Request support for North Yorkshire

We're not currently able to provide detailed weekly summaries for North Yorkshire Council. We need support from the council to:

  • Ensure we can reliably access and process council meeting information
  • Cover the costs of processing and summarizing council data
  • Maintain and improve the service for residents

You can help make this happen!

Contact your councillors to let them know you want North Yorkshire Council to support Open Council Network. This will help ensure residents can stay informed about council decisions and activities.

If you represent a council or business, or would be willing to donate to support this service, please contact us at community@opencouncil.network.

Audit Committee - Monday, 9 December 2024 1.30 pm

December 9, 2024 View on council website
AI Generated

Summary

The meeting of the Audit Committee was scheduled to include discussions on the final accounts and audit updates of legacy councils, a review of the effectiveness and terms of reference of the Audit Committee, and a consultation on the 2025/26 Internal Audit Work Programme. Reports were also scheduled to be provided on the Community Development and Health & Adult Services Directorates’ risk registers, and the Procurement and Contract Management Service. The Committee was also scheduled to be provided with the External Audit Progress Update 2023/24 and updates on Treasury Management matters.

Final Accounts and Audit Updates

Several reports were presented for consideration that related to the audit of accounts of the legacy councils following local government reorganisation that created the new North Yorkshire Council on 1 April 2023.

The Report of the Corporate Governance Working Group Following the Review of Legacy County, District and Borough Final Accounts and Audits included for discussion a summary of the Working Group’s consideration of the final audited accounts up to and including 2022/23 for the former Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough, and Selby councils, and the 2022/23 Statement of Accounts for North Yorkshire County Council.

The report explained that all seven legacy district and borough councils had been issued with audit completion reports; the accounts for Ryedale and Selby were audited and signed off, and all other districts and boroughs received disclaimed opinions from their auditors.

The report explained that the Working Group noted:

…in particular, outstanding matters highlighted by Forvis Mazars in relation to Scarborough Borough Council and the Whitby harbour court case, recognising that the issue would need to be addressed by North Yorkshire Council upon notification of the outcome of the court case. The Working Group also expressed concerns over the severance payments made to senior management of the former Hambleton District Council but noted there were no actions to carry forward for North Yorkshire Council.

The Final Accounts Audit Update – Legacy Councils report was prepared to seek approval of the 2022/23 Letter of Representation, Statement of Final Accounts, and Annual Governance Statement for North Yorkshire County Council, and to note the completion of the audit of accounts for the seven legacy district and borough councils.

Attached to the report were the audit completion reports for the seven councils, including a summary of the audit approach and outcomes for each of them. The report for Scarborough Borough Council included a disclaimer of opinion with an issue of concern around the outcome of the Whitby Harbour court case. The report noted:

…that the issue would need to be addressed by North Yorkshire Council upon notification of the outcome of the court case.

The report for Hambleton District Council included a disclaimer of opinion and the report highlighted concerns around severance payments made to the former Chief Executive and Senior Management of the Council, stating that:

Members also acknowledged that even if the court case was resolved before the back stop date, it was now too late for any amendments to be made to the former Scarborough Borough Council’s accounts.

Effectiveness and Terms of Reference of the Audit Committee

The Audit Committee Terms of Reference / Review of Effectiveness report was presented to identify any changes required to the Audit Committee's Terms of Reference and to discuss arrangements for the review of its effectiveness.

The Committee was asked to consider whether any changes were required to the current Terms of Reference, and whether the review of the Committee’s effectiveness should proceed as proposed in the report. The report suggested a questionnaire be issued to members of the Audit Committee and relevant officers to gather initial views on its functioning, and then use the results to identify whether a more in-depth review was required.

Internal Audit Work Programme

The Internal Audit Work Programme – Consultation 2025/26 report was prepared to seek the Committee’s views on those areas it considers a priority for inclusion in the 2025/26 Internal Audit Work Programme.

The report sets out the approach taken to the development of a Risk Based Internal Audit Work Programme, using the Internal Audit opinion framework. The opinion framework is based around 11 key assurance areas, which represent core control activities that are essential to the proper functioning of the Council. The report provides illustrative examples of work areas that could be considered under each of the 11 key assurance areas, which are:

  • Strategic planning
  • Organisational governance
  • Financial governance
  • Risk management
  • Information governance
  • Performance management and data quality
  • Procurement and contract management
  • People management
  • Asset management
  • Programmes and project management
  • IT governance

The report concluded by asking Members to consider:

…any areas it feels should be considered a priority for internal audit work

Risk Registers and Procurement and Contract Management Update

Members were presented with an Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Progress Report which summarises the work completed to date in delivering the 2024/25 Internal Audit programme of work, and the other assurance related services provided to the Council by Veritau. The report also highlights issues likely to impact on the programme of work during the remainder of the year.

The Risk Register Community Development Directorate report and the Risk Register for the Health & Adult Services Directorate were prepared to provide the Committee with updates on the risk registers for each of those directorates.

The Procurement and Contract Management Update December 2024 FINAL report was prepared to provide Members with an update on the work of the Procurement and Contract Management Service including key achievements, recent activity and the continuing focus on developing and supporting healthy supply chains.

External Audit and Treasury Management

The External Audit Progress Update report provides information on progress with the 2023/24 audit of North Yorkshire Council’s accounts, and outlines the key areas where audit work is still to be completed. The report also includes information on the national backlog arrangements for local government financial reporting and local audit, and the likely implications for the audit of the Council’s accounts.

The Progress on Issues Raised by the Committee report provides updates on Treasury Management matters which have arisen since the Committee’s last meeting. The updates included for discussion relate to training for Members, Investment strategy and borrowing strategy.

Attendees

Profile image for Councillor Carl Les OBE
Councillor Carl Les OBE  Leader of the Council and Leader of The Conservative and Independents Group •  Conservative
Profile image for Councillor Cliff Lunn
Councillor Cliff Lunn  Conservative
Profile image for Councillor George Jabbour
Councillor George Jabbour  Conservative
Profile image for Councillor Alyson Baker
Councillor Alyson Baker  Member Champion for Young People •  Conservative
Profile image for Councillor Philip Broadbank
Councillor Philip Broadbank  Liberal Democrats
Profile image for Councillor David Chance
Councillor David Chance  Conservative
Profile image for Councillor Felicity Cunliffe-Lister
Councillor Felicity Cunliffe-Lister  Liberal Democrats
Profile image for Councillor Mike Jordan
Councillor Mike Jordan  Reform UK
Profile image for Councillor Peter Wilkinson
Councillor Peter Wilkinson  Conservative
David Marsh
David Portlock
Profile image for Councillor Karin Sedgwick
Councillor Karin Sedgwick  Conservative
Profile image for Councillor Neil Swannick
Councillor Neil Swannick  Labour