The 4 December 2024 meeting of Brent Council's Audit and Standards Advisory Committee was scheduled to receive a number of reports, on Standards, Treasury Management, Internal Audit, Counter-Fraud, and External Audit. The meeting was also scheduled to consider its work programme for the rest of the year.

Standards

A report on Standards was scheduled to be presented to the Committee, including an update on gifts and hospitality received by Councillors in Quarter 2 of 2024/25. The report shows that Councillor Muhammed Butt received 15 tickets to sporting events at Wembley Stadium and elsewhere, with a combined value of £1,470. Six of the ten tickets Councillor Ajmal Akram received for the 9th HUM Awards (provided by OVO) were allocated to residents.

The report was also scheduled to include an update on Member training. The Committee was to note that Councillors Rita Conneely, Arshad Mahmood and Tom Miller had not completed their mandatory Data Protection training by 25 November, and that it would be necessary to restrict their IT access if they did not do so by 4 December.

Treasury Management

The Committee was scheduled to receive two reports on Treasury Management. One report was scheduled to update Members on treasury activity for the first half of 2024/25, and the other to present the draft Treasury Management Strategy for 2025/26.

The first report shows that the Council's external debt reduced by £22.4m to £791.9m during the first 6 months of the year. This included a repayment of £25m of short term loans to other local authorities. The report also shows that the Council generated £3.6m of interest income from its investments during this period, and made interest payments of £15.7m on its borrowings.

The draft Treasury Management Strategy for 2025/26 forecasts that the Council will need to borrow a further £554.1m over the next five years to finance its capital programme. The document sets out the Council's approach to borrowing, including a strategy of keeping its average cost of borrowing, or 'Debt Pool Rate', within a range of 4% to 4.5%.

The Strategy assumes that the Council will continue to be a net borrower, and will therefore only make new investments to manage its day to day cashflow. The document forecasts an average interest rate of 3.9% on new investments, and 5.2% on new long-term loans. It also sets out the Council's investment strategy, including its approach to managing credit risk, and a list of approved counterparties and investment limits.

Internal Audit

The Committee was scheduled to receive the Internal Audit Interim Report for 2024-25. The report provides a summary of Internal Audit activity for the year to date, updating on the performance of the function, highlighting areas where high priority recommendations have been made, and commenting on the rate of implementation of audit recommendations by management.

The report shows that Internal Audit had completed 10 reviews by the end of October, and was in the process of undertaking a further 10. These reviews related to both the 'core' elements of the Council's control framework, as well as emerging risks and priorities. They included reviews of First Wave Housing billing arrangements, the NEC Revenues and Benefits application, Brent Music Service, Procurement, the management of the Tri-Borough integrated Sexual Health Service, Direct Payments (adults), Temporary Accommodation, and Section 106/CIL.

The report also provides an update on the implementation of audit recommendations made in previous years. Of the 31 recommendations followed up on by Internal Audit by the end of October, only 18 (58%) had been implemented by management within their original target dates. A further two recommendations (6%) had been partially implemented, and 10 (32%) had not been implemented.

Internal Audit had identified 51 overdue actions as of 31 October. The report shows that 16 of these related to high risk findings, and 35 to medium risk findings. The oldest of these recommendations was made on 31 March 2023, and related to Housing Voids.

The report provides a RAG rating of the service's performance against each of its Key Performance Indicators, and sets out its quality assurance and improvement plans.

Counter-fraud

The Committee was scheduled to receive the Interim Counter Fraud Report for 2024-25. The report provides an update on activity to counter all types of fraud against the Council, including internal fraud, housing tenancy fraud, and external fraud. It also includes a summary of proactive counter-fraud activity undertaken by the Council.

The report shows that between 1 April and 31 October the Counter Fraud and Investigations Team had opened 12 internal fraud investigations, 35 housing tenancy fraud investigations, and 55 external fraud investigations.

During the same period, the team recovered nine social housing properties, with a combined notional value of £378,000. The report explains that the Council had recently revised its method for calculating the notional value of recovered properties.

The team had also concluded 90 cases of Blue Badge fraud, including 11 prosecutions and 79 cautions or warnings.

The report also provides an update on the team's proactive counter-fraud work, which includes the use of data matching.

External Audit

The Committee was scheduled to receive a report from the Council's external auditor, Grant Thornton. This annual report includes a value for money conclusion, and a summary of the key issues arising from the audit of the Council's 2023-24 accounts.

Work Programme

The Committee was scheduled to consider its Forward Plan and Work Programme for 2024/25. This includes a schedule of reports to be received by the Committee, and the training requirements for its members. The meeting was scheduled to be the last of the calendar year.