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

Paul Harrington, Chief Auditor, submitted a reportproviding an update on key findings emanating from Internal Audit reports issued since the last quarterly progress report in July 2019.

The report set out a summary of the audit reports in respect of Freedom of Information (FOI); Eligibility, Risk & Review Group; Crematorium and Cemeteries; Cash payment processes (Cedar Court); and Journal Testing.  As the Chief Auditor had given ‘limited assurance’ to the way the Council dealt with FOI enquiries and ‘no assurance’ to cash payment processes at Cedar Court, the full internal audit reports for those audits were appended to the report.

In relation to FOIs, the report stated that only 73.8% of requests had been dealt with by the prescribed 20 day timeline in the 2018 calendar year.  The figure had improved to 87% in the period to July 2019 and was now approaching the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) expectation that at least 90% of requests would be dealt with on time.  The report also described the scale of the task, noting that about 1,500 FOI requests had been received during the period of the review, which was an increase of 9% on the previous calendar year.  The Committee was advised that the vast proportion of FOI requests came from businesses seeking information in which they had a commercial interest and phishing requests from journalists seeking comparative national data.  If possible, a disaggregated breakdown of requests would be provided to a future meeting, which would highlight the number of requests that were coming from local people who had been the cohort originally intended to benefit from entitlement to seek information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000.  In order to reduce the workload associated with processing FOI enquiries, the Committee endorsed the audit recommendation to consider purchasing software to track FOI requests and make previously disclosed information available on the Council’s website to which other similar enquiries could be signposted.

In relation to Payment Controls at Cedar Court, the audit found that although there was no evidence of funds being misappropriated, it had been unable to give any assurance that all funds had been accounted for because of the poor cash processes being used. The Committee was concerned that as a result of the review all petty cash expenditure, the use of guest rooms and the amenity shop had ceased with immediate effect, which would obviously be detrimental to the residents of the sheltered housing facility.  In response to a question about the likelihood that similar poor cash processing existed at other facilities in Housing, it was stated that the Executive Director and Assistant Director had received the report, which would give them the opportunity to review practice elsewhere in this service area.  The audit report had also been circulated to the Corporate Management Team for its information.  It was requested that the Assistant Director for Housing & Neighbourhoods should be invited to the next meeting to update the Committee on the progress made to address the finding of the audit.

The report also listed the audits that were currently in progress, or were planned for 2019/20, and gave a summary of investigations work between April and August 2019.

Resolved:   

(1)           That, in respect of the Freedom of Information audit findings:

(a)           the recommendations set out in the full audit report be endorsed, including considering making better use of the Council’s website to share publicly information provided in response to FOI requests and potentially reduce the time spent reproducing information for similar or related enquiries;

(b)           an update on the progress made to implement the audit recommendations be submitted to the meeting on 14 April 2019;

(c)           a disaggregation of the categories of FOI request be provided, if possible, as part of the update report;

(2)           That, in respect of Payment Controls at Cedar Court, the Assistant Director of Housing & Neighbourhoods be invited to attend the next meeting on 30 January 2019 to provide assurance that the poor practice identified at Cedar Court by the audit had been addressed and that there were not similar practices elsewhere within the Housing Service.