Agenda item

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 25 June 2012 (copy enclosed).

(a)       That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman;

(b)       That the Internal Audit Manager circulate to the Committee the interim procedures on the monitoring of consultants;

(c)        That the Internal Audit Manager provide clarification on any ‘significant changes in financial performance’ of companies reported by Credit Safe; and

(d)       That the Red, Amber, Green (RAG) status be reviewed for refinements and proposals brought back to the Committee at a future meeting.

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 25 June 2012 were submitted.

Matters Arising

The Chief Executive said that following discussion with officers, it had been agreed to report positively on actions recorded in the minutes at the next meeting if the item was not otherwise included on the agenda.

Minute 6: Certification of Grant Claims and Returns 2010/11 - The Internal Audit Manager reported on new procedures now in place to improve the process and ensure the completion of the grants checklist for each return.  The Chief Executive commented on the level of performance reported at the previous meeting and explained the improvements made to the use of grants database and the countersigning of grant returns by specified senior Finance managers following application of the checklist. He added that full compliance was expected in the next grant claim certification ‘round’.

Minute 7: Report on Internal Audit - The Internal Audit Manager advised that a plan would be required to meet requirements for the current year and that he and the Head of Finance would discuss with the Chief Executive.  He confirmed that, as in previous years, only non-essential items would be deferred from the plan and that resources in Internal Audit were sufficient to cover essential audit work.

Minute 9: Treasury Management Annual Report 2011/12 and 2012/13 Update - In response to Councillor G.H. Bateman’s request for an update on the proposed investment at the rate of 3%, the Head of Finance advised that this had not yet been progressed and that discussions were ongoing with Treasury Management colleagues.  She went on to say that officers continued to make judgements on the financial market and confirmed that the Treasury Management Policy set out parameters in which officers could make decisions on investments, which applied in this instance.

Minute 10: Final Reports and Performance Indicators - Following concern on the late implementation date of April 2013 for a Traffic Management issue, it was explained that this date represented when all outstanding issues were to be resolved in that area, however a high proportion of schemes would be finalised in the coming months which meant a high level of compliance ahead of the implementation date.

Minute 11: Operational Audit Plan and Recommendation Tracking - It was explained that suppliers were categorised using the Thomson Classification system which enabled the Procurement Unit to analyse the use of suppliers in more detail.  The Internal Audit Manager agreed to circulate to the Committee the set of interim procedures for monitoring consultants which were in use prior to updating of the Contract Procedure Rules in October 2012.  The current system involved the completion of a form stating the reason for the appointment of the consultant, objectives and outcomes together with a business case and budget information, to be signed off by the Head of Service who would be responsible for monitoring.  The Chief Executive explained this was a more centralised system to ensure that the engagement of consultants was ‘signed’ off at second tier officer level to ensure consistency.

The Internal Audit Manager had emailed Committee Members responding to other queries raised at the previous meeting.  Following discussion on Equifax, he confirmed there was ongoing monitoring of contractors on the Council’s approved list, explaining that this was now undertaken by a different company, Credit Safe, who would give notification of any significant changes in the financial performance of contractors.  On receipt of such information, the Council would check the contractor’s rating against criteria and if this was not met, the company would be informed of their removal from the approved list.

Mr. P.D. Williams said that his comments about the need to look at fundamental areas of high risk had been endorsed by Mr. P. Green of RSM Tenon at the meeting.

Councillor R.B. Jones sought clarity on “significant changes in financial performance” and said that criteria needed to be described.  He also referred to Mr. Williams’ comment on traffic management as a risk area and said that the level of risk should be balanced against speedier actions.  The Internal Audit Manager agreed to provide a separate response on the first comment.  He accepted the latter point but added that risk areas were theoretical and that the transfer of a significant proportion of schemes in the section to a new system would improve matters.

Councillor I.B. Roberts reiterated his comments on use of the Amber status in the Red, Amber, Green (RAG) system.  Whilst the Chief Executive recognised the limitations of the system, he explained that this was a colour scheme to aid review and risk assurance. He suggested that the system could be reviewed and refined, with consideration given to the impact on other areas of risk management, with proposals brought back to the Committee at a later date.

On performance indicators, Councillor Jones referred to the last quarterly review considered by Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee which indicated ‘improved/downturn’ to show the direction of the outturn.  Councillor A. Woolley suggested that a split box could be used, with one half stating the current position and the other half showing the indicator.

Having met with the Vice-Chair and Internal Audit Manager to discuss queries raised at the previous meeting, the Chair said that further concerns raised by the Vice-Chair on appraisals would be pursued with the Chief Executive.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the minutes be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman;

(b)       That the Internal Audit Manager circulate to the Committee the interim procedures on the monitoring of consultants;

(c)        That the Internal Audit Manager provide clarification on any ‘significant changes in financial performance’ of companies reported by Credit Safe; and

(d)       That the Red, Amber, Green (RAG) status be reviewed for refinements and proposals brought back to the Committee at a future meeting.