plan for 2022 to 2023, attached at Appendix A and B to Report
No: PAS/WS/22/006, be approved.
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115. |
CIPFA Financial Management Code PDF 365 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/22/007
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received report number
PAS/WS/22/007, which set out the details on the CIPFA Financial
Management Code (FM Code), published in October 2019.
The FM Code provided guidance for good and
sustainable financial management in local authorities and would
provide assurance that authorities were managing resources
effectively. The FM Code required
authorities to demonstrate that the processes they had in place
satisfy the principles of good financial management. CIPFA’s intention was that the FM Code would
have the same scope as the Prudential Code for Capital Finance in
Local Authorities, which promoted the financial sustainability of
local authority capital expenditure and associated
borrowing. Although the FM Code did not
have legislative backing, it applied to all local authorities,
including police, fire, combined and other authorities.
Paragraphs 2.3 to 2.11 of the report set out
the key points of the FM Code. As a
first step towards ensuring the council was meeting the FM Code,
the Chief Finance Officer had produced a draft initial
self-assessment against the FM Code, which was attached as Appendix
A to the report. The self-assessment
would be continually reviewed and refined on an ongoing basis, to
ensure standards were maintained and any actions implemented.
The Committee considered the report in detail
and asked questions to which responses were provided. In particular discussions were held on peer
reviews; whether the self-assessment was recognised by the
council’s external auditors and whether the self-assessment
would be included in the council’s audit plan for
2022-2023.
In response to a question raised on whether
this would be an annual process, officers explained that each year
the council would need to reference its compliance with the Code,
which would be embedded into the Annual Governance Statement.
There being
no decision required, the Committee noted the key points of
the CIPFA Financial Management Code as set out in paragraphs 2.3 to
2.11, and the initial self-assessment of compliance with the Code,
the associated actions arising to ensure full compliance and next
steps as detailed in Appendix A to Report number
PAS/WS/22/007.
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116. |
Health and Safety Summary Report (2021 to 2022) PDF 115 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/22/008
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Service Manager (Health and Safety)
presented Report No: PAS/WS/22/008, which summarised
the work carried out by the Health and Safety Sub-Committee during
2021-2022.
The summary report attached at
Appendix A was produced to identify and document West Suffolk
Council’s health and safety performance and work carried out
during the year to ensure legal compliance.
The Committee considered the
report and asked questions. In
particular discussions were held on whether the council was still
providing covid tests for staff and whether there were any plans to
improve the take-up of the e-learning modules.
There being no decision required, the
Committee noted the Health and Safety Summary Report
2021-2022.
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117. |
Annual Re-Appointments to the Financial Resilience Sub-Committee and the Health and Safety Sub-Committee (2022 to 2023) PDF 178 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/22/009
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received Report No:
PAS/WS/22/009, which sought reappointments to the Financial
Resilience Sub-Committee and the Health and Safety Sub-
Committee.
The Constitution now expected that the
appointment of members to the Financial Resilience Sub-Committee
and the Health and Safety Sub-Committee be undertaken at the first
meeting of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee, following
Annual Council or following a review of the allocation of seats on
committees during the year.
Attached at Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 to the
report were the terms of reference for the Financial Resilience
Sub-Committee and the Health and Safety Sub-Committee.
The Committee was asked to:
1)
Reappoint three members and one substitute member from the members
of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee to sit on the
Financial Resilience Sub-Committee for 2022 to 2023; and
2)
Reappoint six members and two substitute members from the members
of the Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee to sit on the
Health and Safety Sub-Committee for 2022 to 2023.
The Committee considered the report and the
proposed seating allocations for each sub-committee, and in doing
so reflecting on political balance as far as practically
possible.
Councillor Karen Richardson moved the
recommendation, this was duly seconded by Councillor Elaine
McManus, and with the vote being unanimous, it was:
RESOLVED: That
1)
Councillors Ian Houlder (Conservative Group), Elaine McManus
(Conservative Group) and Victor Lukaniuk (Independent Group), be
appointed as full members to the Financial Resilience
Sub-Committee, and Councillor Robert Nobbs (Conservative Group) as
the Substitute Member for 2022 to 2023.
2)
Councillors Ian Houlder, Nick Clarke, Elaine McManus and Robert
Nobbs (Conservative Group), Andy Neal (Independent Group), and
Cliff Waterman (Labour Group) be appointed as the full members to
the Health and Safety Sub-Committee, and Councillors James Lay
(Conservative Group) and Phil Wittam (Independent Group) as the
Substitute Members for 2022 to 2023.
