To receive a report about the implementation of the Action Plan to rectify irregularities in relation to certain historic Traffic Regulation Orders and to monitor its effectiveness.

The Committee received a report that provided an update on progress and decision making in respect of the Traffic Regulation Orders (TRO) rectification process.  The report explained that at Council on 15 October 2024 a summary of issues that related to certain TROs had been reported which meant that there were restrictions on the Highway that could not be enforced.  A rectification process had been agreed (Minutes 19 and 20 refer) that involved advertising new, permanent TROs to address the issues that had been identified.  As part of the Council reports, an Action Plan was agreed, giving the Audit & Governance Committee delegated authority to receive reports about the implementation of the Action Plan and to monitor its effectiveness. The Council also delegated authority to the Audit & Governance Committee to decide when to close the Restitution Scheme, which was not being recommended at this time and the reasons why were explained in the report.

The Committee noted its responsibility for monitoring the effectiveness of the Council’s whistleblowing processes and the ‘Speaking Up’ campaign being developed to provide greater information about the channels through which concerns could be raised.  The Committee requested further information on how it could assess the effectiveness of the processes in place to make staff feel comfortable to raise concerns so that its monitoring and review responsibilities would be meaningful and challenging.

The report had appended the Original Action Plan, as approved at Council on 15 October 2024, and the updated Action Plan showing the progress that had been made with an accompanying RAG status.

Resolved:     

(1)       That the progress made by officers to address the issues reported to Council on 15 October 2024, and ongoing actions be noted;

(2)       That guidance be provided in the report to the next meeting on how the Committee could assess the effectiveness of the Council’s whistleblowing processes and the ‘Speaking Up’ campaign to enable it to review progress in a meaningful way.