Agenda item

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

 The Committee considered the report of the Interim Chief Finance Officer and associated Internal Audit reports from BDO LLP, attached on the agenda at 8a to 8g, Annual Report and Annual Statement of Assurance- 2022/23; Progress Report; Follow-up of Recommendations; Budget and Performance Management Final Report; Main Financial Systems; Local Development Plan Final Report and HMRC Employment Status Final Report.

The Chairperson introduced the reports and deferred to Mr Rubins, the Head of Internal Audit from BDO to present the detail. He commenced by advising that there would be a change to the Council’s Head of Internal Audit role and that as of next year  he would be handing over the role to his colleague, Mr Winter, who would also co-present the reports on the agenda. He drew Members’ attention to the Annual Report and Annual Statement of Assurance- 2022/23 which was a summary of the work completed in the year. The overall opinion level was moderate assurance, BDO’s second highest level of assurance which reflected the majority of reports throughout the year. The Progress Report covered the remaining audits for 2022/23 together with progress made on the 2023/24 internal audit plan. The outstanding draft Cyber Security audit was with management for clearance. For 2023/24 good progress had been made on three audits; Licensing, S106 Review and Sickness and Absence Management. The draft Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) report was also with management for clearance and scoping was underway on the Fraud Review report.

The Follow-up of Recommendations report covered sign-off of seven outstanding recommendations, including two relating to flood management. Those still outstanding were being acted on and progress was being made, however, some were still outstanding response from managers. As a result of this work was ongoing with management to ensure timeframes were realistic. The Budget and Performance Management Final Report attained an opinion of moderate assurance on both design and effectiveness of controls. A lot of good practice was in evidence, the only finding was ensuring budgets and service plans were properly aligned and work was ongoing to address this. The Main Financial Systems Report attained substantial assurance for design and moderate assurance for effectiveness of controls, confirming strong arrangements were in place around invoicing and write-offs. The only finding was ensuring debts were chased on a timely basis to ensure best practice going forward.

The Local Development Plan Final Report had a positive outcome with a substantial opinion level on both design and effectiveness of controls with very good processes and structures in place ensuring strong Member engagement. The HMRC Employment Status Final Report had been requested by management and was advisory in nature so there was no opinion attributed to it because of the specific nature of the work. However it outlined the positive culture around how the Council managed payroll arrangements. The only comment was to ensure that the training currently being rolled out was attended by all.

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 in order to address the cause of delays or lack of response from Managers to Auditors on outstanding recommendations the Director of Service Delivery  would review the detail/individual instances and provide a response outside of the meeting.

·        That the Local Development Plan budget had been reported to both Strategy & Resources Committee and Council which included a full plan of commitments against the budget allocation. A link to the report would be circulated outside of the meeting.

·        That Officers were looking at asset management to determine the best option going forward. The Council may need to look at seeking external support to develop a strategy or additional internal funding and resources to manage this area.

·        That in respect of flood risk management the Operational Group, consisting of Anglian Water, Essex County Council, Environment Agency and Council Officers, was scheduled to meet mid-August to review the Action Plan. The outcome would be reported to the Maldon Flood Coastal Group meeting in September 2023. Position statements had been sought from the Environment Agency on a number of areas of concern including modelling of watercourses and deposits of green waste on the bank side. A business case was currently  being prepared by the Environment Agency to access additional funding for the North Heybridge Flood Alleviation Scheme and outcomes from the aforementioned meetings would be reported back.

·        That in respect of Safeguarding a contractor and volunteers list had been completed, supported by the procurement officer and published on the performance website. Work was also in train with the Maldon & District Community Voluntary Service (CVS) on volunteer policy as they were skilled experts in that field.

Councillor K M H Lagan wished it noted that he did not assent to Recommendation 2 (iii) Follow-Up of Recommendations Report – July 2023 – at 8c as they were too many areas showing as overdue, however, he was content to assent to the remaining six recommendations.

There being nofurtherdiscussion theChairperson put the recommendations to theCommittee and theywere agreed by assent.

RESOLVED that the Committee considered, commented, and approved the following:

(i)               Annual Report and Annual Statement of Assurance – 22/23 at 8a;

(ii)              Progress Report – July 2023 – at 8b;

(iii)             Follow-Up of Recommendations Report – July 2023 – at 8c

(iv)             Budget and Performance Management Final Report – May 2023 –at 8d;

(v)              Main Financial Systems Final Report – June 2023 – at 8e;

(vi)             Local Development Plan (LDP) Final Report – July 2023 at 8j;

(vii)           HMRC Employment Status Final Report – June 2023 at 8g.