The Governance & Assurance Committee of Redbridge Council met on Monday 07 September 2026 to review the Annual Report of the Monitoring Officer for 2025/26, discuss the Annual Audit Results Report for 2024/25, and consider updates to the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy and Policies.

Annual Report of the Monitoring Officer 2025/26

The committee was scheduled to review the Annual Report of the Monitoring Officer for the municipal year 2025/26. This report was intended to provide an overview of the discharge of the Monitoring Officer's statutory responsibilities, as well as the operation of ethical standards and governance arrangements within the Council. The report was designed to support the Governance & Assurance Committee's role in overseeing the Council's governance framework, maintaining high standards of conduct, and ensuring lawful, transparent, and accountable decision-making. Key activities undertaken during 2025/26 and areas of focus for the forthcoming year were to be outlined.

Annual Audit Results Report 2024/25 - Action Plan Update

A discussion was scheduled regarding the Annual Audit Results Report for 2024/25, focusing on the progress of the associated action plan. This report followed the Governance and Assurance Committee's previous receipt of the Audit Results Report from EY, the Council's external auditor, in February 2026. The report detailed recommendations made by EY to improve the process for preparing the 2025/26 accounts and subsequent years, along with management's responses. Some of these recommendations, along with a new one concerning the timing of the final sign-off of accounts and the Annual Governance Statement, had been converted into statutory recommendations by EY. These were subsequently considered by Full Council on 18 June 2026, which delegated the monitoring of these recommendations to the Governance and Assurance Committee. The report was to provide a continued update on the progress made against these recommendations.

Review of Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy and Policies 2026

The committee was set to review the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy and its supporting policies. In January 2025, the committee had recommended the formal adoption of the strategy and policies for 2025-27, which Cabinet subsequently approved in May 2025. An ongoing interim review process by the Counter Fraud Team had identified that while the core of the Whistleblowing Policy remained sound, updates were beneficial to clarify aspects, provide more detail, enhance supporting activities, and re-communicate policy requirements. These updates were not intended to substantively change the Council's approach to whistleblowing. The strategy and other supporting policies were reviewed and deemed appropriate without amendment. The review also assessed the Council's arrangements in light of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, specifically the new offence of failure to prevent fraud which came into force on 1 September 2025. The report aimed to provide assurance that the Council's current counter-fraud arrangements align with the Act's requirements for reasonable prevention measures. The key messages of the strategy and its policies, including zero tolerance for fraud, the emphasis on prevention, and strong redress actions, were to be reiterated.