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Governance and Audit Committee - Thursday, 19th December, 2024 10.30 am

December 19, 2024 View on council website Watch video of meeting
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Summary

This meeting includes reports on the financial sustainability of Wrexham Council and local government in Wales in general, as well as an update on the actions that were agreed in the last Annual Governance Statement. The committee will also consider a report summarising the work that the council's Internal Audit team has done since April 2024.

Financial Sustainability

The committee will discuss two reports from Audit Wales on the financial sustainability of local government in Wales. One is a national report, Financial Sustainability of Local Government, and the other is a local report, Financial Sustainability Review - Wrexham County Borough Council.

The national report found that most councils have arrangements in place to support their short-term financial sustainability but have yet to fully develop their longer-term plans. It also found that councils generally know the scale of their funding gaps, they do not have longer term plans in place to address them.

The local report found that Wrexham Council has identified significant financial pressures and does not yet have an agreed plan to meet the funding gap. It recommends that the Council should extend its financial planning beyond two years and use the output to inform its programme of savings in the short term as well as long term transformational changes towards a plan for financial sustainability.

Annual Governance Statement Actions Update

The committee will discuss the progress made with the six significant improvement areas that were identified in the council's Annual Governance Statement for 2023-24. These areas relate to:

  1. Improving culture, values, behaviours and ways of working in public meetings;
  2. Considering and mitigating the implications of the council's decision not to adopt a Local Development Plan;
  3. Embedding decarbonisation across the organisation;
  4. Ensuring that the Change Programme, which was established to support service delivery and financial sustainability, considers the pressures placed on recruitment and retention within the organisation;
  5. Ensuring that elected members and committees have access to, and take up, appropriate training to fulfil their roles and responsibilities;
  6. Financial resilience due to increased pressure on service budgets.

Internal Audit

The committee will consider a report summarising the work done by the council's Internal Audit team between April and November 2024. This includes information about:

  • the audits and investigations that have been completed and those that are in progress;
  • the new audits that have been given an “Amber” level of assurance, meaning that controls are in place to enable the achievement of service objectives but there are some areas for improvement;
  • the status of follow-up audits;
  • allegations of fraud and theft that have been reported to the Head of Service Audit & Technical.

The report also details a number of audits that the Head of Service Audit & Technical proposes for cancellation or deferment, including:

  • HR Recruitment – Employer of Choice;
  • Public Service Board;
  • Waste Management;
  • Fleet Management – Carbon Reduction.