Agenda and draft minutes

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non-pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 4 March 2024.

The minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed and signed by the Vice-Chair (acting as Chair) as a true and accurate record.

The opportunity is given to members of the public to put questions to the Chair provided that questions do not contravene the provisions set out in Council Procedure Rule 10.01.

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 3 July or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

Questions and responses will be published at least 24 hours before the meeting. Supplementary questions may be put and answered during the meeting, subject to the relevant time limit.

There were no public questions.

The opportunity is given to members of the public to present a petition or deputation provided that questions do not contravene the provisions set out in Council Procedure Rule 11.01.

To present a petition or deputation at this meeting, please provide the subject matter to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 3 July or telephone 01452 396203 for support.

There were no petitions nor deputations.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Resources presenting the Strategic Risk Register (SRR) and seeking to update Members on the Council’s risk management activities in 2023/24.

5.1          The Head of ARA presented the report. The purpose of the report was to   present the Strategic Risk Register (SRR) and update Members on the Council’s risk management activities from 2023/24 for their awareness and consideration. The Head of the ARA further introduced himself to members who had not previously sat on the Audit and Governance Committee. He also noted that there was a minor typographical error outlined in paragraph 2.2 of the report. He said that the report referred to the Director of Policy and Resources, when it should have read Head of Finance and Resources.

5.2          In response to a question by Cllr A.Chambers, the Head of the ARA confirmed that risk management would include the management of assets that the City Council owned.

5.3          In response to concerns highlighted by Councillor A. Chambers regarding Longsmith Carpark and questions about the investigations that had taken place, the Head of Finance & Resources responded that the report did not go into detail on individual assets and its purpose was to provide a clear overview. The Head of ARA added that car park management would be included in the Strategic Risk Register and that the report covered the period of 2023-24, so more recent events would not have been included.

5.4          In response to concerns raised by Councillor A. Chambers regarding the structural integrity of certain Council assets, the Head of ARA encouraged members to contact the S151 officer with evidence of any dangerous sites so that the Council could take action.

5.5          Responding to a question raised by Councillor Pullen regarding the factors needed to prevent future overspending, the Head of Finance & Resources stated that the original overspend had decreased from £1.5 million to £288,000, as Councillor Pullen had noted. He explained that national issues had contributed to this change and emphasized that the purpose of the risk register was to manage risk over the medium to short term.

5.6          In response to an additional question by Councillor Pullen, the Head of Finance & Resources stated that he was satisfied with the control measures in place.

5.7          The Audit and Governance Committee RESOLVED that the Strategic Risk Register and the planned risk management arrangements for 2023/24 be noted and endorsed.

To consider the Chair’s annual report.

6.1          The Head of ARA presented the report. The purpose of the report was to summarise the Committee’s activities during 2023-24 and to set out its plans for the next twelve months. The report also sought to provide independent assurance that the Council had in place:

i.               Adequate and effective governance, risk management and internal control frameworks;

ii.              Internal and External Audit services; and

iii.             Financial reporting arrangements that can be relied upon and which contribute to the high corporate governance standards that the Council expected and maintained.

6.2          The Audit and Governance Committee RESOLVED to:

i. agree the Audit and Governance Committee Annual Report 2023- 24; and

ii. RECOMMEND to Council that the Annual Report 2023-24 be approved.

To provide the Committee with an annual report on Internal Audit activity in 2023-24.

7.1          The Head of ARA presented the report. The purpose of the report was to provide the Audit and Governance Committee with an annual report on Internal Audit activity which meets the Head of ARA’s annual reporting requirements, as set out in the Public Sector Internal Auditing Standards (PSIAS) 2017.The Head of ARA thanked officers, the internal audit team, members’ and all relevant parties for their hard work.

7.2          In response to a question by Councillor Wiederhold as to how the Council would be viewed as having an ‘acceptable’ level of effectiveness to a ‘substantial’ one for risk management, the Head of ARA responded that if the risk reduced over the span of a year, the level of effectiveness would be changed to substantial.

7.3          In response to a query by Councillor Pullen regarding whether some audits had been cancelled due to the Cyber Incident or merely deferred, the Head of ARA responded that they had been deferred while they awaited the provision of complete information. When asked if a timescale could be provided, the Head of ARA stated that he could not currently provide an exact timeline. However, if the audits were deferred to a later year, they would be included in the internal audit plan.

