Agenda and minutes

The Chairperson welcomed all present and took the Committee through some housekeeping arrangements.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors M G Bassenger and R G Pratt.

To confirm the Minutes of the Performance, Governance and Audit Committee held on 9 March 2023 (copy enclosed).

RESOLVED by assent that the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 9 March 2023, be approved and confirmed.

To note the Matters Arising from the Minutes, (copy enclosed).

RESOLVED by assentthat the Matters Arising report be noted.

To disclose the existence and nature of any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Other Registrable interests and Non-Registrable Interests relating to items of business on the agenda having regard to paragraph 9 and Appendix B of the Code of Conduct for Members.

(Members are reminded that they are also required to disclose any such interests as soon as they become aware should the need arise throughout the meeting).

There were none.

To receive the views of members of the public, of which prior notification in writing has been received (no later than noon on the Tuesday prior to the day of the meeting).

Should you wish to submit a question please complete the online form at: www.maldon.gov.uk/publicparticipation.

No requests had been received.

To consider the report of the Interim Chief Finance Officer, (copy enclosed).

The Committeeconsidered thereport ofthe Chief Financial Officer and the associated Internal Audit report from BDO LLP, the Updated Internal Audit Annual Plan 2023/24 & Strategic Plan 2023/26 attached on the agenda at 7a.

The Chairperson introduced the report and congratulated the Officer on the presentation, which she found very helpful. She then deferred to the Internal Audit Manager to present the detail. He advised that since the report had been received by the march Committee and largely approved there were just a few minor changes to address which had been highlighted on the Matters Arising report. The Management of S106 Funds had been brought forward from Quarter 4 for completion in the next couple of months. Changes to future years work plan included Capital and Commercial Project Management brought forward to Quarter 1 2024/25 and IT Assessment Management Audit to include digital connectivity challenges.

At this point the Chairperson acknowledged the work of the previous committee and moved the recommendation in the report which was seconded. There being no discussion on this item she put the recommendation to the Committee and it was agreed by assent.

RESOLVED that the Committee considered, commented, and approved the

Internal Audit Annual Plan 2023/24 & Strategic Plan 2023/26 - at 7a.

To consider the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance, (copy enclosed)

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Strategy and Resources that updated Members on the actions identified in the 2022/23 Annual Governance Statement (AGS). The Chairperson introduced the report and deferred to the Programmes, Performance and Governance Manager (PPG Manager) to present the detail.

The PPG Manager took the Committee through the report that covered the best practice governance actions that were identified in the 2021/22 annual governance statement and an update on progress against these to Quarter 4 (Q4).There were four outstanding actions for the 2021/22 governance arrangements, and one of these ‘improve engagement with the resident and business survey’ had been marked as complete in the Q4 updates. There were three open actions to be rolled over to the 2022/23 action plan as outlined in section 3.6 of the report. Those highlighted grey in 3.6 of the report table had already been reported as completed. It was noted that the  2022/23 Annual Governance Statement, for commentary on the Council’s governance arrangements and further follow up actions into 2023/24, would be considered by the Committee at the July meeting.

The Chairperson then moved the recommendation which was duly seconded and opened the discussion.

 In response to issues raised Officers provided the following information:-

• That the Local Development Plan (LDP) timetable had been updated and would be circulated outside of the meeting.

• That the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) had been released because a range of sites was required in order to develop the LDP. That all actions taken to date were appropriate and subsequent delays could not have been foreseen.

• That a list of the out-of-date policies would be circulated outside of the meeting.

There being no further discussion the Chairman put the recommendation to the Committee and it was agreed by assent.

RESOLVED that the Committee reviewed the Annual Governance Statements table and updates and challenged where necessary.

To consider the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance (copy enclosed).

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Strategy and Resources that required the Committee to undertake a quarterly review of the Thematic Strategies performance, as assurance that performance was being managed effectively to achieve the corporate outcomes as set out in the Council’s Corporate Plan 2021 - 2023. Appendix 1 to the report provided an overview of performance as at the end of Quarter 4 (Q4) (January 2023 - March 2023).

The Chairman introduced the report and deferred to the PPG Manager to present the detail. She took the Committee through the report starting at section 3.1 that provided   a high level summary view for each of the strategy themes. Three outcomes had been marked at risk within the Place Strategy: - Reduce Impacts of waste disposal and pollution on the environment; Deliver the housing the district needs’ and Work with partners to maintain and improve the district’s resilience to the effects of climate change. Work was underway to mitigate the risk. Within the Prosperity Strategy work continued to progress but had been severely impacted by the pandemic which had significantly delayed progress on strategic objectives. However actions had been put in place to bring these back on track. Overall work was on track in the Community Strategy. Section 3.2 provided further detail and Appendix 1 to the report detailed the full suite of Key Performance Indicators relating to Corporate Performance.

