*AC5
The Lead Hub Member introduced the
report. The Internal Auditor touched on
areas of the report. Direction of travel was upward. Loss of
resources due to staff working on business grants during the
pandemic had impacted on debt recovery. A service review for
revenue and benefits had taken place and with the action plan in
place, improvements would be seen.
He informed members that a few cases of fraud
in business grants were detected, however the diligence of the team
meant no payments were made to these fraudulent claims. Two of the
cases detected were linked to national fraud.
The S151 Officer stated she was responsible
for the administration of the grants. The audit opinion for this
was of substantial assurance. With procedures in place West Devon
appeared in the top quartile for making payments. The Chairman
acknowledged the teams effort of ensuring a robust system was in
place. The team making the business grants became involved in the
administration of the £150 Council Tax rebates.
The S151 Officer stated that the review of
discounts and reliefs had suffered due to resource issues. It was
suggested and voted on that a press release would be made on
discounts and eligibility asking people to check on a change of
circumstances
and inform the Council of any changes.
It was then RESOLVED that;
1. The Audit Committee noted that overall
and based on work performed during 2021/22, and that of Internal
Audit’s experience from previous year’s audit, the Head
of Internal Audit’s Opinion was of “Reasonable
Assurance” on the adequacy and effectiveness of the
Authority’s internal control framework.
2. Members noted the performance and
achievements of the Internal Audit Team during 2021/22.