Venue: Siambr Hywel Dda - Council Offices
Contact: Bethan Adams 01286 679020
No. | Item |
---|---|
CHAIRMAN To elect a
Chairman for 2015/16. Minutes: RESOLVED to re-elect
Councillor John Pughe Roberts as Chairman of the
Committee for 2015/16. |
|
VICE-CHAIRMAN To elect a Vice-chairman for 2015/16. Minutes: RESOLVED to re-elect
Councillor Robert J. Wright as Vice-chairman of the Committee for 2015/16. Items 3 to 5
were chaired by the Vice-chair, as the Chair was late,
his arrival was delayed due to an accident on the road. |
|
APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Councillors Eddie Dogan, Peredur Jenkins (Cabinet Member for Resources) and Charles Wyn Jones. |
|
DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present. |
|
URGENT ITEMS To note any items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so they may be considered. |
|
The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee, held on 17 February 2015, be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Vice-chair signed the minutes of the meeting of this committee held on 17 February 2015 as a true record. |
|
OUTPUT OF INTERNAL AUDIT PDF 375 KB To submit the report of the Audit Manager outlining the work of the internal Audit Section for the period between 1 February and 31 March 2015. Minutes: The work of the
Internal Audit Section for the period up to 31 March 15 Submitted
- the report of the Audit Manager, outlining the Internal Audit’s work during
the period between 1 February 2015 and 31 March 2015. When submitting the
information on the work completed during the period, the officer referred to - ·
24 reports on audits of the action plan with the
relevant opinion category shown ·
4 other reports (memoranda etc.) ·
4 grant reviews ·
5 follow-up audits Consideration was given to each individual report and
during the discussion reference was made to the following matters – ICT in Secondary
Schools In response to a member’s observation regarding changing
passwords, the Audit Manager noted that the same enforcement was relevant to
officers and members to change passwords to access the network and that there
were specific regulations for other systems. Health and Safety -
Lone Working In response to a member's observation, the Audit Manager
noted that the scope of the audit did not include Councillors, but that
conducting such an audit was something to consider for the future. It was noted that it was the responsibility of managers to
ensure that staff received the relevant training and that Health and Safety
Officers were available to assist when risk assessments were undertaken. Protocol for
Member-Officer Link In response to a member’s observation regarding the need
for Councillors to sign in and out as they visited any of the Council's
property, the Head of Finance Department noted that introducing a digital
procedure of registering in and out with a card (used for printing) had been
explored, but that it meant a significant investment due to the number of doors
in the buildings. A member noted that he sometimes had difficulty when
receiving response to enquiries from the Planning Service. In response, the
member was advised to contact the Temporary Head of the Regulatory Department
regarding the matter. A member added that a list of officers’ contact details
along with their working days would be beneficial to members. The Head of Finance Department noted that he would raise
the matter of contacting officers in the next meeting of the Management Group. Network Convergence It was noted that an opinion category had not been noted
on this audit as the plan had progressed, and it was not always appropriate to
place a category in such circumstances. Children Services -
Commissioning Care In response to a member’s observation, the Audit Manager
noted that an inclusive review had been undertaken and that work to formalise
arrangements was underway. Parking Enforcement
In response to a member’s observation regarding Civil
Enforcement Officers’ working hours and lone working arrangements, it was noted
that this had not been included in the audit’s scope. A member noted that given the financial challenge that the
Council faced, expanding the role of Civil Enforcement Officers to include
duties such as dog fouling and planning enforcement should be considered. The Head of Finance Department suggested that the hours and lone working ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
|
HEAD OF INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15 PDF 703 KB To submit the report of the Senior Manager Revenue and Risk and the Audit Manager. Minutes: Submitted - the report of the Senior Revenue and Risk
Manager and the Audit Manager. The Senior Revenue and Risk Manager noted that the
Public Sector Internal Audit Standards requires him to submit his opinion on
the Council’s internal control framework annually. On the basis of the work
that had been completed during 2014/15, the officer was satisfied that Gwynedd
Council had a sound framework of internal control. It was reported that 87 out of 91 audits in the final
amended internal audit plan had been completed by 31 March 2015, which
corresponded to 95.6% of the plan, against a performance target of 95% for
2014/15. It was noted that the Controls Improvement Working
Group, that had commenced during 2013/14, had continued with its work of
