The Combined Fire Authority for County Durham and Darlington Audit and Finance Committee met to discuss audit progress, the internal audit plan, and the corporate risk register. The committee approved the Internal Audit Plan for 2025/26, and noted the other reports presented. The committee also reviewed the corporate risk register, and noted an increase to one of the risk scores.

Internal Audit Plan 2025/26

The committee agreed the Internal Audit Plan for 2025/26 ¹, which is based on the service level agreement between Durham County Council and the Fire Authority. The plan will deliver 86 productive audit days.

The plan includes:

• Strategic Risk Management
• Assurance Management - AGS
• Data Quality
• Ethics
• Collaboration/ Partnerships
• Counter Fraud Awareness
• NFI
• Key Financial Systems e.g. Debtors, Creditors, Income, Bank Reconciliation and VAT
• Payroll
• Treasury Management
• Procurement/ Contracts
• ICT Systems Managements
• Service Support

Corporate Risk Register

The committee reviewed the Corporate Risk Register ², which summarises the high-level risks facing the service.

One risk score was increased:

• FIN153: The actual position relating to pay awards, inflation and grant cuts etc, turns out to be different to the assumptions underpinning the MTFP leading to a greater budget deficit. The residual impact was increased from 8 to 12, to reflect the reduction in government funding in 2025/26, the increase in employers National Insurance which was not fully funded, and the risk of increased pay awards.

The other risks remained the same:

• ER218: Heightened terrorist threat in County Durham and Darlington increasing the risk to CDDFRS staff and communities.
• ER224: Failure to respond effectively and provide services due to Industrial Action.
• FIN152: Failure to achieve savings via the service transformation options outlined in the CRMP consultation leading to a greater budget deficit.
• FIN 225: Insufficient government funding to meet capital programme requirements which could impact on the revenue budget leading to an increased MTFP deficit.
• FIN 08: Changes to public sector pension schemes could lead to higher employer and employee contributions; increased turnover of staff; difficulty in recruiting and retaining high calibre staff and a reduction in staff morale and productivity.

Internal Audit Progress Report

The committee considered the Internal Audit Progress Report ³, which advised members on work undertaken by Internal Audit between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.

The report aimed to:

• Provide a high level of assurance, or otherwise, on internal controls operated across the Authority that have been subject to audit
• Advise the Committee of significant issues where controls need to improve to effectively manage risks
• Advise the Committee of any amendments to the approved Internal Audit plan
• Advise the Committee of changes to audit processes and terminology
• Track progress on the response to internal audit reports and the implementation of agreed internal audit recommendations
• Provide an update on performance indicators comparing actual performance against planned.

The report noted that 17 reviews were scheduled to be completed in 2024/25, including four that were carried forward from 2023/24. Of these:

• 2 reviews are in progress;
• 13 reviews are complete, at Draft or Final Report
• 1 Counter Fraud review is complete: and
• 1 NFI review is in complete

During the period, the following amendments were made to the plan:

• Performance – Data Quality (Performance Management System) deferred until 2025/26 at service request
• Plant Management replaced with Retained Duty System at service request

No management responses to outstanding Draft Reports are overdue.

Audit Progress Report

The committee received an update on the progress of the 2023-24 audit from Mazars ⁴. James Collins, Audit Director at Mazars, previously presented the Audit Completion Report and Auditors Annual Report in February 2025. At the point of issuing their audit opinion, Mazars had not received final instructions from the National Audit Office (NAO), meaning they were unable to complete their work on Whole of Government Accounts (WGA). As a consequence, they have not yet issued their Audit Certificate.

Mazars also proposed additional fees for work which was above what they had initially planned for, specifically £7,065.00 for ISA 315 Revised, which was omitted from the original PSAA scale fees.

The report also included updates on national publications from the NAO, including reports on:

• Support for children and young people with special educational needs
• Draft Code of Audit Practice
• Local Audit Reset and Recovery Implementation Guidance
• Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children
• The effectiveness of government in tackling homelessness
• DWP customer service
• The condition and maintenance of local roads in England