The meeting included several reports on the performance and finances of the Council, including the External Auditor’s report on the 2023/24 Statement of Accounts and a report on complaints made by the public. It was scheduled to consider the adoption of new policies relating to whistleblowing and the National Fraud Initiative and discussed a report on the new Procurement Act that is due to come into force.

Procurement Act 2023 & Council Procedure Rules

A report was prepared to discuss the new Procurement Act 2023, that is due to come into force in February 2025, and the subsequent revision to the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules. The report describes the changes that the Act will introduce, explaining that it is:

designed to create a simpler, more flexible commercial system which meets the UK’s needs.

It explains the benefits of the new Act that include:

Cutting red tape and supporting innovation

Improving transparency by creating a fully open and transparent system, meaning everyone has access to public procurement data

Faster competitive processes for emergency buying, allowing buyers to meet urgent needs quickly and efficiently

Simplifying the process of working with the public sector, supporting more small to medium enterprises (SME’s) to bid for contracts

The report then describes the key changes that the Act will make to the Public Contract Regulations 2015, and how these changes will impact on the Council’s processes and procedures. The report provides an overview of the Council’s revised Contract Procedure Rules, explaining that:

The revised CPR’s adopt the whole procurement lifecycle approach, and the intention is that these are easier to read, make clear the requirements linked to contract values and clarifies the limited circumstances where an exception to the normal route can be applied. The CPR’s set out the Council’s own rules for contracts and procurement and are the layer below procurement legislation.

The report lists the different types of contracts and procurement activities, including the different thresholds for when quotes must be obtained, and when contracts have to be formally tendered. It describes the processes for managing contracts, including contract management and contract variations, and how the Council’s approach to procurement will need to change when the Procurement Act comes into force. The report ends by recommending that the:

Audit committee make any comments and note the new Procurement Act and revision to the contract procedure rules.

Statement of Accounts 2023/24

The final Statement of Accounts was presented for the financial year ending 31 March 2024. The report that accompanies the Statement of Accounts (Audit Committee Final SOA 23.24 Dec-24) explains the key figures contained in the statement, providing summaries for both the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account. The report describes the challenges that the Council faces from:

escalating cost of and demand for services

and how these have been mitigated by:

strong financial control, but also through additional income earnt and received

The report explains that although the General Fund had a balanced budget, this does not mean that:

the financial issues for the Council are resolved, it simply means that the in- year budget challenges have been addressed

It explains how the Council made capital investments in its housing stock, Central Market and on the Western Growth Corridor during the financial year, and describes the funding sources for those investments. It summarises the performance of the Council’s Housing Revenue Account, and provides an update on the challenges that the Council has experienced, explaining that:

As is being experienced across the Council, the Housing Revenue Account has also continued to experience recruitment and retention challenges in relation to its craftworkers, increasing the reliance on external sub-contractors.

External Audit: Audit Completion Report 2023/24

An Audit Completion Report was prepared to summarise the findings from the external audit of the 2023/24 Statement of Accounts. The report included in the agenda pack for the meeting (External Audit: Audit Completion Report 2023/24) explains that although the audit is substantially complete, it is still:

subject to final verification by external audit. The audit of the accounts is being finalised by KPMG, who commenced the audit in July.

The report explains that two misstatements¹ have been amended in the final version of the Statement of Accounts, and two misstatements remain unadjusted. The unadjusted misstatements relate to:

a valuation of a Council property that was deemed “optimistic” and the treatment of a historic transaction agreed by the Council’s previous auditors A misstatement is where the value of an item in the Statement of Accounts is incorrect, for example, the value of an asset is too high or too low.

The report lists the recommendations that KPMG made about the Council’s internal controls, and management’s response to each of the recommendations. It also describes the process for approving the Statement of Accounts, and asks that the Audit Committee:

Consider the matters raised in the report before recommending the financial statements for referral to the Executive and subsequent approval by Full Council

Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report 2023-2024

The meeting was scheduled to receive the Annual Complaints Performance and Service Improvement Report which included a summary of the Housing Ombudsman Service’s annual review of the Council’s performance, and the decisions made by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman during the year. The report describes the work that the Council has done to comply with the Housing Ombudsman Complaint Handling Code that became mandatory in April 2024, explaining that they have:

adopted the principles of the code as a corporate policy.

The report explains that it has self-assessed against the code and identifies five areas where it was not fully compliant in June 2024, but it explains that it has now taken action to address all of these. It describes the changes that the Code has brought about, including:

recommended response times in the code. These are: • Initial acknowledgement within 5 days • Level 1 complaints to be responded to within 10 working days of the acknowledgement, and • Level 2 complaints to be resolved within 20 working days of the acknowledgement.

The report provides statistics about the complaints received in the year to March 2024 and includes analysis of the types of complaints that have been received, the rate of upheld complaints, the services with the highest complaint rates and the common themes and trends in complaints. The report highlights two decisions made about the Council by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman in the year to March 2024, one about Mr. X, who complained about the private landlord scheme, and another about Mr. X, who complained about delays in providing new parking signage. It also lists the Housing Ombudsman decisions made about the Council. These included a complaint from a tenant about outstanding repairs that resulted in three findings of fault against the Council, and another complaint from a tenant about damp and mould that was also upheld. The report explains that the Council has complied with the remedies recommended by the Housing Ombudsman and that the Housing Ombudsman has now rated the Council as 100% compliant. The report ends by recommending that:

Members to consider and comment on the complaints report for 2023-2024.

