The Audit and Risk Committee of Barking and Dagenham Council met on Wednesday 14 January 2026. The committee received and discussed the 2024-25 Draft Annual Governance Statement, the Internal Audit Q2 report, and the Counter Fraud 2024-25 Q1/2 Review. The committee also received and noted the updated Counter Fraud Policies and Strategy for 2025 and discussed the Work Programme for 2025/26.

2024-25 Draft Annual Governance Statement

The committee discussed the 2024-25 Draft Annual Governance Statement, which assesses the council's risk and assurance framework. Concerns were raised regarding the clarity of the report and the detail on how identified governance challenges, such as staffing, statement of accounts, financial resilience, and subsidiary company financial resilience, were being addressed. Officers explained that the Annual Governance Statement is a snapshot in time and that progress on these challenges would be detailed in future reports. There was an acknowledgement of the need to improve the clarity and linkage between identified risks and action plans in subsequent statements.

Internal Audit 2024-25 Q2 Report

The committee received an update on the Internal Audit report for the second quarter of 2024-25. The report indicated that the audit plan was on track for delivery, with 35% of audits reaching at least draft report stage, exceeding the 25% target. Concerns were raised about the number of overdue high-risk recommendations, which stood at 16, significantly above the 5% target. Specific areas of concern highlighted included contract management, building safety, and housing repairs. Councillors expressed concerns over the lack of progress and clarity on actions being taken to address these issues, particularly regarding the BDMS contract and Building Safety Act compliance. Officers acknowledged these concerns and outlined plans for improvement, including the recruitment of a new Head of Procurement and Contract Management and a review of how internal audit reports are presented. The committee also discussed the need for more direct engagement with service areas responsible for outstanding recommendations.

Counter Fraud 2024-25 Q1/2 Review

The committee reviewed the Counter Fraud report for the first two quarters of 2024-25. Kevin Key, Counter Fraud and Risk Manager, presented an increase in casework due to additional capacity, with projections to exceed last year's caseload. The report detailed the recovery of eight properties in quarter two due to tenancy breaches or deception, with a total of 14 properties recovered across the first six months. A significant portion of these recoveries were linked to Operation Chandrila, a joint investigation with the City of London Police into housing fraud offences related to BD Reside properties. Councillors expressed concern about the scale of housing fraud, particularly subletting and Airbnb usage, and the challenges in obtaining information from platforms like Airbnb. The report also addressed an allegation regarding a tracking device placed in a council vehicle, where no evidence of wrongdoing was found, but recommendations for improved security measures were implemented.

Review of Counter Fraud Policies 2025

The committee received the updated Counter Fraud Policies and Strategy for 2025. Kevin Key, Counter Fraud and Risk Manager, presented the revised policies, noting minor additions and updates to reflect new legislation, such as the Procurement Act 2023. The policies had undergone consultation with Legal, HR, and staff networks. The committee was asked to note the updated policies and commend their principles to school governing bodies, council-owned companies, stakeholders, partnerships, and contractors.

Work Programme 2025/26

The committee discussed the Work Programme for 2025/26, acknowledging its flexible nature. Members raised the importance of ensuring the work programme reflects existing problems and includes items that were previously discussed, such as training on contract management. Officers confirmed that recommendations from the committee could be fed into future work programmes. A further meeting was proposed for February 2026 to address the sign-off of the 2023/24 and 2024/25 accounts. The committee also noted the ongoing discussion regarding the review of group subsidiary accounts.