Agenda item

That the report be accepted.

The Internal Audit Manager presented the update report on progress of the Internal Audit department.  He referred to information on the finalised report on the red review of provider overpayments to care homes and welcomed the prompt actions including the establishment of a Task & Finish Group.

The Senior Manager (Safeguarding & Commissioning) and Business Manager were in attendance to report on progress with the action plan.  They explained that on identifying the overpayment, the team had engaged with Internal Audit to look at processes, most of which had already been recognised by the service area.  An update was given on positive actions to strengthen links and address the weaknesses which had led to the overpayment.

Councillor Alison Halford thanked the team and Internal Audit for their work.  She raised concerns that the PARIS system had not identified the overpayment and suggested that the Chief Officer (Social Services) be invited to a future meeting to give an overview of the safeguards and provide assurance on the effectiveness of systems.

The Senior Manager advised that the provider had prepared a repayment schedule and that the full amount was being sought through debtor negotiations.

The Chief Executive agreed that the incident was regrettable and that it was reasonable to ask the Chief Officer (Social Services) to address the concerns.  He spoke about the responsibilities on service providers as well as that of the Council and felt that this should be highlighted with other care providers.  He also referred to the complexities of the PARIS system.

In response to questions from Mr. Paul Williams, explanation was given on the invoicing process where checks had not been properly carried out and it was confirmed that all records had been checked to verify that this was a standalone issue.  Actions included a review of procedures across Social Services to learn lessons and make improvements to prevent any reoccurrence.  In respect of the repayment schedule, this was a reasonable request but the Council was seeking to recover the full cost and an informal communication could be shared with the Committee on the conclusion of these negotiations.  It was also explained that the care provider had been made aware of the overpayment once it had been brought to their attention.

The Chief Executive suggested that the Chief Officer could be invited to the next meeting in January to report on the progress of implementing the recommendations.

On the question of further work by Internal Audit, there were no overdue actions and no new investigations to report.

The Internal Audit Manager reported on changes within the section, as set out in the report, which had led to revisions to the Audit Plan.  The Principal Auditor confirmed that the reduced number of days within the Plan remained sufficient to give the annual audit opinion and that the changes had been determined by assessing various factors and consultation with relevant senior officers.

Following a query by Councillor Halford on the risk ratings allocated to audits within the Plan, it was clarified that these did not reflect any findings or pre-judgement but were determined by the model used in the planning process to prioritise work.

Officers agreed to the request made by Mr. Paul Williams that any actions with a revised due date six months beyond the original date be flagged up with the Committee to monitor slippage.

RESOLVED:

That the report be accepted.