Issue - meetings

That the content of the Grant Claim Certification report for 2021/22 be noted.

Simon Monkhouse presented the Audit Wales annual report on grant claim certification for the year ending 31 March 2022 in which three claims had been certified to a value of £110.4m, two of which required amendment.  The report summarised that the Council had demonstrated adequate arrangements for preparing its grants and supporting certification work, with scope for improvement as shown in the recommendations.

The main amendment was due to a typographical error on the non-domestic rates return (NDR) figure which had been raised by the Revenues team at the start of the audit.  A minor adjustment to the Housing Benefit and Authority Tax Subsidy claim was required due to cell errors which were of low value and was attributed to the high volume and complexity of claims processing.  This was also qualified for issues which could not be fully quantified.  Testing by Audit Wales on previously reported errors identified a significant reduction in error types.  In response to recommendations by Audit Wales, management responses had been agreed and progress was underway.  One of the recommendations suggested that the Council may wish to explore an alternative approach to resolving ongoing system issues with Civica.  It was also reported that a more centralised approach in Audit Wales would help with the timely delivery of NDR and teachers’ pensions returns.

In response to comments from the Chair and Councillor Bernie Attridge on the timing of the report, explanation was given on the audit cycle for grant work which meant that the item was usually scheduled around March.  The timing for this report had been impacted by resource issues and pressures in Audit Wales.

Sally Ellis asked whether collective approaches had been made to Civica to resolve the issues if the same system was used by other authorities.  The Chief Executive was aware that officers across the region had reported the same issues to Civica and would pursue an update for the Committee.

The recommendation was moved and seconded by Councillor Attridge and Brian Harvey.

RESOLVED:

That the content of the Grant Claim Certification report for 2021/22 be noted.