strengthening the Council’s arrangements to respond to internal audit
reports. The Senior Revenue and Risk Manager noted that
discussions had been held with the relevant officers following submission of
the draft internal audit plan for 2015/16 at the last meeting on 17 February,
and that the final plan had been included as Appendix 3 of the report. Attention was drawn to the fact that 3 targets of the
Internal Audit performance indicators for 2015/16 had been reduced for the
following reasons: ·
Real audit days provided for Gwynedd
Council. The number of auditors had reduced from 10 in 2014/15 to 7 in
2015/16. This was agreed by the Council as part of the efficiency savings
schemes. ·
Real audit days provided for external
customers. A service agreement with the Cynefin Group had come to an
end, and there was no security whether a contract with an external customer had
been successfully secured instead. ·
Percentage of the internal audites that
received a category “B” opinion or better. As the number of Council
staff was decreasing, it was anticipated that some internal controls would
weaken. However, it was anticipated that this would be a temporary reduction,
before the Gwynedd Way principles were developed within all the Council's
services. A member noted regarding the 'Use of Consultants'
audit that would be held in 2015/16, that the ways in which consultants were
appointed should be considered, along with their relationship with officers and
that it should be ensured that the appointment procedure conformed with OJEC
standards. In response to the observations, the Senior Revenue and Risk Manager
noted that the work had commenced and that if a member had any concerns in
terms of the appointment of a consultant, they should contact the Audit
Manager. In response to a member’s observation regarding the
number of days noted for conducting the 'National Fraud Initiative' audit, the
Senior Revenue and Risk Manager noted that the initiative of comparing the data
of public bodies to prevent fraud had been in operation for several years and
that more time commitment was required from Internal Audit in 2015/16 than in
previous years as the Benefit Fraud Prevention Unit had transferred to the
Department of Work and Pensions since November 2014. In response to an observation ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
|
GWYNEDD COUNCIL’S ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT FOR 2014/15 PDF 353 KB To submit the report of the Senior Manager Revenue and Risk. Additional documents:
Minutes: The
Senior Revenue and Risk Manager set out the background and context of the
report. Changes, which had been made by
the Governance Arrangement Assessment Group, to the impact and efficiency
scores of some aspects of the governance framework since 2014 were highlighted. In response to a member’s
enquiry regarding changing the Equality impact score from 6 to 7, and its
efficiency score from 7 to 6, the Senior Revenue and Risk Manager explained
that the impact score was increased as the cuts agenda could affect some groups
worse than others. Following examples of Judicial Review in England, as no
equality impact assessments had been undertaken when cutting services, the efficiency
score was reduced as there was a need to ensure that equality impact
assessments were more consistently undertaken. In response to a member’s
observation regarding the Audit Committee, it was noted that the Committee was
continuing to develop its ability to deal with the new responsibilities
associated with the Local Government Bill (Wales) 2011 and it was hoped that
its score could be increased next year. A member noted that it was
necessary to look at the Council’s values and consider the performance
indicators and their suitability. In
response, the Senior Revenue and Risk Manager noted that as part of the Gwynedd
Way reviews, namely putting the people of Gwynedd at the heart of every
decision, a conclusion was sought as to whether the values were prominent in
the Council's operations, and whether what the Council did achieved the main
purpose of placing the citizens at the centre. RESOLVED: (a) to approve the Annual Governance Statement,
incorporating Gwynedd Council’s Statement of Internal Control for the 2014/15
financial year; (b) to recommend that the Council Leader and the
Chief Executive sign the statement. |
|
GWYNEDD COUNCIL 2015 AUDIT PLAN PDF 172 KB To submit the report of the external auditor. Minutes: Submitted
- the report of Amanda Hughes and Huw Lloyd Jones
from the Wales Audit Office. It was explained that this year the details of the
Financial Audit and the Performance Audit held by WAO in the 2015/16 financial
year was included in the submitted plan. The
main financial audit risks were highlighted, noting that a number of the risks
were relevant to all Local Authorities, with some being specific to Gwynedd
Council. The
details of the Performance Audit were expanded on, it was noted that it had
been suggested to submit the report to the Committee in light of follow-up work
undertaken by the WAO to assess the progress in terms of implementing the
recommendations of previous work. It
was added that the Council’s response to national reports had also been
assessed. The
Head of the Finance Department noted that a number of the risks highlighted
were not specific to this Council, but were general risks in the Welsh context.
