The Audit and Standards Committee of Warwickshire County Council met on Tuesday 14 July 2026 to discuss an update to the Code of Corporate Governance and the Internal Audit Annual Report for 2025/26. The committee endorsed the revised Code of Corporate Governance, which will be presented to Cabinet for approval, and received the Internal Audit Annual Report, which provided substantial assurance on the council's risk management framework.

Code of Corporate Governance Update

The committee reviewed an updated Code of Corporate Governance, which aims to ensure the council's governance arrangements remain current and align with national guidance from CIPFA and SOLACE. The revised code, which will be submitted to Cabinet in September, maintains the existing structure based on seven principles of good governance but includes refreshed details on how these principles are evidenced in practice.

During the discussion, several amendments were proposed and debated. Councillor Mark Stevens raised a point of clarity regarding the declaration of interests for members and officers, suggesting that the wording concerning relevant change in circumstances should apply to both. This was agreed. Councillor David Curtis questioned the change in wording from equality, diversity and inclusion policies and impact assessment to equality impact assessments, expressing concern that it might weaken the council's commitment to actively promoting good relations between groups with protected characteristics. Officers clarified that the change was to reflect current terminology and that equality impact assessments are the recommended way to demonstrate due regard to equality objectives.

Councillor Richard Dickson inquired whether briefings on the updated code would extend to members, which officers confirmed they would look into. Martyn Burke raised concerns about the delegation of authority to the Executive Director for Resources to update the code, questioning whether elected members should be more involved. It was clarified that this delegation was for administrative updates and that substantive changes would still require Cabinet approval. There was also a discussion about the involvement of elected members in the working group that reviewed the code, with some members expressing a desire for greater involvement in future reviews.

Several proposed amendments were discussed, including adding the phrase in working together to a section on ethical values, and the addition of and that councillors provide effective direction and leadership to officers to a statement on high-performance culture. The committee agreed to revisit these amendments and the overall revised code in September to allow members more time to consider them, particularly in light of potential legal implications.

Internal Audit Annual Report 2025/26

Paul Clarke, Internal Audit Manager, presented the Internal Audit Annual Report for 2025/26. He stated that the council's governance, risk management, and control framework provides substantial assurance that significant risks are managed effectively. The report indicated that 94% of completed audits received either moderate or substantial assurance opinions, with only one audit receiving a limited assurance opinion, which was isolated to a specific area.

Key themes arising from the audit findings included governance and policy discipline, end-to-end process design, clarity of accountability, and completeness of performance and risk reporting. The report highlighted that while controls and processes are generally in place, they are not always consistently applied or maintained, leading to risks in organisational resilience, assurance, and decision-making.

The committee discussed the progress on overdue audit actions, noting a significant reduction from 69 to 32 incomplete actions compared to the previous year. Councillor Stephens raised questions about the potential for increased fraudulent activity due to the cost of living pressures, and Mr. Clarke confirmed that while this is a recognised risk, the council does not have a high volume of fraud investigations and is not an outlier compared to other local authorities.

The report also touched upon the impact of Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) on audit work, with Rob Powell, Executive Director for Resources, emphasizing the need to maintain focus on fraud policies and risk management during this period of change.

The committee expressed appreciation for the work of the internal audit team, acknowledging the challenging environment and the successful delivery of the audit programme.

Work Programme and Future Meeting Dates

The committee noted the dates for future meetings: 17 September 2026 and 26 November 2026. The November meeting is expected to have a heavy agenda, including the formal receipt of the council's and pension fund's accounts and governance statements.

The Chair also took the opportunity to thank the finance teams for submitting draft accounts on time and acknowledged the hard work of members who recently served on the Standards Committee.

The meeting concluded with a resolution to exclude the public for specific items due to the disclosure of exempt information, as defined in the Local Government Act 1972.