Venue: Forli Room - Town Hall. View directions
Contact: Karen S Dunleavy; Governance Officer
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Apologies for Absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Arculus, and Harper.
Councillor Lamb and Casey were in attendance as substitute.
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Declarations of Interest At this point Members must declare whether they have a disclosable pecuniary interest, or other interest, in any of the items on the agenda, unless it is already entered in the register of members’ interests or is a “pending notification “ that has been disclosed to the Head of Legal Services.
Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
In a response to a question raised by Councillor Sandford, the Director of Governance advised that the agenda item order was determined by the order in which items were received.
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Minutes of the Meeting Held on 2 February 2015 PDF 66 KB To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2015. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 2 February 2015, were approved as an accurate and true record.
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Use of Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) PDF 74 KB Minutes: The Compliance Manager introduced a report which provided Members of the Audit Committee with details regarding a request to use the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 for a covert surveillance operation in relation to a test purchase for the underage sale of tobacco at five shops in Peterborough.
In response to a questions Raised by Members, the Compliance Manger confirmed that the RIPA Policy was being updated and would be presented at a future meeting of Audit Committee.
The Committee:
Considered and endorsed the report on the use of RIPA for the two months from 1 January to 28 February 2015.
It was agreed that agenda item 6,External Audit: Draft Audit Plan 2014 / 2015 would be discussed next.
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External Audit: Draft Audit Plan 2014 / 2015 PDF 78 KB To receive and approve the Draft External Audit Plan. Additional documents: Minutes: Julian Rickett from PwC introduced a report to Members of the Audit Committee, which outlined the responsibilities of the external auditors within the External Audit, Draft Audit Plan 2014 / 2015 to inform the Council about how these would be discharged.
Key points within the report included:
The External Auditor Julian Rickett, Service Director Financial Services and the Director of Governance responded to comments and questions raised. In summary responses included:
The Committee:
1. Considered the External Audit Plan for 2014/15 and considered points raised by PwC in the document: · Proposed scope, comfortable with the audit risks, and approach; · Considered and responded to matters relating to fraud; · Considered and responded to the PwC view on the value of trivial misstatements; and · Approve proposed audit fees for the year; 2. Provided comment on any amendments necessary; and 3. Approved the Plan.
The Committee Also Agreed:
That the Service Director Financial Services would explore what rights the Council had to audit or intervene in the financial management at Free Schools or Academies.
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Risk Management: Strategic Risks PDF 71 KB To receive an update on the strategic risks for the Council. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Head of Resilience introduced a report to Members of the Audit Committee on Risk Management (RM) and Business Continuity (BC) as a routine planned item in line with the Committee’s Work Programme.
Key points within the report included:
The Head of Resilience also confirmed to Members of the Audit Committee that the departmental risk registers were constantly reviewed and that the Business Continuity returns received a 100% completion rate.
The Head of Resilience and Director of Governance responded to comments and questions raised by Members. In summary responses included:
The Committee:
Considered and noted the content of the report.
The Committee Also Agreed:
That:
The Committee Recommended:
That the Risk Register should be presented to Audit Committee annually without exception.
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Internal Audit: Draft Internal Audit Plan 2015 / 2016 PDF 87 KB To receive and approve the Internal Audit Plan 2015 / 2016. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Chief Internal Auditor introduced a report to Members of the Audit Committee on the Draft Internal Audit Plan 2015 / 2016, which outlined the audit activity for the next audit year.
Key points within the report included:
The Chief Internal Auditor responded to questions and comments raised by Members. In summary responses included:
The Committee:
Examined the draft Internal Audit Plan for 2015 / 2016 and: 1. Identified any areas for further consideration; 2. Approved the draft Audit Plan and Audit Strategy; 3. Noted the contents of the Internal Audit Charter; 4. Noted the contents of the Code of Ethics; and 5. Noted the performance indicators set for the service.
The Committee Also Agreed
That the Chief Internal Auditor would update the Internal Audit Plan to:
1. Remove any number alignment to Strategic Priorities referenced within the Internal Audit Plan; and 2. Reflect the 2015/16 objectives of the Council.
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Draft Annual Audit Committee Report PDF 79 KB To receive the Draft Annual Audit Committee Report prior to submission to Council. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman of Audit Committee introduced a report to Members of the Audit Committee on the Draft Annual Audit Committee Report, which outlined the work of the Audit Committee during 2014/2015. The report was due to be presented at Council.
The Director of Governance also updated the Committee that there had been no complaints referred to the Independent Person of the Council for investigation in 2014/15.
Key points within the report included:
The Director for Governance responded to comments and questions raised by Members. In summary responses included:
In general, Members of the Audit Committee felt that the responsibility for the review of the CoC template should remain within the remit of Audit Committee.
The Committee:
The Audit Committee approved the draft Annual Audit Committee Report for submission to Council.
The Committee Also Agreed:
That reference would be included within the report to Council with regards to:
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Effectiveness of the Audit Committee PDF 85 KB To receive an update on the effectiveness of the Audit Committee together with an Action Plan to address any shortcomings.
Additional documents: Minutes: The Chief Internal Auditor introduced a report to Members of the Audit Committee on the Effectiveness of the Audit Committee, which outlined the results of the review of the Committee’s effectiveness, which had been carried out using the principles established by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).
The Director of Governance, Service Director Financial Services and Chief Internal Auditor responded to comments and questions raised by Members. In summary responses included:
The Committee:
a) Considered and approved the review and its conclusion that the Committee was operating effectively in all material respects.
The Committee Also Agreed:
That a standing item would be included on future agendas of Audit Committee in order to receive information on the number of write-offs over the value of £10,000 (in line with the threshold in financial regulations), which would also include the procedure and approval process followed.
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Ivatt Way - Enterprise PDF 59 KB Minutes: The Director of Governance introduced a report to Members of the Audit Committee which provided an update on the current status of the Ivatt Way solar panel project and the outcome of the recent legal proceedings with Enterprise.
Key points within the report included:
The Director of Governance responded to comments and questions raised by Members of the Audit Committee. In summary responses included:
The Committee
The Audit Committee noted the outcome of the proceedings between the Council and Enterprise Managed Services Ltd.
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Additional documents: Minutes: The Governance Officer and the Head of Strategic Finance introduced the report, which provided feedback on items considered or questions raised at the previous meeting of Audit Committee. It also provided an update on specific matters, which were of interest to the Committee or where the Committee had requested to be kept informed of progress.
The following responses to action points were discussed:
Members of the Audit Committee commented that they were satisfied with the response in regards the Invest to Save Scheme and the Cabinet Member Decision Notice utilised to report the expenditure.
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