7.4          In response to a question from Councillor A. Chambers regarding the length of time the Council took to advise residents about the cyber incident, the Head of Finance & Resources stated that matters related to the cyber incident had been well documented. He also noted that a report on the cyber incident had been published and that the Council had sought advice from relevant parties.

7.5          The Audit and Governance Committee RESOLVED to:

i. Agree the Audit and Governance Committee Annual Report 2023- 24; and

ii. RECOMMEND to Council that the Annual Report 2023-24 be approved.

To consider the report of the Head of Audit, Risk and Assurance summarising corporate governance matters in the preceding financial year.

8.1          The Head of ARA presented the report. The purpose of the report was to summarise Gloucester City Council’s corporate governance arrangements in place during 2023-24, via the publication of an AGS, (signed by the Leader, the Managing Director and the S151 Officer), supported by a Local Code of Corporate Governance, which is in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 1999, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)/Society of Local Authorities Chief Executives (SOLACE) guidance – Delivering Good Governance in Local Government Framework (2016).

8.2          In response to a question by Councillor A.Chambers, the Head of ARA confirmed that an audit relating to the topic of Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping strategy had been completed and it would have come before the Audit and Governance Committee.

8.3          In response to a further question from Councillor A. Chambers about whether an audit on Asset Management should feature higher on the list of priorities, the Head of ARA stated that ARA, in collaboration with management, created timelines to complete audits. He added that if Asset Management was included in the Internal Audit Plan, it would be completed. He also noted that it was an agile plan and some topics could be prioritised sooner if required.

8.4          In response to a question from Councillor A. Chambers regarding what measures had been improved internally but were not included in the report, the Head of ARA responded that matters relating to Information Technology were often not detailed due to the risk that criminals might attempt to exploit this information.

8.5          The Audit and Governance Committee RESOLVED to:

 i: Approve the AGS 2023-24 (including the actions planned by the Council to further enhance good governance arrangements).

To consider the report of the Head of Audit, Risk and Assurance updating Members on counter fraud activity in 2023-24.

9.1          The Head of ARA presented the report. The purpose of the report was to provide the Committee with an annual report on counter fraud activity in the Council, led by the Audit Risk Assurance (ARA) Counter Fraud Team.

9.2          Councillor Wiederhold noted that the complaints page on the Council’s website related to Whistleblowing was not functioning and was difficult to use. He asked if anything could be done about this. In response, the Head of Finance and Resources stated that the Council was in the process of introducing a new page on both the intranet and the internet. He mentioned that the Whistleblowing policy was available internally, but they were working on creating a specific webpage to make it easier to locate. This page would be accessible to both officers and external individuals. The Head of Finance further confirmed that he would check when it would go live.

9.3          In response to a question by Councillor Pullen regarding whether cases of COVID grant misuse had been resolved or addressed, or whether they were still included in the seven cases related to Counter Fraud investigations that had been carried over, the Head of ARA stated that he could find this information and contact him after the Committee meeting.

9.4          RESOLVED that the Audit and Governance Committee:

i. Assessed, from the report’s high level workstreams, whether it could take reasonable assurance that the Counter Fraud Team was operating effectively; AND

ii. Reviewed and approved the action plan for 2024-25.

To receive the report of the Head of Audit, Risk and Assurance outlining the latest review of the Internal Audit Charter and Code of Ethics.

10.1       The Head of ARA presented the report.

10.2       RESOLVED that the Audit and Governance Committee:

i. Approve the Internal Audit Charter; and

ii. Note the Code of Ethics.

To receive the report of the Head of Audit, Risk and Assurance presenting the latest version of the Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme (QAIP) for the Internal Audit Service.

11.1       The Head of ARA presented the report. The purpose of the report was to present, in compliance with Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS), the latest version of the Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme (QAIP) for the Internal Audit Service.

11.2        RESOLVED that the Audit and Governance Committee:

i. Approve the Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme 2024-25 (Appendix A); AND:

 ii. Note compliance against PSIAS for 2024-25 (Appendix B); and iii. Note the compliance assessment for 2023-24 (Appendix C)

To consider the report of the Head of Audit, Risk and Assurance informing the Committee of the Internal Audit activity progress in relation to the Internal Audit Plan 2024-25.

