The Overview and Audit Committee of the Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire Authority met on Wednesday 14 October 2026. The meeting's agenda included discussions on corporate risk management, internal audit progress and reports, the draft auditor's annual report, and treasury management performance.

Corporate Risk Management

The committee was scheduled to consider an update on the current status of identified corporate risks. The report highlighted that the Corporate Risk Register currently contains ten strategic risks, with the overall risk profile remaining largely stable. The Financial Stability risk was noted as the Authority's most significant corporate risk, reflecting ongoing uncertainty around future pay awards, inflationary pressures, funding levels, and broader economic conditions. The report also proposed renaming the McCloud/Sargeant risk to Pension Remedy to encompass wider pension-related impacts.

Internal Audit Progress Report

This report provided an update on the Internal Audit Service's progress in delivering the approved 2026/27 Internal Audit Plan and the implementation of management actions arising from audit work. It noted that out of 35 audit findings raised between April 2024 and September 2026, 28 had been implemented and closed, with 7 still in progress. One action was reported as overdue. The report also detailed the implementation of a new Business Assurance structure following a service review, with recruitment underway to strengthen capacity and capability.

Final Internal Audit Reports

The committee was scheduled to review the findings of finalised Internal Audit reports issued since the last meeting. The report focused on the Estates and Facilities Management audit, which received a Reasonable assurance opinion. This audit identified one high priority, one medium priority, and nine low priority findings. Key areas for improvement included the recording of assets, the comprehensiveness of the planned maintenance schedule, communication of triage timeframes for reactive maintenance, and the formalisation of out-of-hours defect reporting procedures.

Draft Auditor's Annual Report - Year-ended 31 March 2026

This report provided a draft summary of the findings from the 2025/26 audit. It indicated that no significant weaknesses were identified in the Authority's arrangements for securing economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in its use of resources. The audit of the financial statements was ongoing, with no instances of management override of controls identified to date. The valuation of post-retirement benefit obligations for the Firefighters Pension Scheme was also reviewed, with no issues identified regarding the significant assumptions used. The report also noted one corrected audit misstatement related to grant income classification and one control deficiency concerning the timely review of IT procedures.

Treasury Management Performance April to June 2026/27

This report detailed the treasury investment outturn position for the period. The accrued interest earned was £0.290m, exceeding the budget of £0.200m for the same period. This positive performance was attributed to the maximisation of short-term investments of available funds due to delays in capital programme payments and pension obligations. The report also confirmed no breaches of counterparty limits and that the Authority's borrowing remained unchanged. Investment returns were noted to be consistently above the Bank of England Base Rate and SONIA benchmark rates.

Forward Plan

The committee was scheduled to note the Forward Plan, which included updates on upcoming agenda items.

Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next meeting was scheduled for Wednesday 27 January 2027 at 10 am.