The Audit & Governance Committee of Blackburn with Darwen Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, 23rd September, 2025. The agenda includes updates on procurement waivers, external audit progress, the statement of accounts, treasury management, audit and assurance, and risk management. The committee will also be asked to approve the minutes from the previous meeting.

Statement of Accounts 2024/25

The Assistant Director of Finance, Jody Spencer-Anforth is scheduled to present the draft Statement of Accounts 2024/25, including the Annual Governance Statement. The draft accounts, which were published on 30 June 2025, are included as an appendix to the report pack. The report pack notes that the accounts have been subject to a period of public inspection, and that no requests were received by the council or its external auditors, Forvis Mazars. The report pack states that local authorities had until 30 June 2025 to publish their draft accounts, and must make the statement of accounts available for public inspection for 30 days. The report pack also notes that a new accounting standard, IFRS 16 Leases, was implemented on 1 April 2024, which has resulted in the recognition of £21.325m of Right of Use assets, and a corresponding liability. The implementation of IFRS 16 has also impacted the council's Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes, increasing the capital cost and corresponding liability by £4.817m. The report pack states that the external audit of the 2024/25 Statement of Accounts is expected to commence shortly. The statutory backstop date for publishing the audited statement of accounts is 27 February 2026. The draft statement of accounts includes a foreword from Dean Langton, CPFA Strategic Director Finance and Resources (s151 Officer), an introduction to the borough of Blackburn with Darwen, and a summary of the council's financial performance in 2024/25. The draft statement of accounts also includes a narrative report, statements of responsibility and an Annual Governance Statement. The Annual Governance Statement notes that the Local Government Association (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) report highlighted the council as having strong, visible and well respected political and managerial leadership.

Waivers from Contract and Procurement Procedure Rules

The Assistant Director of Finance, Jody Spencer-Anforth is scheduled to present a report updating the committee on waivers from the Contract and Procurement Procedure Rules (CPPRs). A previous report on this matter was provided in March 2025. The report pack notes that under rule 13 of the council's CPPRs, waivers are permitted for specific reasons. The Contracts and Procurement Team has been monitoring the number of waivers to ensure that they are agreed by exception rather than becoming the norm. The report pack states that 59 waivers were approved in 2024/25, which is similar to the previous year. 21 of these waivers were for low value procurements worth £25,000 or less. In October 2025, the rules for approving waivers changed, with only the Strategic Director of Resources and the Deputy Director, Legal & Governance having the powers to approve waivers. The report pack includes a table showing the number and total value of waivers granted by department:

The report pack states that so far in this financial year to the end of July, 13 waivers have been approved, which indicates that numbers are coming down. A complete review of processes is currently being undertaken which is expected to reduce waivers further. The new procurement regulation (PA23), which passed into law in February 2025, has introduced more transparency in procurement by public bodies. This includes a new transparency notice for direct award of contracts, even if a procurement process is waivered. The report pack states that under the new Procurement Act 2023, there is more flexibility in the way organisations can undertake procurement exercises, with the introduction of the competitive flexible procedure¹. There are now compliant options to allow for low value procurements / tenders below threshold to be for invited suppliers only. Compliance with CPPRs helps to deliver the council's Procurement Strategy and Social Value Policy.

Audit & Assurance - Progress & Outcomes to August 2025

Colin Ferguson, Head of Audit & Assurance, is scheduled to present a report informing the committee of the achievements and progress made by Audit & Assurance in the period from 1 June 2025 to 31 August 2025. The report pack notes that the internal audit function is required to comply with the Global Internal Audit Standards in the UK Public Sector (GIASUKPS). The report pack states that the work completed to date has not identified any significant governance, risk management or control issues to bring to the committee's attention at this time. The report pack includes details of counter fraud activity, including the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) 2024/25. The council takes part in a bi-annual data matching exercise conducted by the Cabinet Office (CO) to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. There were 7,174 matches released to the council in early January 2025, which have been sent to the various key contacts to review. The table below details the categories of matches received and work undertaken on the 2024/25 matching process to date:

The report pack also includes details of Council Tax Matching and Council Tax Premium Single Person Discount (SPD). The report pack includes a summary of the seven audits completed and finalised since the report to the June committee meeting:

The report pack also lists the internal audit reviews that are ongoing. The Audit & Assurance team have seven performance targets, relating to their strategic aims, which they monitor.

Risk Management – 2025/26 Quarter 1 Update

Colin Ferguson, Head of Audit & Assurance, is also scheduled to present a report providing the committee with details of the risk management activity that has taken place in the period from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2025. The report pack notes that the council recognises that risk management is a process to help ensure the successful delivery of the council's Corporate Plan priorities and service plan objectives. The Corporate Risk Register contained 22 open risks as at 30 June 2025. The council's top three corporate risks as at that date were:

• Failure to deliver a balance budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy, which may result in a Government Commission taking control of the council's finances.
• The potential negative impact on the delivery of the council's care services and community wellbeing arising from the implications of Lancashire & South Cumbria's Integrated Care Board's 2023/24 budget deficit and associated savings plans for future years.
• The SEND (Special Educational Needs) High Needs Budget and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). The following risks have been closed in the period:
• Failure to improve the education and skills for our young people.
• Insufficient budget for service delivery if MTFS income targets from the Growth Agenda are not met.
• Failure to respond effectively and proportionately to develop and implement plans/adaptations, within the scope of the council's control and influence, in pursuit of its ambition to be a Carbon Neutral borough.
• BwDBC response to the LGA (Inquiry core participant) with the necessary evidence in relation to the Covid-19 Public Inquiry.
• The council is unable to continue to deliver its services adequately and effectively due to a failure in the IT infrastructure.
• The approval of a Combined Authority for Lancashire. The residual risk assessment for Risk 1, Failure to deliver a balance budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy, has increased in the period. Two new risks have been added in the quarter:
• The potential risk to the progress of the Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA) and its ability to deliver its ambitions, given the uncertainty of progression to a Mayoral Model following recent elections.
• The risks associated with potential lack of capacity within the council from continuing to provide support to the LCCA and its on-going development whilst responding to and managing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) and the distraction that these two areas may create for the council. The report pack states that as part of the council's risk management process, corporate risks are reviewed and monitored on a regular basis. During the period, colleagues from Zurich Municipal carried out a Highways Asset Management Assessment. The purpose of the assessment was to review the statutory highways authority risk management arrangements. Zurich Resilience Solutions colleagues also delivered health and safety refresher training for council building managers during the period.