The Isle of Anglesey Council's Governance and Audit Committee met to discuss a range of reports, including the annual reports on health and safety, counter fraud, and cyber security. Also on the agenda was the review of internal audit risks, the self-assessment report, and the Audit Wales Work Programme Timetable FINAL. The committee was also scheduled to review its forward work programme.

Annual Corporate Health and Safety Report

The committee was scheduled to consider the Annual Corporate Health and Safety Report 2024-25, which provided an overview of the council's health and safety performance during the year.

The report noted an increase in reported accidents and incidents compared to the previous two years, which was thought to be due to increased service demand, staffing pressures, and the resumption of on-site operations after a period of reduced activity. Changes in reporting culture may also have contributed to more consistent incident capture across departments.

The report also highlighted a concerning upward trend in incidents of violence and abuse directed at staff, including verbal threats, intimidation, and physical assaults.

The report set out a strategic action plan for 2025/26, based on the following principles:

• Plan: Consider current level of compliance with Health and Safety and the desired standard.
• Do: Identify risk profile.
• Act: Measure your performance.
• Check: Review performance.

The report recommended that the committee consider whether the council's activities regarding corporate health and safety adequately address the risks and priorities of the council, and whether reasonable measures are in place to manage health and safety risks to an acceptable level. It also suggested that the council consider developing working groups to address the possible rise in incidents relating to potential risks from interaction with members of the public.

Annual Counter Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Report

The Governance and Audit Committee was scheduled to review the Annual Counter Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Report 2024-25. The report outlined the activities undertaken by internal audit to minimise the risk of fraud, bribery, and corruption within the council.

The report noted that fraud accounts for over 40% of crime but receives less than 1% of police resource and is the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales¹, with an estimated 4.2 million fraud incidents in 2024-25.

The report also provided an update on the council's progress in responding to the Auditor General's recommendations in a 2020 report on fraud in the Welsh Public Sector.

The report detailed a case of attempted CEO bank mandate fraud, where an email purporting to be from the Chief Executive Officer was sent to the HR Manager asking for their bank details to be changed. The HR Manager, who had recently attended counter fraud training, recognised the email as fraudulent and reported it.

The report also provided details of the council's Fraud Reporting Tool, which went live on the council's website in November 2024.

The report recommended that the committee consider the activity carried out during 2024-25 to minimise the risk of fraud, bribery and corruption occurring within and against the council.

National Fraud Initiative Outcomes Report

The committee was scheduled to discuss the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) Outcomes Report 2024-26. The NFI is a data matching exercise that aims to detect and prevent fraud and error.

The report noted that the council submitted data in relation to housing, payroll, creditors, council tax reduction scheme, and council tax data. The Department for Work and Pensions also submitted benefit recipient details and the Blue Badge Digital Service submitted Blue Badge holder details.

The report detailed the outcomes of the NFI data matching exercise, including the identification of deceased individuals on the Blue Badge register and housing tenants who had died but had not been removed from the tenancy.

The report recommended that the committee take assurance from the report that the council is seeking to actively embrace the opportunities provided by the National Fraud Initiative to use data analytics to strengthen both the prevention and detection of fraud.

Annual ICT Cyber Security Report

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Annual ICT Cyber Security Report 2024/25.

The report was marked as 'not for publication' due to the inclusion of information relating to actions taken in connection with the prevention, investigation, or prosecution of crime, and information relating to the financial or business affairs of the council. It was noted that placing information about the council's cyber security arrangements into the public domain would be likely to increase the risk to the security of the council's network and the integrity of its data.

Draft Self-Assessment Report

The committee was scheduled to review the Draft Self-Assessment Report 2024/25. The report reflected the Isle of Anglesey County Council's self-assessment as expected under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021².

The report included the council's well-being objectives, which are:

• The people of Anglesey are educated to reach and fulfil their long-term potential.
• The people of Anglesey are safe, healthy and as independent as possible.
• The people of Anglesey and its communities enjoy, protect and enhance their built and natural environment for future generations.

The report also identified areas for improvement, including:

• The council need to continue modernising its digital and data infrastructure.
• The council must ensure that it meets the requirements of the new Procurement Act 2023.
• The financial resilience of the council is under pressure due to the cost of living crisis and a decrease in funding.
• The council needs to manage and rationalise assets to ensure that they are needed, are fit for purpose and if not identify the work required to bring them up to standards.
• The council need to respond to identified workforce planning challenges including its age profile in some services and recruitment and retention problems in others.

The report recommended that the committee review the draft self-assessment report and make recommendations for changes to the conclusions or action the council intends to take to meet its performance requirements.

Internal Audit Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on internal audit activity. The update included a summary of assurance work completed since the last update in July 2025. This included:

• Managing the Poverty Risk
• Continuous Monitoring – Payroll
• Continuous Monitoring – Creditors

The update also included work in progress, including:

• National Fraud Initiative
• IT Audit: Cyber Security in Schools
• Performance Management
• Regulation and Economic
• IT Audit: IT Asset Management
• Adult Social Care Finance – Financial Assessments
• Managing the Safeguarding Risk
• Financial Management

Outstanding Internal Audit Risks, Issues and Opportunities

The committee was scheduled to receive a report on outstanding internal audit issues, risks and opportunities. The report provided an update on the status of the outstanding issues, risks and opportunities that internal audit has raised.

As of 31 August 2025, there were 73 outstanding actions, of which 10 were assessed as 'major' and 63 'moderate' risks.

The report noted that there was currently one action that had reached the date management was due to complete implementation, and was now 'overdue'. This action related to an issue assessed as 'moderate' which was raised during an audit of Direct Debit Processes, and related to introducing paperless direct debit set-up processes across the council.

External Audit: Audit Wales Programme and Timetable Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update from Audit Wales on their work programme and timetable. The update included details of planned and recent work of Audit Wales, Care Inspectorate Wales and Estyn³.

The update included details of financial audit work, performance audit work, and local government national studies planned or in progress.

Review of Forward Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to review its forward work programme for 2025-26.