The East Hampshire District Council Audit Committee met on 9 September 2025 to consider reports on internal audit, risk management, and performance. The committee was also scheduled to review its own annual report. It is not known whether any decisions were made.

Risk Management

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the council's risk management process. According to the Risk Management Report, the council had fully reviewed its corporate risks to ensure they reflected the risks currently facing East Hampshire District Council (EHDC). The report stated that the council ranks both inherent risks (those arising if no action is taken) and residual risks (the remaining risk after actions are taken).

The Risk Management Report included a revised corporate risk register overview, and a copy of the council’s risk assessment matrix. The corporate risks identified were:

• Delivery of Council Strategy
• Financial stability of the Council
• Legislative changes
• Local Government Reorganisation (LGR)
• Change in political direction
• Recruitment and retention of staff
• Managing Health and Safety
• Robustness of Information Governance Framework
• IT software applications that do not meet the Council Strategy
• Cyber security incident resulting in loss of IT systems or data
• Net Zero by 2035
• Management of Property Portfolio
• Management of the Waste Contract
• Delivery of the Local Plan

Internal Audit

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Internal Audit Progress Report 2025-26, the Internal Audit Strategy 2025-2028, and the External Quality Assessment 2025.

Internal Audit Progress Report 2025-26

The Internal Audit Progress Report 2025-26 provided an overview of internal audit activity and assurance work completed up to 8 August 2025. The report confirmed that the Southern Internal Audit Partnership¹ was experiencing resourcing challenges, but the Chief Internal Auditor remained confident that the 2025-26 internal audit plan would be sufficiently delivered. The report also included an analysis of 'live' audit reviews, summarising the council's progress with implementing management actions agreed from previous audits.

Internal Audit Strategy 2025-2028

The Internal Audit Strategy 2025-2028 was presented for consideration. The strategy is designed to guide the internal audit function towards fulfilling its mandate. The Global Internal Audit Standards in the UK Public Sector require all internal audit providers to develop and maintain such a strategy.

The strategy included a vision, strategic objectives, and supporting initiatives for the internal audit function. Three objectives were prioritised:

• Agile Auditing: Innovate to explore a more agile approach to the audit process, building efficiencies and producing more timely feedback to the organisation.
• Optimisation of Standards: Embrace and prioritise conformance and embedding of the Global Internal Audit Standards in the UK Public Sector and maximising their potential to benefit the organisation and the internal audit function.
• Data Analytics by Default: Further engage with the organisation to enhance and optimise the full potential of data analytics in the internal audit process.

External Quality Assessment 2025

The committee was scheduled to discuss the alternative options considered in commissioning an external assessor to undertake the independent assessment of the Southern Internal Audit Partnership against the Global Internal Audit Standards in the UK Public Sector.

The External Quality Assessment 2025 Covering Report stated that there are two approaches to meeting the requirement of an External Quality Assessments:

• A Full-scope External Quality Assessment (EQA) involves an independent and qualified Assessment Team.
• A Self-assessment with Independent Validation (SAIV) is where the Southern Internal Audit Partnership performs the self-assessment portion and an external, independent qualified validators review the selfassessment portion and provides their independent validation.

The report recommended that the Southern Internal Audit Partnership conduct their external assessment as a Self-Assessment with Independent Validation (SAIV).

Q1 Performance Report

The committee was scheduled to review the Local Government Review Finance Update and Corporate Performance Report for Q1 2025/26.

The Covering Report- Q1 Performance 202526 stated that central government announced a review of governance structures for local government in December, and that local authorities in Hampshire submitted a bid for fast track reorganisation. The budget for 2025/26 was set with a great deal of uncertainty around the ongoing future of local government services in the East Hampshire District.

The report included a revenue forecast, details of budget savings, and corporate performance information. The main areas of budget changes included:

• The pay award was applied to the services.
• A reduction in net budget in the property budgets.
• An increase in the car parking budget.
• Budget reductions in Environmental Services.

The report stated that the main revenue directorate variances against the revised budget were in Community, Operations, Corporate Services, and Finance.

Audit Committee Annual Report 2024/25

The committee was scheduled to approve the Audit Committee Annual Report 2024/25, and recommend that Full Council note the report.

The Cover Report- Audit Annual Report 2024-25 stated that the Audit Committee plays an important role in seeking assurance on and reviewing the council's financial reporting, internal controls, governance and risk management arrangements. The report set out the work undertaken by the Audit Committee in 2024/25 in respect of key issues relating to finances, governance and risk assurance.