The Audit Committee of Nottingham City Council met on 25 April 2025 to discuss several reports and updates, including the annual governance statement, the finance improvement plan, and the handling of customer complaints. The committee was also scheduled to review the progress of the council's transformation programme and internal audit processes. Some items were marked as 'to follow' meaning they were not available when the agenda was initially published, but were included in a supplemental agenda.

Here's a more detailed look at the topics included for discussion:

Internal Audit Findings

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on internal audit reports that had received a no assurance rating, the lowest level of assurance. According to the report pack, the internal audit team had been working with directors to identify progress and obtain evidence to support the current status of incomplete recommendations.

The report pack indicated that there were 53 open recommendations across all reports, categorised as:

• 10 not yet due
• 40 with revised target dates
• 3 overdue, with 2 partially implemented and 1 awaiting evidence of completion

For the no assurance reports specifically, 44 out of 60 recommendations had been implemented or closed, with the remaining 16 having revised future target dates. The report pack included an exempt appendix with further details for each report and an update.

Finance Improvement Plan

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the council’s Finance Improvement Plan (FIP) and a review by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

The report pack noted that CIPFA's initial findings indicated that Nottingham City Council was still facing financial challenges. Budgets were not fully aligned with responsibilities, and potential savings for 2025-26 were not sufficient to offset anticipated growth pressures. The report pack stated that senior finance staff had been focused on basic financial reporting and spend control, rather than financial advisory work.

As a result of the CIPFA review, the Leadership Team approved a second phase of the CIPFA project, which commenced in January 2025 and comprised three workstreams:

• A scrutiny review of Adult Social Care (ASC) finance.
• A review of the finance team structure.
• A refresh of the current Financial Improvement Plan.

CIPFA had reportedly carried out a reconciliation between the FIP and the Nottingham City Council Improvement Plan, advising that the current FIP underpinned several aspects of the council's improvement programme. Of the 266 deliverables within the current FIP, 93 actions could be closed, 98 actions were important to support other aspects of the Nottingham City Council Improvement Plan, and the remaining 75 actions would also be incorporated into the refreshed FIP.

Council Improvement Programme

The committee was scheduled to receive an overview of the progress made in response to the Nottingham City Council Improvement Programme 10: Strengthen Internal Controls and Assurance.

According to the report pack, Programme 10 aimed to strengthen internal controls and assurance processes to mitigate risks and improve overall governance. The programme was being delivered through key themes including:

• Review and Update of Internal Control Framework
• Enhanced Risk Management Processes
• Training and Development
• Effective Internal Audit Function
• Monitoring and Reporting

The report pack stated that a comprehensive review of the existing internal control framework had been conducted, and relevant policies and procedures were being reviewed and updated. The risk management framework had also been strengthened, with regular risk assessments and a corporate risk register established.

Planned activities to the end of August 2025 included developing a comprehensive risk management strategy, producing an Internal Audit, Risk and Insurance Service Offer, establishing a development plan for the Internal Audit, Fraud, Risk and Insurance team, and revising the Internal Audit Charter.

Customer Insight and Complaints

The committee was scheduled to consider an annual assurance report on customer insight and complaints. The report pack provided an overview of complaints received under the Have Your Say (HYS) process¹, statutory Social Care Complaints Process, and the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The report pack noted that for 2023/24, there was an increase in the number of detailed Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigations, with 10 investigations carried out compared to 9 in 2022/23. The number of upheld complaints had also increased by 2 from the previous year to 100%.

The report pack also detailed progress supporting the One Council approach to managing customer complaints, which aimed to ensure compliance with the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s new Complaint Handling Code.

The report pack stated that the top ten areas for complaints dealt with by HYS were:

• Waste, Cleansing & Grounds
• Council Tax
• Traffic Wardens
• Parking Regulations & Compliance
• Traffic & Safety
• Highways
• Tree Services
• Pest Control
• Transport
• Housing Solutions

Transformation Programme

The committee was scheduled to receive an overview of the reporting and governance process established to support Nottingham City Council’s Transformation Programme. The report pack stated that the programme aimed to ensure robust reporting and monitoring of delivery of transformation savings.

The report pack outlined a process comprising monthly delivery reports/updates from Senior Responsible Officers (SROs), assurance reviews by a Senior Assurance Officer, a Delivery Dashboard, Directorate Leadership Team (DLT) and Programme Oversight Board meetings, and reviews by the Corporate Leadership Team (CLT), Deep Dive, and Transformation Board.

Annual Governance Statement

The committee was scheduled to discuss the arrangements for the 2024/25 Annual Governance Statement (AGS). The AGS is an accountability statement that provides an opinion on whether the governance of the authority was fit for purpose during the year, following a review of its effectiveness.

The report pack stated that the preparation and publication of the AGS would meet the statutory requirement of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015. The process for compiling the 2024/25 AGS would follow previous years, while incorporating key points from new CIPFA guidance. The process would be managed by the Monitoring Office, the S151 Officer² and Corporate Governance Steering Group (CGSG).

Other Matters

The committee was also scheduled to:

• Note the Recommendation Tracker.
• Confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2025.
• Confirm the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2025.
• Note the Exempt Recommendation Tracker.
• Receive a verbal update from the External Auditor.
• Consider excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of remaining items, in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.