Agenda item

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That a report on Council banking arrangements be included on the Committee’s Forward Work Programme;

(c)        That the Internal Audit Manager provide the Committee with a copy of the final report on Leisure Centre Income;

(d)       That the Internal Audit Manager amend the Recommendation Tracking report to read Recommendation Implementation;

(e)       That the Chief Executive discuss with Councillor Attridge the suggestion for relevant Cabinet Members to be involved in responding to outstanding recommendations; and

(f)         That the Head of Finance be invited to respond to outstanding recommendations for her section at a future meeting.

The Internal Audit Manager presented the update report on progress of the Internal Audit department.  On the Operational Plan for 2012/13, he advised that most projects had been completed and gave an update on the status of the remaining 20 draft reports, including seven which were awaiting management responses.  Three of these, relating to Finance, Risk Management and Lifelong Learning, had exceeded the time period and reasons were given for the delay in each case.

Councillor P.G. Heesom said that minutes of previous Audit Committee meetings had highlighted concerns on tracking.  The Chair spoke of efforts by Mr. P. Williams on the reporting of tracking recommendations.  The Internal Audit Manager explained that this section dealt with responses to draft reports rather than recommendation tracking, which featured later in the report.

In response to remarks about the outstanding response from Lifelong Learning which had been due to an oversight by a manager, the Head of Finance said that a deadline date would be needed for this, however officers were keen to improve the recommendation tracking process and there was no complacency in pursuing managers.

Councillor G.S. Banks felt that managers should justify reasons for their delayed responses to reports for their own areas.  The Internal Audit Manager agreed that this should be the case where there was an issue, however he was satisfied that the example mentioned had been due to an oversight.  The Chief Executive suggested that on larger reports, it may be more beneficial for the Auditor to arrange an appointment with the relevant manager to agree a response before the deadline.

Outcomes of reports which had been finalised since last reported to the Committee indicated two at ‘Red’ assurance level, details of which were appended to the report.

On Petty Cash Imprest Accounts, Councillor I.B. Roberts referred to the impact on schools in Flint and Queensferry of the closure of two local branches of Nat West bank and asked if alternative arrangements would be made in light of the agreement made for school banking service provision.  The Head of Finance said it had been unfortunate that the Council had only received notice of the closures at a late stage and that arrangements had been made with Nat West for users to access alternative services.  She confirmed that the new arrangements had been communicated to establishments, with three responses still outstanding.  She went on to say that tendering of banking services would be undertaken in 2014, with a review of administration arrangements to consider more modern alternatives to petty cash handling and other banking arrangements.  There were no new proposals at this stage and any options would be subject to discussion.

Councillor Roberts asked if such a material change in branches of banks should have been communicated to the Council at an early stage and whether the tendering of banking services for schools could include provision of a viable network of branches in communities.  The Head of Finance agreed that early notification of changes was good practice and said that the tender specification could take into consideration the point made.  However, she pointed out the availability of a lesser number of bank branches in smaller towns and said that the response to previous bank tendering had attracted interest from only two banks, one of which would not be considered viable at present.

Councillor Roberts said that if there was an absence of banks in a particular area, those banks should make alternative arrangements for facilities in Post Offices.  The Chair suggested that a report on this topic be put on the Forward Work Programme to keep the Committee informed of progress.

Councillor J.B. Attridge queried the ‘Amber’ level of assurance on the finalised report for Leisure Centre Income in light of issues raised at Cabinet.  The Chief Executive pointed out that the project descriptions were brief and that much of the audit work was around controls on income rather than the amount of income being generated.  The Internal Audit Manager explained that the report dealt with the receipt of income and control measures in leisure centres as opposed to a larger scale strategic view of income, and suggested that he share a copy of the report with the Committee.

Councillor Heesom asked if the audits which had been deferred from the 2012/13 related to significant issues and sought clarification on items such as Consultants and the North Wales Regional Waste Treatment Project (NWRWTP).  The Internal Audit Manager advised that the two items were amongst those added to the Plan during the year and provided an explanation on each.  Following a further question from Councillor Banks on the NWRWTP, the Chief Executive replied that pro-rata monies could not be claimed from partner Councils.  The Chief Executive explained that the lead Authority of projects was responsible for undertaking internal audits and that all Councils would lead on some projects.

The Chair advised that the Head of Planning was due to attend the meeting in September 2013 for discussion on Section 106 Agreements.

The Internal Audit Manager said that he would amend the title of the Recommendation Tracking document to Recommendation Implementation to emphasise the responsibility on managers to implement recommendations.  He advised that the new system, as previously agreed by the Committee, would be in place for the September meeting to allow for more detail on the document for areas of non-implementation and input of relevant Head of Service or Director.

Councillor Attridge suggested that the relevant Cabinet Member could also be involved to ensure that such issues were drawn to their attention.  He pointed out that Section 106 Agreements were legal documents and felt that there was a joint responsibility between the Director of Environment and Head of Legal & Democratic Services.  The Chief Executive spoke of the ownership of fundamental recommendations and agreed to discuss with Councillor Attridge, outside the meeting, the suggestion on how in practice Cabinet Members could be involved.

Mr. P. Williams welcomed the suggestion for Cabinet Member involvement and felt that the new system may help to reinforce the importance of taking seriously recommendations made by Internal Audit.

The Internal Audit Manager said that the report for the September meeting would present an overall picture of recommendations as opposed to just those that were due at the time.

On the summary of outstanding recommendations which had previously been shared with the Committee, the Head of Finance said that she had worked with officers on the 31 outstanding for the Finance section.  She provided explanation, referring to involvement on the development of the Council’s financial strategy and in particular the capital strategy, and gave assurance that she had been comfortable that risks were being adequately managed.

The Chair suggested that the Head of Finance be invited to respond to outstanding recommendations for her section in the same way as the Head of Planning.  The Head of Finance agreed to this.

The Chair also commented on improvements in Human Resources in relation to staff appraisals.

Councillor Heesom suggested that the Internal Audit Progress Report be placed earlier on future agendas.  The Democracy & Governance Manager explained that the order of the agenda was agreed with the Chair and Vice-Chair as part of the briefing meetings.

In response to a query by Councillor Banks, the Internal Audit Manager confirmed that anonymous allegations were followed up and investigated.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the report be noted;

(b)       That a report on Council banking arrangements be included on the Committee’s Forward Work Programme;

(c)        That the Internal Audit Manager provide the Committee with a copy of the final report on Leisure Centre Income;

(d)       That the Internal Audit Manager amend the Recommendation Tracking report to read Recommendation Implementation;

(e)       That the Chief Executive discuss with Councillor Attridge the suggestion for relevant Cabinet Members to be involved in responding to outstanding recommendations; and

(f)         That the Head of Finance be invited to respond to outstanding recommendations for her section at a future meeting.