12.1       The Head of ARA presented the report. The purpose of the report was to inform the Committee of the Internal Audit activity progress in relation to the Internal Audit Plan 2024-25.

12.2       Councillor Pullen pointed to page 168 of the Agenda Pack. He noted that the report stated that the ‘governance framework around building maintenance’ was ‘not effective’. He asked whether this could result in issues being missed regarding building maintenance. The Head of ARA responded that there had been issues with different spreadsheets being used and that there needed to be a central location for recording. He said that it was also important that issues be reported to management for effective monitoring. In response to an additional question by Councillor Pullen, the Head of ARA confirmed that there would be improvements going forward.

12.3       Councillor A. Chambers noted that he did not believe Car Park monitoring was being conducted adequately, as stated in the report. He raised concerns about the condition of Longsmith Car Park. In response, the Head of ARA clarified that their role was not to visit the site, as they were assessing risks rather than performing structural engineering duties. He explained that the statement referred to monitoring the contractor responsible for overseeing car parks, not monitoring the car parks themselves. Responding to concerns about Longsmith Car Park, the Head of Finance and Resources asked the member to contact him immediately after the meeting so that any safety concerns regarding car parks could be addressed urgently by Asset Management.

12.4       Councillor Bowkett noted that he agreed with Councillor A.Chambers in relation to concerns about the structure of Car Parks was not being handled effectively. The Head of ARA stated that they had found where there had been gaps in monitoring, which was what the report referenced.

12.5       Councillor Wilson asked Councillor A.Chambers to also contact him with the concerns raised regarding Longsmith Car Park so that he could look into it as a matter of urgency.

12.6       In response to a question by Councillor A.Chambers as to why the  review and clearance of credit balances was not a high  priority, the Financial Services Manager responded that the returning credit balances to business had been resolved subsequent to November 15, 2023.

12.7       In response to questions posed by Councillor Harries as to whether too many spreadsheets were being used for financial data, whether a more managed software system should be used instead and whether spreadsheets were double checked, the Head of Finance and Resources confirmed that spreadsheets were double checked and that the report was referring to historic loans, so the numerical figure would not change a large amount in all likelihood.

12.8       In response to a question by Councillor Bowkett as to when the Assurance Level for Contract Management could be increased from Advisory to Acceptable, the Head of ARA responded that it was a piece of consultancy work and that they did not provide assurances for consultancy work.

12.9       In response to concerns raised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Resources seeking Members to note treasury management activities for the period of 1^st October 2023 to 31^st March 2024, prudential indicators, interest rate forecasts and an overview of the financial year 2023-24.

13.1       The Head of Finance & Resources presented the report. He explained that the report covered the six months between 1st Oct 2023 to 31st March 2024 and therefore, ensured that the Council was implementing best practice in accordance with the Code.

13.2       In response to a question by Councillor Bowkett regarding why the Council's performance was not listed against benchmark returns for investments over 1, 3, 6, and 12 months, the Head of Finance & Resources confirmed that the Council could not invest on a monthly basis and that all investments were on-call.

13.3       In response to a question by Councillor A.Chambers about what safety measures the Council had in place relating to risk management of investments and whether there was a list of stocks/investments the Council invested in, the Head of Finances & Resources responded that the Treasury Management Strategy set out this list and that they did not invest in high risk assets.

13.4       In response to a question from Councillor Pullen, the Head of Finance & Resources confirmed that the property investment portfolio was separate and that he believed that there was around £4-5 million of that fund left over but that he could check this and contact Councillor Pullen.

13.5       RESOLVED that the Audit and Governance Committee note the contents of the report.

To receive a verbal update from the Head of Audit, Risk and Assurance on new global Internal Audit standards.

The Head of Audit, Risk and Assurance provided a verbal update on new global Internal Audit standards. He stated that ARA undertook work in accordance to a set of professional standards and that a new standard for Global Internal Standards had been created which ARA would implement them when CIPFA had issued new internal standards.

To consider the work programme.

RESOLVED that the Audit and Governance Committee note the work programme.

Monday 9 September 2024 at 6.30pm in the Civic Suite, North Warehouse.

Monday 9 September 2024 at 6.30pm in the Civic Suite, North Warehouse.