It was reported that a new Corporate Plan for the Council was adopted on 22 February 2023, and a piece of work was currently in progress to revise the corporate performance reporting and map it to the revised Corporate plan, therefore this was the last report in this format. A Member Workshop on the new reporting mechanism was scheduled to take place for all Committee Members on 20 June 2023 to introduce them to the new process.

The Chairperson then moved the recommendations which were duly seconded and opened the discussion. In response to issues raised Officers provided the following information:-

·        That a management plan for Riverside Park was now included on the work plan.

·        That should it be possible a mechanism for reporting costs of fly-tipping, that include costs related to investigation and enforcement, be scoped, and the outcome circulated to Members outside of the meeting.

·        That Social Media engagement varied from quarter to quarter with peak activity during the summer (Q1).

·        That engagement with schools also varied across the year as certain periods were not appropriate for this activity e.g. during exam time. It was noted that targets were well on track for this activity.

·        That by the end of the year all relevant staff would have completed ‘make every contact count’ training. It was noted that this was over and above core staff customer service training as this related to staff signposting customers to health and wellbeing support such as smoking cessation.

·        That full explanations around dips and increases in performance across the year be provided on the next iteration of corporate performance  ...  view the full minutes text for item 93.

To consider the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance (copy enclosed).

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Strategy and Resources, that required Members to undertake a quarterly review of the Corporate Risk Register as assurance that the Council’s corporate risks were being managed effectively. A table of the Corporate Risk Register, latest ratings and officer commentary was attached as appendix 1 to the report.

The Chairman introduced the report and deferred to the PPG Manager to address the detail. She advised that the report covered Q4 January- March 2023 and appendix 1 provided the full table of the Corporate Risk Register as at the end of March. Section 3.2 of the covering report showed where risks had changed direction since the last quarter. The three changes were all risk decreases for this quarter and the rating risk had subsequently been reduced:-

·        R4 – Failure to influence Community Safety Partners to address the key areas of public concern (including rural crime) and the negative perception of crime. The scoring had been reduced due to assurances received from an internal audit.

·        R9- Failure to have a co-ordinated approach to supporting inward investment and maximising business rate growth. The investment prospectus website had now launched, thus reducing the risk.

·        R29-Failure to deliver services as a result of Covid. Covid cases had reduced and was now monitored as normal sickness/ part of business as usual.

The Chairperson moved the recommendations which were seconded and opened the discussion. In response to issues raised Officers provided the following information:-

·        That to assist Members in understanding the risk appetite of the Council and how it is scored the Corporate Risk Policy would be circulated outside of the meeting. This would also be included as background papers in future meeting packs.

·        That due to the sometimes retrospective nature of commentaries, more focussed commentaries, together with milestones, would be included in future iterations of the Corporate Risk Register.

·        That the outcomes from the LGA (Local Government Association) Finance Peer Challenge Review was reported in a presentation to all Members. The report will be considered at Council in July 2023.

·        That the Council was obliged to produce a balanced budget and that the use of reserves was an element of a balanced budget. That these issues will be expanded on future iterations of the Corporate Risk Register to ensure clarity for Members around all future challenges and assurance that mitigating actions were being taken.

There being no further discussion the Chairperson put the duly seconded recommendations to the Committee and they were agreed by assent.

RESOLVED

(i)            That Members reviewed the Corporate Risk Register in appendix 1 and

provided comment and feedback for consideration.

(ii)           That Members reviewed progress of the Corporate Risk Mitigating actions in

appendix 2and provided comment and feedback for consideration.

(iii)          That Members were assured through this review that corporate risk was being

managed effectively.

(iv)         That Members challenged risk where the Committee felt that the Council’s

corporate goals may not be achieved.

To consider the report of the Director of Service Delivery (copy enclosed).

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Service Delivery that provided an update on Health and Safety statistics and activity during Q4 (1 January 2022 to 31March 2022), and quarter 1 (1 April to 30 June 2022). The Chairman introduced the report and deferred to the Director of Service Delivery who introduced the new Health & Safety Manager to the Committee. The Manager took the Committee through the report advising on the numbers of accidents/incidents and near misses. All were relatively low and dealt with according to the Council’s policies.

In addition there had been seven incidents of unacceptable behaviour which had been dealt with under the Council’s Unacceptable Behaviour Policy. It was noted that the Health and Safety Action Plans were being assessed and would be established through the Managers’ Forum and a range of activities were underway including Fire Risk assessments; review of policies and procedures; H&S Inspections; improved monitoring systems and a new staff training matrix.

The Chairperson moved the recommendations which were seconded and opened the discussion.

A question was raised as to the mechanism in place for Members to raise/deal with incidents of unacceptable behaviour from members of the public and the Director of Service Delivery said he would reflect on this and reply to Members outside of the meeting.

There being no further discussion the Chairperson put the duly seconded recommendations to the Committee and they were agreed by assent.

RESOLVED

(i)               That Members considered the accident and incident statistics.

.

(ii)             That Members considered progress with all health and safety actions.