External Audit – Annual Auditor’s Report 2023/24

A report was prepared to discuss the Annual Auditor’s Report for 2023/24. The report explains that the Annual Auditor’s Report, which is attached to the agenda pack, summarises the findings from KPMG’s audit of the Council's financial statements, narrative report and its value for money arrangements. It explains that the audit fee has increased by £10,214 to £149,936 to cover:

additional work required from the introduction of new auditing standards (ISA 315 risk of material misstatements).

The report ends by recommending that the Audit Committee:

note and comment on the attached Annual Auditor’s Report.

Internal Audit Recommendations Follow Up

The meeting included a report on the outstanding actions from previous Internal Audit reports. The report explains that there are currently 40 outstanding actions, including 39 Medium priority actions and 1 High priority action. It explains that:

There are no High and one Medium overdue risk actions. There are five actions for Limited or Low reports which have had their implementation dates extended this time, all for the IT Asset Management report.

It lists the reports that are now closed, because all of the agreed actions have been implemented. These are the reports on the Housing Allocation, De Wint Court, Housing Repairs and Staff Recruitment and Retention audits. The report ends by recommending that the:

Audit Committee are asked to review and comment on the attached Appendix.

Six Monthly Fraud and Error Report

The meeting was scheduled to receive a six-monthly fraud and error report. The report provides an update on the progress made against the actions in the 2024/25 Counter Fraud Action Plan, describing that:

There are nine items on the plan for 2024/25, five of which are not due until quarter four. Work is in progress or has been completed for those due.

The report explains that eight whistleblowing referrals² were received in the six months to December 2024, an increase on the five received in the same period last year, and explains that there has been a change in the types of referrals that the Council is receiving, with a rise in:

Environmental Health related referrals. A whistleblowing referral is where a person reports their concerns about a possible crime, danger or other serious risk that could threaten colleagues, service users, customers, members of the public or the organisation.

The report explains that the Council took part in the 2022 National Fraud Initiative and provides a breakdown of the 35 errors that were identified, including the estimated savings that have been achieved. It describes the counter-fraud work that the Council’s different services have completed, including:

An SPD review commenced at the end of August with 2,890 letters being sent out. So far 1,848 have responded and as a result 84 discounts have been removed. For the remaining 1,042 they will be reminded and if there is no response the discount will be removed from 31 March 2024.

The report summarises the work that the Council has done to prevent IT fraud and ends by recommending that the Audit Committee:

consider and comment on the contents of the report and appendix.

National Fraud Initiative Policy

The meeting included a report recommending that the Council adopt an updated National Fraud Initiative Policy. The policy explains that the National Fraud Initiative:

is an exercise carried out every two years by the Cabinet Office. It matches electronic data within and between public and private sector bodies to prevent and detect fraud.

The report explains that the Council's policy has been updated to reflect changes made to the Cabinet Office’s data matching practices and to update the Council’s privacy notice. The report ends by recommending that the Audit Committee:

approve the updated policy.

Audit Committee Work Programme 2024/25

The meeting was scheduled to receive a report on the Audit Committee’s work programme for the year, and explains that:

With a known work plan, and appropriate and timely learning and development for Members, the committee will be well prepared, and members will gain the knowledge and experience needed to carry out their role effectively.

The report lists the changes to the work programme since the previous meeting, that include a report on the Procurement Act and a report on the 2023/24 Audit Completion Report. It describes the importance of training for members, and provides an update on the training that was previously agreed. The report ends by recommending that the Audit Committee:

comment on and agree the updated work programme for 2024/25.

Information Governance Update

The meeting was scheduled to receive a report on the Council’s compliance with Data Protection legislation. The report provides an update on the progress that the Council has made since the previous report in June 2024. It provides details of the Information Governance Risk Register and explains that the Council has:

no red risks detailed on the register

The report provides an update on data protection training for staff and members. It explains that the Council:

have recently obtained a ‘refresh’ of the training package due to be deployed in early 2025.

It describes the work that the Council is doing to prepare for the new Data (Use and Access) Bill, which includes a review of its policies and procedures. It also explains the actions that the Council has taken to comply with data retention legislation, explaining that it has:

begun [an analysis] as part of the IT migration project. This has commenced with an analysis of data held over 6 years which is being provided to IAO’s for review and deletion.

The report provides statistics about the Council’s performance in responding to Subject Access Requests and Freedom of Information requests, and explains the actions it is taking to improve its performance. The report ends by recommending that the committee:

note the content of the report including the IG register (Appendix A) and provide any comment.

Exclusion of Press and Public

At the end of the meeting, it was scheduled to exclude the press and public from the meeting to discuss the Information Governance update, because it was likely that doing so would disclose exempt or confidential information.