O&S 108
The
Committee considered a report that provided Members with the
conclusions of the Devon Audit Partnership (DAP) review into the
recent Tavistock Hotel Proposal.
In his
introduction, the DAP Internal Audit Manager detailed each aspect
of the methodology, findings, conclusions and recommendations that
were contained within his report. In so
doing, he wished to thank those Members and officers who had taken
part in the review.
During the ensuing debate, reference was
made to:-
(a)
consultation with the local business and voluntary
sectors. When questioned, the Internal
Audit Manager advised that he had found very little evidence to
suggest that prior discussions had been carried out with relevant
local authorities or the local business and voluntary
sectors;
(b)
the drive for openness and
transparency. The tension for Councils
between acting in the role of a Commercial Developer and the need
to act in an open and transparent manner was
recognised. In this particular
instance, officers acknowledged that the Council had not got its
messaging correct but also emphasised that it had been bound by
commercial confidentiality;
(c)
outstanding payments.
Officers clarified that there were no further payments to be made
that were associated with this proposal;
(d)
the meeting held between lead officers and their
Development Management colleagues.
Officers confirmed that the meeting that had been held in June 2018
had lasted two and a half hours and had considered a number of
different projects. Whilst the Internal
Audit Manager had seen some notes arising from this meeting,
Members were advised that the list of questions that had been asked
at this meeting were not available;
(e)
the informality of the Invest to Earn Working
Group. The Internal Audit Manager
advised that, whilst the report was recommending that consideration
be given to the Group becoming a formal Committee, he was assured
that the meetings that had been held were conducted
professionally. However, moving
forward, his report was recommending that consideration be given to
establishing the Group as a formal Committee of the
Council;
(f)
the success of the Council’s Commercial
Property Strategy. Whilst shortcomings
had been identified in this particular proposal, the Chief
Executive reminded the Committee that the Council’s overall
Strategy had been a big success and was currently projected to
contribute an annual net revenue return of £274,000 to the
Council;
(g)
a motion was PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:
‘That the
Council be RECOMMENDED to accept the conclusions
and ten recommendations contained in the Internal Audit Report
(published March 2019).’
During the debate on the motion,
an amendment was then PROPOSED and SECONDED as follows:
‘That the Council be
RECOMMENDED:
1.
to accept the
conclusions and ten recommendations contained in the Internal Audit
Report (published March 2019);
2.
that officers of the
Council, in consultation with lead Hub Committee Members, be asked
to prepare an Action Plan and commence implementation of
recommendations forthwith and to submit this Plan, together with
the progress made to date, at the next Council meeting (to be
...
view the full minutes text for item 108.