Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor M Ball, K Horn, R Morris, D Bigby and M Blair-Park.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest, registerable interest or other interest.

There were no interests declared.

To receive questions from members of the public under rule no.10 of the Council Procedure Rules. The procedure rule provides that members of the public may ask any question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the District, provided that three clear days’ notice in writing has been given to the Head of Legal and Support Services.

There were no questions received.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 20 February 2024

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 20 February 2024.

It was moved by Councillor A Morley, seconded by Councillor M Burke, and

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 February 2024 be approved as an accurate record of proceedings.

The report of the Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development

The Head of Human Resources and Organisational Development presented the report.

A Member asked for an explanation for the delays in the Waste Services Review. The Strategic Director of Communities advised that the delay could be attributed to the extensive residential survey work currently being undertaken; and also to difficulties in procuring a consultant, which had now been resolved. The Head of Community Services added that the revised timetable envisaged an all-Member Workshop in July, Community Scrutiny in September, and for a final report to be put before Cabinet in October in time to feed into budget preparation for 2025/6.

A couple of Members expressed concern about the delays in auditing the accounts for 2021/22, and asked whether these delays left the Council vulnerable, in the national context of S114 notices being issued on a regular basis.

The Strategic Director of Resources agreed that delays to auditing the accounts did raise questions of how valuable the audit would be. He concurred with Members that the national backlog of auditing accounts possibly contributed somewhat to the steady proliferation of S114 notices across the country. Nevertheless, he advised Members that the audited accounts for 2021/2022 would still provide a ‘value for money’ opinion and the medium-term financial plan would be assessed by the auditors. These issues would also be discussed in greater detail by the Audit and Governance Committee.

The Chair expressed concern in the performance of Mazars, the Council’s external auditors. In response, the Strategic Director of Resources advised that the capacity of auditors was only one issue, alongside new complexities in the accounting system introduced in recent years, and the impacts of the Coronavirus across local government.

A Member suggested that it was worth Scrutiny considering the whole audit system, nationally, and how it was functioning. In response, the Strategic Director of Resources advised that there was a consultation taking place with national Government and local authorities about how to deal with the backlog. His response had been shared with the Chair and Deputy Chair of the Audit & Governance Committee and he was open to discussing a further representation to the sector or to national Government with the Chair of Audit & Governance too.

A discussion was had about a report being put onto the Corporate Scrutiny work programme to examine the Audit issues. Officers advised that it may be more appropriate for this to be considered by the Audit and Governance Committee, and that the national audit system was not in the control of the organisation.

A Member asked if in the future could value for money picked up in internal audits be more concretely and tangibly expressed for residents. The Strategic Director of Resources concurred and would discuss the matter with the Audit Manager.

A Member asked about the impact of vacancy levels on the areas where KPIs had not been met. The Strategic Director of Communities advised that it was not evident to him at that stage that there was a notable impact, but whatever the impact was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

To consider any items to be included in the work programme. The plan of forthcoming Cabinet decisions and the current work programme are attached for information.

Consideration was given to any items on the Work Programme.

The Strategic Director of Communities advised that as the schedule of meetings had to be approved at Annual Council it meant that items for the Work Programme after May could not be published yet. Nevertheless, consideration was certainly being given by Officers to the business of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee for the civic year 2024/25.