Items
No. |
Item |
A.29/21 |
Minutes PDF 391 KB
To approve as a correct record
the minutes of the Audit Committee held on 9 December
2021:
Minutes:
A.29/21
The minutes of the Audit
Committee meeting held on 9 December 2021 were confirmed as a true
and correct record
|
A.30/21 |
Declarations of Interest
In accordance with the Code of
Conduct, Members are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary
Interests, Other Registerable Interests and Non-Registerable
Interests including the nature and extent of such interests they
may have in any items to be considered at this meeting;
Minutes:
A.30/21
Members and officers were
invited to declare any interests in the items of business to be
considered during the course of the meeting, but none were
made.
|
A.31/21 |
Pensions presentation by Devon County Council
Minutes:
A.31/21
A presentation was given to the
Committee and Members on the current situation of the
Council’s Pension Fund. The
presentation was given by Mark Gayler,
Investment Manager at Devon County Council (DCC).
The presentation included
updates in investments in petroleum companies, which had been
reduced in recent years in line with Councils declaring a Climate
Change Emergency. Members were also
appraised of investments in the Russian stock market, following the
recent invasion of Ukraine.
The recently released
Levelling-Up White Paper, from Central Government, had suggested
that local government pension schemes were to set out plans to
invest 5% of their funds in local investments. This had subsequently been clarified to explain
that ‘local’ in this context referred to investments
within the United Kingdom.
As the District Council’s
representative on the Investment and Pension Fund Committee, the
Leader stated that it was her belief that the pension scheme was
very well run under difficult circumstances. The Chairman thanked Mr Gayler for his informative presentation.
|
A.32/21 |
Grant Thornton Audit Progress Report and Sector Update PDF 3 MB
Minutes:
A.32/21
Consideration was given to a
report that updated Members on progress made by the Council’s
external auditors, Grant Thornton, including that the Housing
Benefit Subsidy Claim had been submitted to the Department of Work
and Pensions before the deadline in February 2022.
The Auditors Report on the
Audited Accounts was due to be completed by the end of November
2022.
Following a question from a
Member of the Committee, it was agreed that the external auditors
would run a training session for all Members on scrutinising the
draft accounts. This event would be
held remotely and scheduled to occur before the Draft accounts were
presented to the Audit Committee.
Further to a query regarding
Grant Thornton’s own actions towards Climate Change and
Biodiversity, it was confirmed that more meetings and preparatory
work were held remotely which cut down on emissions and enabled
better use of working time. The
External Auditor committed to sending round a fuller list of Grant
Thornton’s Key Actions on the issue.
The Chairman thanked the Grant
Thornton Auditors for attending the meeting.
It
was then:
RESOLVED
That
the progress made against the 2021/22 external audit report, and
any key issues arising, be noted and approved.
|
A.33/21 |
2022/23 Internal Audit Plan PDF 449 KB
Minutes:
A.33/21
The Committee was apprised of
the proposed Internal Audit Plan for 2022/23. Although it was anticipated that the Covid Pandemic could still impact on the available
workdays, the plan had been developed based on the standard 430
work days.
Following questions from
Members of the Committee, it was confirmed that:
•
It remained a statutory requirement for the Local Enterprise Action
Fund and Local Action Group Grants to be subject to audit as part
of the process of delivery
•
The Salcombe Harbour Authority and Dartmouth Lower Ferry were
audited annually but each year focussed on a different area of
their operation to give the Council assurance on satellite
areas.
It
was then:
RESOLVED
1) That the report
be approved; and
2) That the
proposed Internal Audit Plan for 2022/23, as at Appendix A of the
attendant report, be approved.
|
A.34/21 |
Update on Progress on the 2021-22 Internal Audit Plan PDF 593 KB
Minutes:
A.34/21
Consideration was given to a
report that updated Members on progress made against the Internal
Audit Plan. It was highlighted that
internal audits had been impacted by the Covid pandemic, with one team member continuing to
work on the administration of grants related to mitigating the
impact of Covid. Eleven other audits were outstanding but in
progress with draft reports ready for officer comment. There were a small number of audits still to
commence. A review of the audit plan
had been undertaken to discuss which audits could go ahead or be
postponed.
Further to a question from
Members, it was confirmed that there was limited assurance given to
the report on performance management and, for this reason, it had
been re-added to this year’s plan. However, the internal auditor was confident that
progress was being made. The Leader
confirmed that a report was due to go before the Executive in the
next two months.
The officer agreed to add in
timescales in future reports.
