The Audit and Standards Committee of Melton Borough Council met on Tuesday 22 September 2026 to review progress on internal and external audits, and to discuss the council's risk management strategy. Key discussions included the finalisation of several internal audit reports, progress on the external audit for the 2025/26 financial year, and an update on the council's strategic risks.

Internal Audit Progress Report

The committee received an update on the delivery of the 2026/27 Internal Audit plan. Rachel Ashley-Caunt, Chief Internal Auditor, presented the report, highlighting that three audit reports had been finalised since the last meeting.

The audit of Housing Allocations and Homelessness resulted in an improved assurance opinion compared to the previous year, with good assurance for the control environment and low organisational impact. However, moderate assurance was given for compliance, with recommendations made to reinstate paused supervisory checks and to review processes for awarding and verifying housing need bands to ensure consistent application of policy. A specific instance of incorrect housing banding was identified, which the audit flagged for learning.

An audit of Elections Transactions provided assurance over the key financial controls for both council and parliamentary elections. Good assurance was given for both the control environment and compliance. A recommendation was made to ensure robust audit trails for parliamentary and PCC election transactions by logging them on the council's finance system and reconciling them to the relevant bank account.

The audit of Information Requests found that controls and processes for handling Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulation (EIR) requests were well-established, with good use of the new case management system. Good assurance was given for both the control environment and compliance. Recommendations included updating procedural guidance, revising internal review letter templates to include information about the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, and re-establishing the Information Governance Working Group.

The report also noted that 27 agreed management actions arising from audit reports were overdue, with one high-priority action related to asset management being over three months overdue. Dawn Garton, Director for Corporate Services, provided an update on this, stating that significant progress had been made, with 80% completion on documenting health and safety duties for tenanted properties and 50% completion on overdue surveys and inspections. However, she indicated that it would still take approximately six months to fully complete all actions.

External Audit Progress Report 2025/26

The committee received an update on the external audit for the 2025/26 financial year from Grant Thornton. Helen Lillington, Engagement Lead, reported that audit fieldwork was underway but had experienced delays, primarily due to late receipt of draft accounts and supporting evidence. This meant the audit was now expected to conclude in mid-November, with the Audit Findings Report presented to the committee on 24 November.

Key performance indicators showed that while the draft accounts were published by the statutory deadline, the Annual Governance Statement required re-publication. There were also significant shortfalls in the availability of requested audit working papers and sample evidence.

The audit identified significant risks related to management override of control, valuation of land, buildings, council dwellings and investment property, and the valuation of the gross pension liability. Work was in progress on all these areas, with some elements outstanding for the pension liability valuation.

Regarding the value for money audit, good progress had been made, with work largely complete across the three areas assessed. A draft of the Auditor's Annual Report was expected by the end of September.

Risk Management Update, September 2026

Martin Guest, Policy and Communications Manager, presented the latest Risk Management Update. The report detailed the council's Strategic Risk Register, which had been reviewed by the Senior Leadership Team. There were 14 risks being monitored at the strategic level: 6 high (red) risks and 8 medium (amber) risks.

Key risks highlighted included:

• PL4 - Continuity of waste collection and street cleansing services as a result of insufficient drainage on site: The likelihood of this risk had increased due to staff resourcing issues and a contractor dispute, although drainage works were progressing.
• PR4 - Private Rented Sector: The likelihood of this risk had been reduced following the near completion of the Private Sector Housing action plan, with new roles in place.
• SG8 - Capacity to deliver the new Vision 36 and the Corporate Delivery Plan: While the impact of this risk had been reduced, the likelihood had increased due to the inevitability that original Vision 36 priorities would not be fully realised given Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). The corporate strategy was being reviewed to focus on key priorities during the transition.

The report also detailed risks related to the inability to secure the best outcomes from the devolution white paper and LGR transition, implementation of food waste collection arrangements, capacity to respond to major incidents, failure to deliver the MMDR (South) development impacting the Local Plan, failure to secure financial stability, impact of wider changes in the public sector on partnership working, failure of key suppliers, ICT security breaches, resourcing of the Stockyard and ADP developments, and the provision of ICT services in Melton.

The committee was asked to note the content of the report and the updated Strategic Risk Register.