Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Offices, Reading

Contact: Michael Popham - Democratic Services Manager  Email: michael.popham@reading.gov.uk

Link: Link to watch meeting

Media

Items
No. Item

10.

Chair's Announcements

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed Councillor McGoldrick to the Committee who had recently replaced Councillor Edwards.  Councillor Williams also thanked Councillor Edwards for her service on the Committee.

11.

Minutes of the Previous Meeting held on 20 July 2023 pdf icon PDF 126 KB

Minutes:

The Minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2023 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

12.

External Auditor Update pdf icon PDF 143 KB

A representative from the Council’s External Auditor EY will present their draft Audit Results Report for the 2020/21 financial statements and provide an update with regard to planning for the audit of the following year’s statements.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a covering report on EY’s draft 2020/21 Audit Results Report, which was attached as an Appendix to the report.

 

Adrian Balmer, EY, presented the draft Audit Report for 2020/21 summarising the assessment of the key risks driving the development of an effective audit for the Council and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

Closing Financial Accounts Update pdf icon PDF 142 KB

This report provides an update on the audit of the Council’s Final Accounts for 2020/21 and seeks approval for them to be signed off by the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee.

Minutes:

The Committee received a report on the progress of the audit of the Council’s Final Accounts for 2020/21, as it neared completion.  The report also gave a progress update on the 2021/22 accounts. 

 

The 2020/21 audit of accounts was substantially complete and the Council’s finance team had continued to amend  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.

Going Concern Assessment 2020/21 pdf icon PDF 180 KB

This report provides the Director of Finance’s assessment of the Council’s “Going Concern” status for the purpose of the Statement of Accounts 2020/21.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee received a report on the Director of Finance’s assessment of the Council’s “Going Concern” status for the purpose of the Statement of Accounts 2020/21, which was that Reading Borough Council could continue to operate as a going concern for at least a period of 12 months from the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

15.

Internal Audit Quarterly Progress Report pdf icon PDF 147 KB

This report provides an update on key findings emanating from Internal Audit reports issued since the last quarterly progress report.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report providing an update on the key findings emanating from the Internal Audit reports issued for the period 1 July to 30 September 2023 (Quarter 2).

 

The report summarised the findings, recommendations and management actions that had been put forward for each audit review and stated  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Direct Payments: Response to Internal Audit Recommendations pdf icon PDF 158 KB

To provide a response to an internal audit of Direct Payments, which identified some process weaknesses and made a series of recommendations to improve the service.

Minutes:

Further to Minute 38 of the meeting held on 12 April 2023, the Committee considered a report on the response to an internal audit of Direct Payments, which had identified some process weaknesses and made a series of recommendations to improve the service.  The report set out the action that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

CIPFA Practical Guidance for Local Authorities on Audit Committees pdf icon PDF 197 KB

To consider the key points arising from the CIPFA Audit Committees: practical guidance for local authorities and police and the revised Audit & Governance Committee’s terms of reference, prior to their onward submission to Council for approval.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

 

The Committee considered a report on the CIPFA Practical Guidance for Local Authorities on Audit Committees.  Attached to the report at Appendix 1 were proposed revised terms of reference for the Committee and at Appendix 2 a Self-assessment of good practice against the CIPFA Practical Guidance for Local Authorities on  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

18.

Review of Constitution: Contract Procedure Rules pdf icon PDF 125 KB

To consider the proposed updates to the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules and recommend their adoption by Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report on a refresh of the Council’s existing Contract Procedure Rules (CPRs) to ensure the Council modernised the way it procured goods, services, and works, and that correct due diligence was in place to ensure that value for money was achieved. A copy of the proposed  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

19.

Strategic Risk Register 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 184 KB

This report provides the latest update on the Strategic Risk Register 2023/24.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report outlining the updates to the Strategic Risk Register (SRR), in line with the requirements of the Council’s Risk Management Strategy. A copy of the SRR was attached to the report at Appendix 1.  The Risk Register covered the actions completed by the Council for June  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

20.

Treasury Management Review Quarter 1 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 270 KB

This report provides an update on the activity of the Treasury Management function for the period 1st April 2023 to 30th June 2023.

 

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report on the activity of the Treasury Management function during the first quarter of the year for the period 1st April 2023 to 30th June 2023.  The report stated that the CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management 2021 recommended that the Committee should  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20.

21.

2023/24 Quarter 1 Performance and Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 495 KB

This report sets out the projected revenue and capital outturn positions for 2023/24 for both the General Fund and Housing Revenue Accounts as at the end of Quarter 1. The reportalso setsout performanceagainst themeasures of success published in the Council’s Corporate Plan.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report, which had been considered by Policy Committee on 25 September 2023 setting out the projected revenue and capital outturn positions for 2022/23 for both the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Accounts as at the end of Quarter 1 (June 2023).  The report also summarised  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

22.

Implementation of the New Finance System - Progress Update pdf icon PDF 238 KB

To receive a report providing an update on the implementation of the new Finance System.

 

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report on the implementation of the new finance system, e5, which had recently passed a user acceptance testing milestone and was due to go live on the 1st of November 2023.  The project was now at the stage of delivering training, finalising interfaces, rehearsing data  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

23.

Annual Governance Statement 2022/23 pdf icon PDF 145 KB

To receive a report on the draft Annual Governance Statement for 2022/23 for publication with the Council’s accounts.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report setting out the updated action plan for the 2022/23 Annual Governance Statement (AGS), which was attached to the report at Appendix 1.

 

The report explained that the Council was required to prepare and publish an AGS each year as an accompaniment to the authority’s financial  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

24.

Information Governance Quarterly Update pdf icon PDF 164 KB

This report provides an update on the actions in progress to improve the Council’s policies, systems and processes around Information Governance.

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report outlining the action underway to improve the Council’s policies, systems and processes for Information Governance following several limited assurance reports in this area.

 

The report provided an update on: the action being taken to address the backlog of Subject Access Requests; the on-time responses to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.