The Audit and Standards Advisory Committee of Brent Council met on Monday 27 July 2026 to discuss a range of important matters including the council's emergency preparedness, the progress of the external audit of the statement of accounts, and the council's treasury management outturn for the previous financial year. The committee also reviewed its forward plan and work programme for the upcoming municipal year.

Emergency Preparedness Report

A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to the Emergency Preparedness Report, which provided an update on the council's emergency planning, resilience, and business continuity arrangements since July 2025. The report detailed efforts to strengthen preparedness and response capabilities through increased training and exercising, enhancements to business continuity planning, and improvements to emergency response arrangements. It highlighted the council's response to various incidents, including residential fires, utility disruptions, and severe weather events, noting these as opportunities to test and improve existing arrangements. The report also indicated that further work is needed to increase resilience in some emergency response roles, complete outstanding business continuity plans, and prepare for emerging risks such as cyber disruption and extreme heat. The council's statutory duties under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004¹ were noted as being central to this work, alongside alignment with the Borough Plan priorities of Prosperity and Stability in Brent, Thriving Communities, and A Cleaner, Greener Future.

The report detailed the council's on-call arrangements, noting that while an initial response to incidents has been effective, there is limited resilience for prolonged emergencies. Efforts to increase the number of trained officers for key roles, such as Humanitarian Assistance Lead Officers (HALOs) and Borough Emergency Control Centre (BECC) staff, were also discussed. The report also outlined progress in business continuity planning, including the enhancement of BCP templates and a revised format for improved accessibility. The Borough Resilience Forum (BRF) was discussed, with a focus on strengthening its effectiveness and collaboration with partners, including a recent multi-agency exercise based on a power outage scenario and a community resilience event. Member training on emergency planning and resilience was also covered, with a briefing delivered in June to enhance elected members' understanding of their roles. Counter-terrorism preparedness, including the implications of Martyn's Law, was also a key topic, with ongoing work to assess and strengthen the council's resilience to terrorist threats. Finally, the report detailed a substantial programme of training and exercising activities undertaken, including a Climate Change Exercise and Exercise Sentinel, which tested cyber incident response arrangements.

Update on Statement of Accounts and External Audit Progress Report

The committee received an update on the progress of the external audit of the council's Statement of Accounts for 2025-26. The report indicated that the draft Statement of Accounts had been published by the statutory deadline of 30 June 2026, demonstrating the council's commitment to financial governance and transparency. The external audit, conducted by Grant Thornton, was progressing broadly in line with the agreed timetable, with sample testing completed and a review of evidence underway. While the audit was on track for completion by the September committee meeting, a risk of delays remained, which was being actively managed through regular progress meetings. A verbal update from the external auditors was expected at the meeting, with a more detailed Audit Findings Report to be presented in September.

Treasury Management Outturn Report 2025-26

This report was scheduled to set out the outturn for the council's Treasury Management Activities for the financial year 2025-26. It was intended to update members on both borrowing and investment decisions, considered within the context of prevailing economic conditions and the council's overall Treasury Management performance.

Audit & Standards Advisory Committee Forward Plan & Work Programme 2026-27

The committee was asked to consider its work programme for the 2026-27 Municipal Year. This included noting the dates for future meetings and discussing any areas of training that members would like to be provided during the upcoming year. The forward plan indicated a range of topics to be covered, including internal and external audit reports, financial reporting, governance matters, risk management, standards issues, and committee effectiveness.