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Grass-cutting on council properties | Due to wet conditions of the grass, we may not be able to cut all of the grass areas of our council properties at this current time; this includes our parks, open spaces and play areas. Our team are surveying the sites and as soon as the areas are dry enough, our team will be grass-cutting as usual. Sorry for any inconvenience caused. 

Meeting documentation

Meeting documents

Audit and Governance Committee
Wednesday, 26th September, 2012 6.30 pm

ItemDescriptionResolution
Declaration of interests - members are reminded that following the adoption by Council of the new Code of Conduct, any declaration of interest should be made having regard to the new code. In particular, members must make clear the nature of the interest and whether it is 'personal' or 'prejudicial'.

The Monitoring Officer would like to remind members that when they are considering whether the following items are exempt information under the relevant paragraph under part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 they must have regard to the public interest test. This means that members must consider, for each item, whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption from disclosure outweighs the public interest in making the item available to the public.
1 ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN
Councillors G Allman and T Neilson received nominations to be appointed Chairman for the ensuing municipal year. Upon being put to the vote, it was
 RESOLVED THAT:

Councillor T Neilson be elected Chairman for the ensuing municipal year.

Councillor T Neilson took the Chair.
2 ELECTION OF DEPUTY CHAIRMAN
 RESOLVED THAT:

Councillor J Cotterill be elected Deputy Chairman for the ensuing municipal year.
3 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor C Large.
  
4 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
There were no interests declared.
  
5 MINUTES OF THE FINAL AUDIT AND STANDARDS COMMITTEE
Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting of the Audit and Standards Committee held on 27 June 2012.
 RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting of the Audit and Standards Committee held on 27 June 2012 be approved as a correct record.
6 ANNUAL GOVERNANCE REPORT 2011/12
Mr R Walton presented the report to members on behalf of the District Auditor, outlining the work which had been undertaken in conducting the audit of the accounts.
 RESOLVED THAT:

a) The contents of the Annual Governance Report 2011/12 be noted.

b) The representation letter at Appendix 3 be approved.

c) The action plan at Appendix 5 be approved.
7 ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT 2011-12
The Head of Finance presented the report to members, highlighting the key features of the Annual Governance Statement.
 RESOLVED THAT:

a) The Annual Governance Statement 2011-12 be approved.

b) Authority be delegated to the Head of Finance to include reference in the Annual Governance Statement to any significant post balance sheet events which may occur up to the signing of the final Statement of Accounts, in consultation with the Chairman of the Committee.
8 ANNUAL STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 2011/12
The Head of Finance presented the report to members, highlighting the purpose of the Statement of Accounts and drawing members' attention to the updated information circulated at the meeting.

In response to a question from a member, the Financial Planning Manager advised that the valuation of the Council's assets was undertaken by a professional external property valuation company. Mr R Walton added that the District Auditor assessed the quality of external assessors used by the Council in completing their audit. He advised that the District Auditor was satisfied that this company were suitably qualified to undertake the valuation.

In response to a question from a member, the Head of Finance advised that this year's underspend was due to early action being taken in anticipation of the difficult financial period ahead. He advised members that savings had being realised ahead of schedule as a result of this early action.
 RESOLVED THAT:

a) The Annual Statement of Accounts be approved.

b) The Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee be authorised to sign the accounts as approved.

c) Authority be delegated to the Chairman of the Audit and Governance Committee
and the Section 151 Officer to approve any minor non material amendments, as agreed with the Auditor, to the accounts on behalf of the Audit and Governance Committee.
9 STANDARDS AND ETHICS - QUARTER 1 REPORT
The Head of Legal and Support Services and Monitoring Officer presented the report to members, outlining the complaints received in Quarter 1.
 RESOLVED THAT:

The report be noted.
10 INTERNAL AUDIT PROGRESS REPORT APRIL 2012 - AUGUST 2012
The Senior Auditor presented the report to members, outlining the progress made against the audit plan for the current year.
 RESOLVED THAT:

The report be noted.
11 TREASURY MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY - APRIL TO AUGUST 2012
The Head of Finance presented the report to members.
 RESOLVED THAT:

The report be noted.
12 COMMITTEE WORK PLAN
Consideration was given to the Committee's work plan.
 RESOLVED THAT:

The work plan be noted.
Published on Monday, 8th October, 2012
The meeting closed at 7.15pm.

Attendance Details

Present:
Councillors G Allman, J Cotterill, D De Lacy, D Everitt, T Neilson, N Smith and R Woodward.

District Auditor: Mr R Walton.

Officers: Mr R Bowmer, Mr P Padaniya, Miss M Terry, Miss E Warhurst and Miss A Wright.