The Audit, Governance and Standards Committee reviewed the council's external audit plan for the 2025-26 financial year and discussed the council's corporate risk register. The committee also received an update on the external audit plan for the Kingston Pension Fund.

External Audit Plan 2025-26

The committee received and approved the external audit plan for the 2025-26 financial year, presented by KPMG. The plan outlines the approach to auditing the council's statement of accounts and the pension fund accounts. Key risks identified include the valuation of post-retirement benefit obligations and management override of controls. For the council's accounts, the valuation of council dwellings, other land and buildings, and investment properties were identified as higher assessed risks. For the pension fund, risks include the valuation of Level 3 investments and the accuracy of contributions. KPMG partner Joanne Lees presented the plan, highlighting that the scope of the audit is determined by auditing standards and is consistent across local authorities. The audit fee for the council's accounts is £353,000, with an additional £63,000 for non-audit services. The fee for the pension fund audit is £100,000.

Corporate Risk Register

The committee reviewed the council's corporate risk register, which details eight strategic risks in the non-exempt papers and one in the exempt papers. The register is reviewed quarterly by the Strategic Leadership Team. A key discussion point was the presentation of the Financial Sustainability risk, with Councillor Sachin Tulyani questioning whether the wording accurately reflected the cause of the risk. Officers agreed to review the presentation of this risk offline.

Other risks discussed included:

• Recruitment and Retention: The council is actively addressing challenges in recruiting and retaining staff, particularly in social work, planning, IT, and procurement.
• Civil Contingencies for Extreme Weather Events: Following a harsh summer, the council is updating its business continuity plans and working with partners to enhance community resilience.
• Social Cohesion: The council continues to monitor and address risks to social cohesion, exacerbated by national and international events, through intelligence sharing and community engagement.
• Death/Serious Harm to Person within our Care: Safeguarding protocols for children and vulnerable adults remain a priority, with ongoing work to embed learning from reviews.
• Business Continuity - Loss of Key Building (Residential and Office): Following an incident at Cumberland House, lessons learned are being incorporated into business continuity planning. The council is also reviewing its office building resilience.
• Artificial Intelligence Adoption: The council is taking a measured approach to AI adoption, focusing on efficiency tools while developing governance arrangements to manage risks associated with biased or insecure AI systems and increased demand from residents using AI.

The committee noted the updated risks and actions and agreed that the Strategic Leadership Team would continue to review the risk register quarterly.

The meeting concluded at 8:50 pm.