No apologies were received.

To confirm the minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee held on 24 July 2018.

The minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee held on 24 July 2018 were confirmed and signed by the Chairman.

There were no matters arising.

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any disclosable interests under the Code of Conduct and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

There were no declarations of interest in respect of items on the agenda.

To receive any petitions, deputations and questions received from Members of the Public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 217.

The total time allowed for this item shall be 30 minutes. Petitions, declarations and questions shall be dealt with in the order in which they are received. Questions may also be submitted at short notice by giving a written copy to the Committee Administrator 15 minutes before the start of the meeting.

The total time allowed for questions at short notice is 15 minutes out of the total time of 30 minutes. Any petitions, deputations and questions that have been submitted with prior formal notice will take precedence over questions submitted at short notice. Any questions that are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting and be the subject of a report to the next meeting.

No petitions, deputations or questions had been received from members of the public.

To consider any questions received from Members of the Council in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule 95.

There were no questions received from members.

To consider any Notices of Motion from Members submitted under Procedure Rule 97.

There were no notices of motion received from members.

To receive Report No. 153/2018 from the Director for Resources.

Report No. 153/2018 was received from the Director for Resources, the purpose of which was to present the annual audit letter which informs the Committee on matters arising from the audit of the financial statements and the results of work undertaken to assess the Council’s arrangements to secure value for money.

During discussion the following points were noted:

i.               The trivial limit was set by the external auditors ; and

ii.              Following a national procurement exercise through Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd (PSAA), Grant Thornton are now the Councils appointed Auditor.

RESOLVED

That the Audit and Risk Committee received the External Auditors Annual Audit Letter.

To receive Report No. 146/2018 from the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Report No. 146/2018 was received from the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, the purpose of which was to set out the work of the Committee in an annual report in line with best practice.

During discussion the following points were noted:

i.      The report would be presented to Full Council in October; and

ii.     The attendance figures should be checked to ensure accuracy, particularly with reference to members who had not been appointed to the committee from the beginning of the Municipal Year.

RESOLVED

The Committee APPROVED the annual report of the Audit and Risk Committee.

To receive Report No. 154/2018 from the Head of Internal Audit.

Report No. 154/2018 was received from the Head of Internal Audit, the purpose of which was to update members on the progress made in delivering the 2018/19 Annual Audit Plan and outcomes from audit assignments completed since the last Committee meeting.

Miss Ashley-Caunt, Head of Internal Audit, introduced the report and noted that at the half-way point the plan was on track.  There were no high priority audit recommendations which were overdue for implementation (Appendix B).  Appendix F detailed the terms of reference for the Project Governance and Risk Management Audit as requested by members at the last meeting.

During discussion the following points were noted:

1. It was normal practice to request parent company guarantees where the Council entered into a contract with a large company providing a significant service;
2. Grant claims were audited in order to provide assurance over compliance with terms and these were completed at various times during the financial year as required;
3. There was no impact anticipated on the delivery of the audit service by LGSS as a result of the changes at Northamptonshire; and
4. A detailed update on the outstanding arrears owed by the Clinical Commissioning Group would be brought to the next meeting.

RESOLVED

The Committee NOTED the Internal Audit update report (Appendix A of Report No.154/2018).

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The Chair adjourned the meeting to allow for Mr G Brown, Portfolio Holder for Planning, Environment, Property and Finance, to join the meeting.

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Mr Brown joined the meeting and the Chair reconvened the meeting.

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To receive Report No. 152/2018 from the Director for Resources.

Report No. 152/2018 was received from the Director for Resources, the purpose of which was to present the Strategic Risk Register and provide assurance that strategic risks were being adequately managed.

Mr Della Rocca, Director for Resources, introduced the report and explained that the Councils Strategic Management Team monitored the register.  Mr Della Rocca also noted that some items on the register may be appropriate for Scrutiny to look into.

During discussion the following points were noted:

1. Mrs Fox noted that carrying vacancies may be putting existing staff under more pressure.  Mr Della Rocca explained that some of the vacancies were planned and as such caused little impact;
2. Mr Brown highlighted that some recent changes in processes had reduced the need for staff in some areas;
3. Miss Waller asked whether the recruitment risks (risk 1) had been set at the right level and suggested this could be a future topic for another committee.  Mr Della Rocca agreed to discuss the issue with the Chief Executive in order to decide the best medium for discussing this issue (Scrutiny, Audit and Risk or Employment and Appeals Committee) and advise members of the Committee accordingly;
4. Miss Waller highlighted that she did not agree that the Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) outcomes were “strong in most areas” and requested that this risk level be reviewed in light of evidence of a lack of communication between the three CCG’s in the region.  Miss Waller also commented that the plans being put forward to replace the STP were not explicit about plans for Rutland;
5. Miss Waller and Mr Conde raised concerns about affordable housing targets.  Mr Brown agreed that  a risk around the delivery of 5 year housing supply may be appropriate and would encompass all targets in this area including affordable homes;
6. With reference to risks in relation to budget, Miss Waller asked whether members should be receiving regular training on the budget.  Mr Della Rocca advised that he would be giving a full presentation on the budget and Medium Term Financial Plan at the Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Panel on Thursday evening and that this would also be on the Members Development Plan for 2018/19;
7. Miss Waller noted that there was not a risk around the County Elections which were due to take place in May 2019 and that previously elections were noted on the risk register.  Mr Conde added that the risk was not just in relation to the election, but also around changes in key members.  Mr Della Rocca would take this away to discuss further with Senior Management Team;
8. Miss Waller requested a written response to all members on the number of staff that had access to the Emergency Recovery Plans;
9. Miss Waller asked for assurance from Mr Conde, Chair of Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel, that there is robust scrutiny regarding safeguarding adults, particularly oversight of care homes where the Council may not have placed service users, to ensure vulnerable people are not at risk; and
10. In relation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 240.

To receive a verbal update from the Director for Resources.

Mr Della Rocca advised the Committee that the Council were to be subject to a virtual surveillance inspection.  The inspector had already highlighted some minor updates that were required to the RIPA policy and a full report would brought back to the committee once the inspection was complete.

Miss Waller requested that the report be accompanied by the Home Office Guidance on RIPA Surveillance Oversight and Inspection Regime.

To receive items of urgent business which have previously been notified to the person presiding.

Miss Waller highlighted that the External Auditors had noted the cooperation and efficiency of the finance team which was quite an accolade.  She thanked Mr Della Rocca and his team for their hard work.