Issue - meetings

That the content of the Grant Claim Certification report for 2018/19 be noted.

The Corporate Finance Manager presented the Wales Audit Office annual report on grant claim certification for the year ending 31 March 2019.  The report had been deferred from the March meeting due to the emergency situation.

Of the overall grants total of £148m, the £44,320 net adjustment to claims was a relatively small proportion and did not result in any financial loss.  Whilst the findings did not present a major risk to performance, improvements had been identified within some services and an action plan had been put in place.  It was reported that all actions had now been completed and that officers were working with Audit Wales (AW) colleagues to further improve the quality of claims and ensure the adequacy of processes to support the 2019/20 audit.

In welcoming the implementation of actions, Mike Whiteley said that AW would continue to engage with the officers preparing the claims.  A refresh of external audit priorities by Welsh Government (WG) meant that AW would be auditing only three grant claims for 2019/20 on housing benefit, non-domestic rates and teachers’ pension returns.

Allan Rainford sought clarification on the five certified claims which had been submitted late by AW.  Mike Whiteley explained that these were not significant delays and were due to various factors, mainly the complexity of queries and change of officers within the Council’s services.  He was pleased to report that post-learning engagement with the Council had resulted in improvements being made to prevent further delays.

The recommendation in the report was supported by the Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the content of the Grant Claim Certification report for 2018/19 be noted.