Meeting documents

Audit and Governance Committee
Wednesday, 26th June, 2013 6.30 pm

Item	Description	Resolution
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	APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE There were no apologies for absence.
2	DECLARATION OF INTERESTS There were no declarations of interest.
3	MINUTES Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday, 27th March, 2013 Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 27 March 2013. It was moved by Councillor G Jones, seconded by Councillor R Woodward and (Attachment: 1)Minutes	RESOLVED THAT: The minutes of the Audit and Governance Committee held on 27 March 2013 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.
4	STANDARDS AND ETHICS - QUARTER 4 REPORT The Monitoring Officer presented the report to Members. In response to questions from Members, the Monitoring Officer stated the following: - It was confirmed that Members were now informed immediately if a complaint was received against them rather than later in the process. - The compensation figure for the number of Ombudsman complaints where compensation had been paid was not available for the meeting, the Monitoring Officer would forward the information to Councillor N Smith. - It was agreed for future reports to contain more details regarding the complaints received. By affirmation of the meeting it was (Attachment: 2)Report of the Head of Legal and Support Services and Monitoring Office	RESOLVED THAT: The report be noted.
5	ARRANGEMENTS IN RESPECT OF FRAUD AND CORRUPTION The Head of Finance presented the report to Members. Councillor N Smith asked if anyone had been found guilty of fraud or corruption as he was not aware of any cases. The Head of Finance stated that unfortunately there were a small number of cases but it was very rare and Members would not usually be informed due to the Data Protection Regulations. Councillor G Jones stressed the importance of the Committee being informed of any such cases due to the nature of the incidents, the Head of Finance assured Members that there had been no proven cases of fraud or corruption by Officers or Members and in the future Members could receive the information in such a way as to not break the Data Protection Regulations. Councillor D De Lacy asked what the consequences would be if the external auditors were not satisfied with the responses given by the Local Authority regarding its arrangements for dealing with fraud and corruption. Mr J Cornett, External Auditor, explained that as they attended Committees and had regular contact with Section 151 Officer, they would already know what the response should include. If the response was not correct he would go into further conversations with the Section 151 Officer and provide guidance to ensure it was correct. The Local Authority would be given every opportunity to deliver the correct answer. It was moved by Councillor T Neilson, seconded by Councillor G Jones and (Attachment: 3)Report of the Head of Finance	RESOLVED THAT: The opinion of the Section 151 Officer that adequate arrangements exist to ensure effective legal compliance and effective arrangements for dealing with fraud and corruption be endorsed.
6	INTERNAL AUDIT PROGRESS REPORT APRIL 2013 - MAY 2013 The Senior Auditor presented the report to Members. By affirmation of the meeting it was (Attachment: 4)Report of the Head of Finance	RESOLVED THAT: The report be noted.
7	TREASURY MANAGEMENT STEWARDSHIP REPORT 2012/13 The Head of Finance presented the report to Members. At the request of Councillor D De Lacy, the Head of Finance clarified what was meant by internal debt. Councillor N Smith complimented the officers for their work on keeping the net debt low. It was moved by Councillor T Neilson, seconded by Councillor R Woodward and (Attachment: 5)Report of the Head of Finance	RESOLVED THAT: The report be approved.
8	INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL REPORT 2012/13 The Senior Auditor presented the report to Members. By affirmation of the meeting it was (Attachment: 6)Report of the Head of Finance	RESOLVED THAT: The report be noted.
9	PUBLIC SECTOR INTERNAL AUDIT STANDARDS The Head of Finance presented the report to Members. Councillor D De Lacy asked how the Local Authority demonstrated the independence of the Chief Audit Executive when that role was undertaken by the Senior Auditor who reported to the Head of Finance. The Head of Finance explained that the Senior Auditor would attend meetings and have access to the Chief Executive. He added that unfortunately as the Council was a small authority the Senior Auditor did report to him but stressed that she would have an independent opinion. By affirmation of the meeting it was (Attachment: 7)Report of the Head of Finance	RESOLVED THAT: The implications and actions necessary to meet the public sector internal audit standards be noted.
10	AUDIT AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE WORK PLAN By affirmation of the meeting it was (Attachment: 8)To note the Committee's Work Plan	RESOLVED THAT: The committee's work plan be noted.

Published on Wednesday, 17th July, 2013

The meeting opened at 6.30pm and closed at 7.02pm.

Attendance Details

Present:

Councillor T Neilson (Chairman)