The Audit and Governance Committee was scheduled to consider a range of issues relating to the financial management of the council, and the risks the council faces. This included scrutiny of the Draft Statement of Accounts 2023/24, which provides a snapshot of the council's financial position, and a Risk Management Update which was prepared to provide the committee with the council's strategic risk register for review. The committee was also scheduled to be provided with reports on the work undertaken by the council's Corporate Anti-Fraud Team in 2023/24, the activities of the council's Internal Audit Team and the Council's Treasury Management activities in 2023/24.

Risk Management Update

The Risk Management Update was provided to give an overview of the 13 strategic risks the council was managing in July 2024, and a breakdown of these by directorate. There are two risks, in particular, that are considered by the council to have a high likelihood and high impact. These risks were:

SNE0001 – The Council fails to maintain a safe community environment for the people who live, work, study or travel within the borough.

SRCD0007 - Risk to residents struggling with the cost of living as a result of Houshold Support Fund activity ceasing in September 2024.

The report explains that the impact of the latter risk had been reduced by the development of a HSF mitigation plan, but that the council would continue to lobby the government to maintain the Household Support Fund.¹

Internal Audit

The Corporate Director of Internal Audit, Anti-Fraud, Revenues & Benefits, Gemma Young, was scheduled to provide the committee with her opinion on the adequacy and effectiveness of the council’s framework of governance, risk management and internal control. She was scheduled to provide this opinion based on the work done by the Internal Audit team in 2023/24, as set out in an Internal Audit Annual Report. She was also scheduled to provide the committee with an update on any changes that had been made to the Internal Audit Plan during the year.

This year's update was also scheduled to include a three-year report on school trends 2021-2024, which outlines common themes arising from internal audits at authority-maintained schools.

Corporate Anti-Fraud Annual Report 2023-24

The committee was scheduled to be provided with an update on the activities of the council's Corporate Anti-Fraud Team (CAFT) in 2023/24. The update is scheduled to cover a wide range of topics including the team's work on social housing fraud, right to buy fraud, and internal fraud committed by the council's staff. In particular, the update was scheduled to include details about tenancy fraud, which is a criminal offence under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013.²

The report notes that there were a number of successful prosecutions and dismissals relating to staff fraud, including one relating to the falsification of sick certificates and another relating to the falsification of references for another former employee.

The team also recovered 47 properties that were being unlawfully sublet and prevented seven fraudulent Right-to-Buy applications, worth a total of £767,640 in discounts.

The CAFT was also scheduled to explain its role in reviewing council tax single person discounts, its proactive work on blue badge fraud, and its participation in the National Fraud Initiative, which is a data-matching exercise run by the Cabinet Office to help prevent and detect fraud.

2023/24 Annual Treasury Management

The committee was scheduled to be provided with an annual review of the council's Treasury Management activities in 2023/24. Treasury management is the way in which councils manage their cash flow, borrowings and investments. The review was scheduled to explain the council's Treasury position at the end of the financial year and give details about how the council had borrowed money and invested its surplus cash.

One of the key points of discussion was scheduled to be the impact of the council’s capital programme on the Capital Financing Requirement (CFR), which is the total amount of money that a council needs to borrow to finance its capital spending. The report notes that the council’s CFR as of 31 March 2024 was £637.6m, while the council’s Gross Borrowing position was £496.4m. This meant that the council was in an “under-borrowed” position, effectively using cash to fund some of its capital spending.

The review was also scheduled to include details about the council’s investment strategy. The report notes that the council had an average of £86m invested during the year, with an average rate of return of 4.76%. This was slightly lower than the average rate of return on the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA), which was 4.96%.

Internal Audit Document Review 2024-25

The committee was scheduled to be asked to approve the updated Internal Audit Charter 2024-25. The Internal Audit Charter is a document that outlines the role of the council’s Internal Audit function. It sets out the purpose, authority and responsibilities of the Internal Audit team and explains how the team will operate. The updated charter includes minor updates and clarifications.

The charter includes two new sections that address fraud and corruption and consultancy work. These sections explain that the Internal Audit team will be alert to risks and exposures that could allow fraud or corruption to occur. The team will also investigate allegations of fraud and corruption in line with the council’s Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy.

The consultancy work section explains that the Internal Audit team may also provide consultancy services at the request of the council. These services will generally be advisory in nature and appropriate arrangements will be put in place to safeguard the independence of the Internal Audit team.

Draft Statement of Accounts 2023/24

The committee was also scheduled to note the information within the Draft Statement of Accounts 2023/24, which had been published and was subject to a period of public inspection.