Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Mackey, Pierce Jones, Pike and Rees.

To confirm the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 1 July 2015.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 1 July 2015 be approved as a correct record.

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

There were no matters arising.

There no declarations of interests from any of the members present.

The Chairman reminded members that the role of the Committee was to monitor the progress of the audit and not review the audit process.

The Committee considered a paper presented by Helen Thompson and Ian Young of Ernst and Young LLP who joined the meeting for the debate on this item and answered members’ questions in connection with the report.

The Audit Results Report provided a summary of the preliminary audit conclusion in relation to Havant Borough Council’s financial position and results for year ended 31 March 2015.

The Committee noted that there had been a change in the scope of the audit plan relating to an increase in the classification of risk associated with the cleansing of the asset risk register. Due to the additional scope of the audit the proposed final audit fee had yet to be finalised and would be reported back to the Committee in December 2015.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Committee received the audited Statement of Accounts 2014/15 and the Council’s Letter of Representation for approval. An amendment to pages 16 and 53 of the Statement of Accounts was circulated at the meeting. The Corporate Accountancy Team Leader answered members questions in connection with the report during the course of the discussion.

RESOLVED that

1)            The Statement of Accounts for 2014/15 be agreed and signed by the Chairman and the S151 Officer; and

2)            The draft Letter of Representation be agreed and signed by the Chairman and the S151 Officer.

The Committee was provided with the Annual Governance Statement for Havant Borough Council which accompanied the 2014/15 Statement of Accounts.

The Corporate Accountancy Team Leader introduced the report and explained it covered three main areas:

i)             The governance arrangements in place for the 2014/15 financial year;

ii)            The governance arrangements which were reviewed during the year; and

iii)           The areas of governance arrangements that Havant Borough Council was currently working on.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Committee received the Local government Ombudsman Annual Review Letter 2015. The letter contained details of the annual summary of statistics on the complaints made to the Ombudsman about the authority.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

A verbal update on the following three areas was provided to the Committee:

i)             Code of Conduct – three complaints regarding Councillors had been received in 2015, none of which had resulted in any action being taken;

ii)            Training – A Code of Conduct training session had been held on 9 September which nineteen councillors had attended. The importance of ensuring all councillors had received the training was recognised and it was planned to hold an annual training session in future.

iii)           Amendments to the Constitution – The Monitoring Officer had amended Part 3 Section D of the Constitution in order to provide the Strategic Procurement Project Manager with delegated powers.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

Antony Harvey of the Southern Internal Audit Partnership presented the Committee with the Internal Audit Progress Report which provided an overview of internal audit activity work against assurance work completed in accordance with the approved audit plan.

A report on Depot Services (Stock Control) had concluded with a limited assurance opinion. Procedures were now being introduced to address the issues identified and good progress was being made. The Committee was reminded that it could refer the issue to the Overview and Scrutiny Board for further investigation.

In response to a question on the Legal Services Project the item would be removed from the Audit Plan as it was currently undergoing a review.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

The Committee noted a report from the Executive Head for Governance and Logistics providing an update on the corporate risks reviewed by the Executive Board.

In response to a question over staffing levels in the Legal Team the Committee was informed that the Executive Head for Marketing and Development was reviewing the situation as a priority.

RESOLVED that the most serious corporate risks reviewed by the Joint Executive Board on 8 September 2015 be noted.