It
was then:
RESOLVED
That
the progress made against the 2021/22 internal audit plan, and any
key issues arising, be noted and approved.
|
A.35/21 |
2022/23 Capital Strategy, 2022/23 Treasury Management Strategy and 2022/23 Investment Strategy PDF 158 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
A.35/21
Members of the Committee
reviewed the report that outlined the proposed Capital Strategy,
Treasury Management Strategy, and the Investment Strategy for the
2022/23 financial year.
During discussions the
following points were made:
- The Investment
Strategy had been approved by Full Council with the Senior
Leadership Team’s role outlined as identifying potential
investment opportunities and bringing these to Members’
attention for their review. It was also
open for Members to bring any potential opportunities to the
Executive.
- The
Ivybridge Regeneration project was
going through RIBA stages and it was hoped that it would be brought
before the Council’s Development Management Committee in June
2022. The Section 151 Officer confirmed
that a further report on Ivybridge
Regeneration will be presented to Full Council, prior to planning
and prior to the project moving to the delivery phase.
- Following
discussion it was PROPOSED, SECONDED, and once put
to the vote, AGREED that the Committee should
receive treasury management training, as part of the induction
process, following the elections in May 2023.
It
was then:
RECOMMENDED:
1.
That the Audit Committee SCRUTINISED
and RECOMMENDED to Council the approval of the
2022/23:
i)
Capital
Strategy (as attached at Appendix A of the attendant
report)
ii) Treasury
Management Strategy (as attached at Appendix B of the attendant
report)
iii) Investment Strategy
(as attached at Appendix C of the attendant report)
iv) That delegated
authority be given to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with
the Leader of the Council and the Executive Member for Finance, to
make any minor amendments to these Strategies if required
throughout the 2022/23 Financial Year.
2. That, as
part of the 2023 Member Induction Programme, the Committee request
that a Treasury Management Training session be included.
|
A.36/21 |
Budget Book 2022/23 PDF 272 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
A.36/21
Consideration was given to a
report that set out the Council’s Revenue Budget for the year
which had been detailed into the four Directorates of Customer
Service and Delivery; Place and Enterprise; Governance and
Assurance; and Strategic Finance.
During discussion, it was
requested that a pdf version of the Budget Book should be sent to
Members.
It
was then:
RESOLVED
That
the Audit Committee note the content of the Budget Book for
2022/23.
|
A.37/21 |
Shared Services Methodology 2021/22 PDF 257 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
A.37/21
The Deputy Leader outlined the
report that explained the methodology for apportionment of costs
between South Hams District and West Devon Borough
Councils. The majority of the costs
related to staffing costs. It was noted
that the change in the apportionment relating to the contact centre
was due to an increase in calls relating to South Hams District
Council.
It
was then:
RESOLVED
That
the Audit Committee NOTE the methodology of the
shared services apportionment of costs between South Hams District
Council and West Devon Borough Council for 2021/22, as per Appendix
A of the attendant report.
|
A.38/21 |
Sundry Debt PDF 328 KB
Minutes:
A.38/21
Consideration was given to a
report that provided Members with an update of the position of
Sundry Debt and Housing Benefits Overpayments up to 31st January
2022. Debt recovery had been paused
during the early months of the Covid
pandemic but it was confirmed that all debt recovery was now
progressing as usual.
The Chairman stated that the
current situation was very good.
It
was then:
RESOLVED
That
the position in relation to Sundry Debt be noted.
|
A.39/21 |
Review of Confidential Reporting Policy PDF 115 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
A.39/21
Members considered a review of
the Confidential Reporting Policy, also known as the
Whistle-Blowing Policy. It was
highlighted that this important policy should be regularly reviewed
to ensure it remained fit for purpose.
It had been a specific recommendation from Grant Thornton’s
audit of 2020/21 that this policy be reviewed before the year
end.
Following a question from a
Member, it was confirmed that staff had not had any input to this
policy, therefore it was PROPOSED, and SECONDED that staff should be consulted before the policy
was brought to Council meeting on 19 May. It was noted that there were a series of in-person
staff meetings to be held over the coming weeks and that staff
could be consulted then. When put to
the vote, this addition to the recommendations was AGREED.
It
was then:
RECOMMENDED
That the Audit Committee RECOMMEND to Annual
Council that the Council adopt the reviewed Confidential Reporting
Policy and related Frequently Asked Questions, as attached at
Appendices 1 and 2 of the attendant report, subject to, before the
Annual Council meeting in May, all staff being consulted during the
next round of Staff Briefings.
|
A.40/21 |
Audit Committee Meeting - Change of Date
Minutes:
A.28/21
The Committee noted that, since
the Calendar of Meetings for 2022/23 had been approved by the
Council, it was necessary that, due to officer availability, the
Committee meeting scheduled for the 1 September 2022 be moved to 8
September 2022.
|