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118. |
Work programme update 2022 to 2023 PDF 119 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/22/010
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received report number:
PAS/WS/22/010, which updated members on the current status of its
rolling work programme of items for scrutiny during 2020-2021
(Appendix 1).
It was reported that
the council’s external auditors Ernst and Young (EY) had
confirmed to officers that the West Suffolk external audit of the
2021/2022 Statement of Accounts was scheduled to take place week
commencing 17 October to week commencing 21 November
2022.
Following that audit
period, EY would need time to produce their final report and audit
opinion so it is considered extremely unlikely that the November
2022 Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee meeting date would be
met.
It was therefore
proposed that an additional committee meeting be held on Wednesday
14 December 2022, specifically to consider the Statement of
Accounts, Annual Governance Statement and Report to those Charged
with Governance from EY (their audit findings and opinion
report).
The Committee considered the report, and there
being no decision required, noted the update
and the additional meeting being scheduled for
Wednesday 14 December 2022.
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119. |
2021 to 2022 Performance Report (Quarter 4) PDF 208 KB
Report number: PAS/WS/22/011
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee received Report
number PAS/WS/22/011, which set out the impact of Covid-19, the
Quarter 4 performance and the 2021 to 2022 revenue and capital
positions.
Since the outbreak of Covid-19
in the UK, a number of events had occurred which had had a
significant impact on West Suffolk Council’s financial
position. Some of these had been
restrictions imposed by Government that had affected West Suffolk
Council’s investments and services; and others had been
announcements of Government financial support.
The Council has played its part
in responding to Covid-19 in supporting businesses and the most
vulnerable as well as running essential services. The returns to the Department for Levelling Up,
Housing, Communities have detailed the financial impacts of
Covid-19, and generally the forecast impacts have remained
consistent on a month-by-month basis.
The latest submission covering the period from April 2021 to March
2022 shows a total impact of £3.8m (costs of £1.2m and
lost income of £2.6m). However,
it should be noted that these are required to be gross figures and
therefore an element of the additional costs such as internal staff
redeployment and costs savings have also been factored into the
figures.
Covid-19 and our response to it has
consequently impacted on a number of our local performance
indicators, most noticeably around housing and homelessness, income
indicators and our aged debt amount.
Within these figures, the income generated by the council in the
current financial year through sales, fees and charges has reduced
by £2.6m, mitigated to a certain extent by the sales, fees
and charges compensation from central government. (Further details of the financial impacts of
Covid-19 can be found in Appendix B).
The level of debt over 90 days has been a
focus for management during the year.
Quarter 4 data shows that this now stands at a total of
£1,104,724. This is an increase
of £126,480 on the Quarter 3 figures. Commercial Property debt made up £701,446
(63.5%) of this position and £491,169 of this debt relates to
just 3 tenants. We are continuing to
work very closely with all our tenants to clear outstanding rent
arrears. Exempt Appendix F shows
the split of the Aged Debt by service area and a split of the
commercial property debt.
The impact of Covid-19 is likely to be felt
for years to come as the council continues to make provision in
2022 to 2023 for the impact on recovery to pre-covid income and
expenditure levels.
Attached to the Quarter 4
performance and year-end-financial outturn position for 2021 to
2022 were a number of appendices as follows:
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Appendix A: Key Performance Indicator
Dashboards
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Appendix B: Income and expenditure report
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Appendix C: Capital Programme
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Appendix D: Earmarked reserves
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Appendix E: Strategic Risk Register
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EXEMPT Appendix F – Aged
debt over 90 days
The Chief Executive introduced
the new dynamic interactive performance dashboard, and set out the
new approach to performance management, which was about:
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Achieving clarity around governance arrangements,
with indicators being set ...
view the full minutes text for item 119.
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120. |
Exclusion of press and public
To consider whether the press and public
should be excluded during the consideration of the following item
because it is likely, in view of the nature of the business to be
transacted or the nature of the proceedings, that if members of the
public were present during the item(s), there would be disclosure
to them of exempt categories or information as prescribed in Part 1
of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, and indicated
against each item and, in all circumstances of the case, the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest
in disclosing the information.
Minutes:
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121. |
2021 to 2022 Performance Report (Quarter 3): Exempt Appendix F: Aged Debt Over 90 Days Monitoring (paragraphs 1 and 2)
Exempt Appendix F to Report number:
PAS/WS/22/011
(This exempt appendix is to be considered in
private under paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Local
Government Act 1972, as it contains information relating to an
individual and information which is likely to reveal the identity
of an individual).
Minutes:
The Performance and Audit Scrutiny Committee
considered the Exempt Appendix F to this report. However, no
reference was made to specific detail and, therefore, this item was
not held in private session.
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In this section
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