Issue - meetings

That the Annual Governance Statement 2021/22 Mid-year Progress Report be accepted.

The Chief Officer (Governance) presented a mid-year progress report on the areas of improvement set out in the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for 2021/22 which demonstrated positive progress in addressing the issues identified.

During an overview of Governance issues, it was clarified that five (rather than six) were rated Amber.  Reference was made to the development of the customer engagement strategy and ongoing work to embed the new risk management framework across the organisation.  Explanation on Strategic issues involved the escalation of risks that could not be contained within the portfolio, some of which were impacted by external factors.

Councillor Bernie Attridge raised concerns about risks on rent arrears, housing benefit overpayments and homelessness, asking if more could be done to reduce the high number of void properties.

The Chief Officer (Governance) said that whilst the Revenues service maintained good performance on council tax collection, there were more complex issues involved in rent collection and that the outcome of a pilot on tackling rent arrears was expected.  A response to the risk on Housing benefit overpayments would be shared with the Committee.

On homelessness, the Chief Executive referred to the complexities and the impact of national policy changes, whilst emphasising the team’s priority to keep people in their own accommodation.

Gwilym Bury said that as referenced in a recent Audit Wales report, the main factor in escalating rent arrears nationally was the rollout of Universal Credit which was continuing.

Councillor Glyn Banks took the opportunity to acknowledge the positive work undertaken by the Chief Executive to tackle the homelessness situation in Flintshire.

In response to comments from the Chair, the Chief Executive gave assurance that full use was made of benchmarking data and he highlighted challenges in services, such as homelessness, which would remain over the longer term for all councils.

The Internal Audit, Performance & Risk Manager advised that following the commencement of work on the AGS for 2022/23, a mid-year review was scheduled for the Committee in November.

The recommendation was moved and seconded by Councillors Ted Palmer and Glyn Banks.

RESOLVED:

That the Annual Governance Statement 2021/22 Mid-year Progress Report be accepted.