Issue - meetings

That the Committee is assured by the Auditor General for Wales’ Annual Improvement Report for 2017/18.

Gwilym Bury presented the Annual Improvement Report by the Wales Audit Office (WAO) which summarised the audit and regulatory work undertaken at the Council since the last report published in September 2017.  The report, which made no formal recommendations, concluded that the Council was meeting its statutory requirements in relation to continuous improvement.

The Chief Executive acknowledged the four new voluntary proposals for improvement which could improve the effectiveness of the Overview & Scrutiny function.  Whilst work was underway on those suggestions, the Council was also undertaking a self-assessment of overall corporate performance which could be used to assist the WAO in the next Annual Improvement Report.

Councillor Johnson commented on the challenge of achieving continued improvement in light of reduced funding.  The Chief Executive said that the resilience statements for each service portfolio, shared during the budget process, had identified the risks of making further budget cuts beyond those already set out.  He said that self-improvement remained an ongoing objective as demonstrated by the Council’s track record.

Sally Ellis referred to the national report recommendations some of which related to areas of ‘red’ reports for Flintshire.  The Internal Audit Manager confirmed that all the areas would be addressed as part of the Internal Audit programme of work.

The Chief Executive said that although there was no requirement to respond to national report recommendations, the Council’s approach was to take these into consideration to identify any learning to further strengthen existing arrangements.

The Corporate Business & Communications Executive Officer said that the annual report on external inspections, scheduled for the next meeting, would give assurance to the Committee that national as well as local reports were being noted.

Councillor Johnson thanked officers for the positive meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Liaison Committee which had recently taken place.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee is assured by the Auditor General for Wales’ Annual Improvement Report for 2017/18.