To consider the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance (copy enclosed).

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Strategy and Resources that updated the Committee on the delivery of Maldon Districts UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation. A supporting document was attached at appendix 1.

The Chairperson introduced the report and deferred to the Lead Specialist Prosperity to present the detail. For the benefit of the new committee Members she provided some background detail on the fund advising that it was part of the UK Government’s levelling-up agenda and will provide £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment by March 2025. All areas of the UK had received an allocation via a funding formula rather than a competition; meaning it was a guaranteed investment. Funding was allocated to Mayoral Combined, Greater London Authority and District / Unitary Local Authorities as a Lead Local Authority for their area.

The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) confirmed on 13 April Maldon District’s allocation of £1,000,000 to be spent by March 2025. The funding was tapered as per the issued guidance with agreement for 6% of the revenue to be used for management and administration. A full breakdown was provided under section 3.2 of the report.

The Chairman moved the recommendation which was seconded and opened the discussion. Members congratulated Ms Cable, Lead Specialist Prosperity, for all her hard work on the UKSPF.

In response to a question around the use of the funding to support children with Special Educational Needs And Disabilities (Send), the Lead Specialist Prosperity advised that no specific provision had been made for Send and the Council had limited sway given it was not the Lead Educational Authority. However, later in the year the ‘Rural England Prosperity Fund’ would be coming forward with an open grant programme whereby community groups could bid for funding to provide services in the local area that were currently not available. In response to a query around using S106 funds in this regard the Director Of Strategy and Resources said that this funding was normally ring-fenced to a prescribed activity, but that he would review and report back.

There being no further discussion the Chairperson put the duly seconded recommendation to the Committee and it was agreed by assent.

RESOLVED that the Committee acknowledged the update provided on the Maldon UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocation and continued to monitor the delivery.

This item will be covered by the Programmes, Performance and Governance Manager.

The Committee considered the request to appoint two Member representatives to support the work on the Process Improvement Framework.

The Chairperson introduced the item and deferred to the PPG Manager to cover the background to the request. She advised the Committee that following adoption of a process improvement framework in 2021, it was agreed that two members of PGA and O&S committee would act as Member champions to support the work. It was noted that Members had been sent an email outlining further detail on what the role entailed.

From the chair the Chairperson nominated Councillors V J Bell and M E Thompson and these were agreed by assent

RESOLVED that Councillors V J Bell and M E Thompson were appointed as the two Member representatives to support the work of the Process Improvement Framework.

To consider the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance (copy enclosed).

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Strategy and Resources that sought appointments to Outside Bodies of the PGA Committee and the Performance, Governance and Audit Working Group for the ensuing Municipal year 23/24.

The Director of Strategy and Resources introduced the report and from the chair the Chairperson called for nominations to the below named Outside Bodies and Working Group.

RESOLVED that the committee appointed the representatives to the outside bodies and working group as detailed below, for the ensuing municipal year and that the deferred position on the Maldon Museum in the Park Liaison Committee be appointed at the July committee meeting.

In response to a concern raised regarding potential risks and compliance issues in respect of the website the Director of Service Delivery assured the Committee that the website was working correctly, but improvements were needed. A programme of work was in hand via an Officer Working Group and he would issue a statement outside of the meeting outlining the work underway. Further assurance was provide by the PPG Manager who advised that following a recent accessibility audit it was confirmed that, whilst there was need for improvement, the Council’s website was compliant.

To resolve that under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, and that this satisfies the public interest test.

RESOLVED that under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act, and that this satisfies the public interest test.

To consider the report of the Director of Strategy, Performance and Governance (copy enclosed).

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Strategy and Resources that required this Committee to undertake a quarterly review of the Commercial Strategy performance, as assurance that it was being managed effectively to achieve outcomes set out in the Commercial Strategy 2022-2027. Appendix 1 to the report provided an overview of the Commercial Strategy performance as at the end of Quarter 4 (January 2023 to March 2023). Appendix 2 to the report provided an overview of the Commercial Strategy performance as at the end of Quarter 3 (October 2022 to December 2022).

The Chairperson introduced the item and deferred to the Commercial Manager to take the Committee through the report. He advised the Committee that the Commercial Strategy had been signed-off in March 2022 and that this was the first year reporting on these activities. The majority of the reported commercial performance at Quarter 4 was progressing positively and that where negative impact on commercial activity was evidenced, priority and focussed work would take place, to bring output back on track.

The Chairperson moved the recommendations which were seconded and opened the discussion. In response to an issue raised regarding the appearance of the district roundabouts the Commercial Manager said he would liaise with the Parks Department regarding planting on roundabouts and circulate the information outside of the meeting.

There being no further discussion the Chairperson put the duly seconded recommendations to the Committee and they were agreed by assent.

RESOLVED

(i)       That Members reviewed the information as set out in the report and appendix 1.

(ii)      That Members confirmed that they were assured through this review that Commercial Performance was being managed effectively.