Agenda item

(a)       That the Committee agree that the Plan reflects the areas that should be covered, and the level of resources is acceptable; and

(b)       That the Internal Audit Strategic Plan be approved with the amendments raised.

The Internal Audit Manager presented the proposed Internal Audit plan for the three year period 2016/17 to 2018/19 and highlighted the key considerations for the Committee.  The final Plan had incorporated the findings of consultation across the organisation and the Wales Audit Office (WAO), and would inform the annual opinion on the adequacy of the Council’s arrangements on risk management, control and corporate governance.  Internal Audit resources remained around the same level as the previous year and were comparable with that of other councils.  The risk levels for each audit had been assessed using a number of factors, as set out in paragraph 4.3 of the Plan.  In some cases, this did not represent any real risk and helped to prioritise audits for the year, although some were rated as ‘red’ due to the nature of the risk.

Councillor Ian Dunbar referred to the red risk audit on Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) asking about performance in this area.  The Chief Executive acknowledged that the Council’s performance on DFGs needed some improvement and that the issue had been under scrutiny across Wales for some time.  This was due to the various elements in the DFG process including demand, Occupational Health capacity and often involved complex issues relating to the individual.  The Internal Audit Manager said that a cross-cutting review would be carried out on the service to look at the entire DFG process.

Mr. Paul Williams questioned whether the audit on income from fees and charges should be brought forward to the current year, in view of the budgetary pressures.  It was explained that the audit had been scheduled in 2017/18 as work was currently being undertaken by the Finance section on fees and charges, and that the audit would focus more on performance in this area.

Mr. Williams referred to issues previously raised by the Committee on staff inductions and appraisals, and asked that these audits be brought forward to 2016/17.  The Chief Executive gave assurance that all senior managers had been appraised in 2015 and that most appraisals were now being undertaken with the core issue being the updating of records on the iTrent system.  He said that the Chief Officer (Governance) was leading work on the management of induction and briefing across the organisation on key controls.

Mr. Williams felt it would be useful for the Committee to receive details of the number of completed and outstanding appraisals for each section.  He agreed to the suggestion made by the Chief Executive that the Internal Audit Manager be involved in checking appraisal data when next compiled for the workforce report of the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee, and for this to be shared with the Audit Committee.

Councillor Arnold Woolley asked for clarity on the auditable area of Theatr Clwyd.  The Internal Audit Manager explained that at this stage, the wording reflected the possible scope of the review.  The Chief Executive said that there would be more clarity on the scope, which should include controls, after consideration of the new business plan of the theatre at a forthcoming meeting of the Organisational Change Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Councillor Woolley pointed out amendments to wording in the auditable areas for Flintshire Connects, Electronic Document Management, Staff Recruitment and Single Status Governance.  Following discussion on the latter, Councillor Woolley asked that consideration be given to use of language to clarify that no local agreements should arise.  In respect of the audit for Planning Enforcement, he had concerns about the level of resources required to deal with the workload.  The Internal Audit Manager confirmed that this would be part of the audit.

In answering a query from Councillor Haydn Bateman, it was explained that external resources could be needed to complete the technical ICT audit as this expertise was not available within Internal Audit.

Councillor Woolley indicated his uncertainty on the level of audit resources to which the Chief Executive and Internal Audit Manager replied that the Plan was subject to ongoing review.  Councillor Woolley acknowledged the financial pressures faced by the Council and reiterated his concerns on the importance of retaining sufficient capacity to carry out the work required.  It was explained by the Internal Audit Manager that a view was being sought on audit resources which had reduced only slightly since the previous year.  He gave assurance that he would raise any concerns about this with the Committee, however there were no pressures to reduce audit resources as supported by the Chief Executive and Chief Officer (Governance).  The Chief Executive spoke about the balance in streamlining structures and processes across the organisation to address financial pressures, as agreed by Members.  Whilst this presented a risk, it was important to note that the Council’s objectives were being met.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee agree that the Plan reflects the areas that should be covered, and the level of resources is acceptable; and

(b)       That the Internal Audit Strategic Plan be approved with the amendments raised.