The meeting was the 16th meeting of the Audit and Accounts committee in the 2023/24 municipal year. Five meetings were held in total. The committee considered reports on the Greater Manchester and Blackburn with Darwen Music Hub's acceptance of a grant from Arts Council England, and on the Annual Report of the Chair of the Audit and Accounts Committee for the year 2023/24.

Greater Manchester & Blackburn with Darwen Hub acceptance of Arts Council England Grant

The meeting was scheduled to discuss a report requesting approval for Salford City Council to accept a grant from Arts Council England. The money would be given to the Greater Manchester and Blackburn with Darwen Music Hub, before being passed to Salford City Council, then on to Salford Community Leisure to deliver music education in Salford. The report notes that:

Funding for Salford is £365,050 and the capital is £119,919 (total £484,969).

Annual Report of the Chair of the Audit & Accounts Committee 2023/24

The report pack included the Annual Report of the Chair of the Audit & Accounts Committee for the year 2023/24. In the foreword to the report, Councillor Les Turner noted that:

It is frustrating that despite the team working so hard on the accounts we still have not had the 2020/21 accounts signed off and were unable to meet the deadline to publish the 2022/23 statement of accounts, due to outstanding issues including pension valuations.

We are not alone in this regard and the required notice for the 2022/23 delay has been placed on our website. The report also noted that the committee completed its annual self-assessment exercise, based upon the revised Audit Committee guidance issued by CIPFA in 2022, and that there was a vacancy for an independent member on the committee.