The Chair referred to the Committee’s decision at its meeting held on 23 January 2024 (Minute 25 refers), which agreed to receive a report on governance and assurance arrangements of Brighter Futures for Children at a future meeting, in accordance with the Committee’s responsibility: ‘To review the governance and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 10 April 2024 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

This report updates the Committee on the preparation of the draft 2023/24 Statement of Accounts and the status of the accounts for 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23.

The Committee received a report on the preparation of the draft 2023/24 Statement of Accounts which was nearing completion, and the status of the previous two years’ accounts which were currently unaudited.  In future, the accounts would be signed off by Council, with the Audit and Governance Committee  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

To receive a report from the Council’s External Auditor.

The Committee received a covering report on behalf of the Council’s External Auditor, KPMG, which had attached a draft External Audit Plan & Strategy for the year ending 31 March 2024.  The external audit process included the approval of the annual Statement of Accounts results and the publication of accurate,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

To consider the annual report, associated action plan, and detailed feedback on the Audit & Governance Committee’s performance and to endorse that the report represents a fair reflection of the year, prior to its submission to Council.

The Committee received a report on its first Annual Report on how it had: complied with the 2022 CIPFA Position Statement; and discharged its responsibilities.  The Annual Report also included a self-assessment of the Committee’s performance.  The Annual Report was appended to the report and set out:

·     The Committee’s remit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

This report presents the annual assurance report of the Chief Auditor required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations and the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards

The Committee considered a report setting out at Appendix 1 the Internal Audit Annual Assurance Report of the Chief Auditor, as required by the Accounts and Audit regulations and the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards.  The report gave the Chief Auditor’s opinion on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

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

The Committee considered a report providing an update on the key findings emanating from the Internal Audit reports issued for the period 1 April to 30 June 2024 (Quarter 1).

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 7.

This report sets out a summary of those high and medium risk Internal Audit recommendations which remain outstanding together with an updated management response.

The Committee considered a report setting out a summary of Internal Audit recommendations and updated management responses, which focused on those recommendations where there had been either a ‘limited’ or ‘no assurance’ opinion.  A summary of Internal Audit recommendations and updated management responses since the last Committee was attached to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

This report provides the latest update on the Strategic Risk Register 2024/25.

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 April  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

This report fulfils the requirement in the Treasury Management Strategy to produce an Annual Outturn Report to review the Treasury Management activity which took place from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024.

The Committee considered a report on the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Strategy for 2023/24.  The Treasury Management Strategy required an Annual Outturn Report reviewing the Treasury Management activity which had taken place during the year. 

The report stated that the Council had continued to finance capital expenditure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

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

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 11.