The Audit Committee of Kingston upon Hull Council met on Monday 28 September 2026 to review the progress of internal audits, discuss the council's medium-term financial plan, and consider reports on whistleblower and member complaints, as well as ombudsman services. The committee also reviewed outstanding actions, the work programme, and received a briefing on information governance and cyber security.

Internal Audit Progress Report

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the progress of internal audits. The South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) provided a report detailing completed reviews, ongoing audits, and identified high organisational risks. The report indicated that three assurance audits, two advisory audits, and one grant certification had been completed in the first quarter of 2026/27. It also highlighted that there were 121 active agreed actions from previous audits requiring monitoring. Specific audits completed included reviews of Adults Direct Payments, Kingstown Works Ltd (KWL), and Former Tenant Arrears, all of which received a Limited assurance opinion, indicating that the systems of governance, risk management, and control require improvement.

Medium Term Financial Plan Update

A report was presented to update members on the latest Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) projections for the period 2027/28 to 2029/30. The projections indicated a continued budget shortfall from 2027/28 onwards, with a potential deficit of approximately £5.3 million in 2026/27. The report highlighted that while the government's Fair Funding 2.0 settlement provided a 3-year funding settlement with an average 5% annual increase in Core Spending Power, this was likely to be outweighed by high levels of inflation. The council was planning for further savings through transformational schemes and a value for money benchmarking framework to address the projected financial gap. The report also noted that the council's reserves, approximately 10% of the revenue budget, provided limited financial sustainability.

Whistleblower and Members' Complaints

This report detailed whistleblower complaints and complaints about members for the year ending 31 March 2026. The council received nine whistleblower reports, a decrease from the previous year, with seven being anonymous. Seven allegations were investigated, with four dealt with under HR processes. The report also noted that the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) did not investigate any whistleblowing reports during this period. Regarding complaints about members, 11 complaints were recorded concerning 13 different members, a slight increase from the previous year. These complaints covered themes such as social media use, failure to engage, communications, and civility. Of the 11 complaints, nine did not meet the jurisdictional test, and two progressed to investigation, neither of which were upheld.

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman and Housing Ombudsman Service – Annual Report

This report provided details of the Council's Annual Review Letter 2025-26 from the LGSCO and the Housing Ombudsman Service. For the LGSCO, there was a significant increase in the number of complaints made to the council compared to previous years, but the number of complaints referred to the Ombudsman had not increased at the same rate. The council achieved a 100% compliance rate for implementing the Ombudsman's recommendations within the given timescale. The report also detailed the outcomes of complaints referred to the LGSCO, with Children, Young People and Family Services seeing an increase in new cases received by the Ombudsman. For the Housing Ombudsman Service, the council's performance was considered strong when compared to similar landlords, with a low number of cases per 1,000 homes.

Action Outstanding List

The committee was scheduled to review a list of actions agreed at previous meetings.

Work Programme 2026-27

The committee was to review its work programme for the upcoming year.

Annual Information Governance and Cyber Security Briefing

This briefing detailed the work of the Information Governance Group (IGG) for the calendar year January 2025 to December 2025. The IGG meets monthly to coordinate information governance activity, ensuring the council meets its obligations for information security and rights. Key areas of activity included the successful implementation of Workday, compliance with the NHS Data Security Protection Toolkit, and the implementation of the Data Use and Access Act. The report also covered Public Services Network (PSN) compliance, the transition to Future Networks for Government, and the use of the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) to enhance cyber resilience. The briefing noted an increase in reported information security incidents, with 274 incidents in 2025, and highlighted ongoing cybersecurity threats such as ransomware, phishing, and supply chain compromise. Mitigation strategies included staff awareness training, technical controls, and ongoing monitoring.