He reported that in light of national reports, the Council was seeking to
respond to the challenge, and that a report would be submitted to the next
meeting of the Committee on July 16 regarding WAO’s audit ‘Responding to
Significant Financial Stress’. In
response to a member’s observations, it was noted that the Committee’s role was
to convince itself that the recommendations of external audits received focus
and were acted upon. It was added that external audits were regularly reported
upon to the Committee. RESOLVED to accept the report. |
|
EVIDENCE OF APPROPRIATE GOVERNANCE (ISA 240, ISA 250 and ISA 550) PDF 121 KB To submit the report of the Head of Finance. Additional documents:
Minutes: It
was reported that a letter had been received from WAO enquiring about standard
audits in line with the requirements noted under the International Standards on
Auditing (ISA 240, ISA 250 and ISA 550). Attention
was drawn to a draft response to the letter formed by the Chairman of the
Committee together with the senior control of the Finance Department. Members
went through the draft response and were given an opportunity to make
observations on the content. RESOLVED to approve the
content of Appendix A to be submitted to the Wales Audit Office. |
|
FINAL ACCOUNTS 2014/15 - REVENUE OUTTURN PDF 120 KB To submit the report of the Head of Finance. Additional documents:
Minutes: The
background and context of the report was set by the Senior Finance Manager,
noting that the report together with relevant decisions from the meeting of the
Cabinet on 2 June would be submitted at the Chairman's request. Attention
was drawn to the fact that the Cabinet had approved the following financial
transactions as part of their decisions: ·
As the level of underspend permitted to be
carried forward is restricted to (£100k), confirm that the (£225k) which is
surplus from the Children’s Department is to be released and recycled to deal
with a deficit in another department. ·
Clear the Adults Department’s overspend, and
finance it by:- Ø
re-directing the underspend (£225k) which was
above the (£100k) threshold; Ø
using (£113k) from general balances. ·
Use an additional (£235k) from general balances
in order to clear the net deficit on 'Corporate' headings. It was noted that the 2014/15 performance of individual
departments was very good during a time of financial savings. It was reported that the accounts for the 2014/15
financial year had been completed and sent to the WAO, and the statutory
statements would be submitted to the Committee at its next meeting. RESOLVED to note the situation and the relevant risks in the context of the Council’s budgets and those of its departments. |
|
To submit the report of the Head of Finance. Additional documents:
Minutes: Submitted
- the report of the Head of Finance Department regarding transferring money
from the Council’s reserves and approving the Council's Policy on Reserves that
had been considered by the Council's Cabinet on 23 June 2015. The Council's
Decision Notice was distributed at the meeting and its content was expanded
upon. Attention
was drawn to the fact that the Chief Finance Officer had a statutory personal
responsibility (under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003) to ensure
appropriate stewarding of reserves, it was noted that a continuous review of
their adequacy and use was undertaken. It was noted
that the Cabinet, due to the significant financial challenge that faced the
Council during 2015/16 -2017/18, to withdraw from various reserves following a
review and to transfer £2,986,685 to the Redundancy Fund, and £1,500,000 to the
Transformation Fund / Invest to Save. In
response to a member’s observation that the Council’s general balances would
reduce to around £4m by 31 March 2016, the Head of Finance Department noted
that the general balances should not be used regularly to fund continuous
spending, but that the practice of transitioning was good practice in the face
of the significant financial gap to have time to consider and prioritise cuts
during 2015/16 in an inclusive way. A
member noted that it was necessary to ensure that the level of reserves did not
get too low, the Head of Finance agreed and noted it is expected that the
2016/17 budget does not rely on the use of balances. In
response to a member’s observation regarding school reserves, it was noted that
the reserves were under Governors’ control. It was added that specific
guidelines were in place for schools with consistent monitoring and reviewing
of the situation, and that increased stress was being placed by the Education
Department on schools with too high reserves to be used for the education of
the pupils. RESOLVED to note the situation and the risks in the context of the Council’s reserves and supporting the relevant policy. |
|
GWYNEDD HARBOURS’ FINAL ACCOUNTS 2014/15 PDF 45 KB To submit the report of the Head of Finance. Additional documents: Minutes: The
Senior Finance Manager submitted a report regarding the final accounts of
Gwynedd Harbours for the year 2014/15 in line with the statutory requirements
under the Harbours Act 1964. It was noted that Gwynedd Harbours was considered
a small governing body, as turnover was less than £2.5m, and due to the fact
that completing an annual official form for the WAO met statutory requirements. RESOLVED to accept
and approve the information in the appendices, namely - ·
Income
and Revenue Expenditure Account 2014/15; and ·
Annual
Official Form for 2014/15 Review |