Agenda item

To report progress against the Internal Audit Plan 2023/24 for the second quarter of 1 July 2023 until 30 September 2023 and to provide an update on the resourcing situation within the Internal Audit team.

Members considered the Internal Audit Plan 2023/24 presented by David Thacker, Interim Internal Audit Manager.

Members asked questions, made comments, and received responses as follows:

·       Councillor Booth stated that he would like to have a copy of the executive summary report to help the panel provide assurance as he feels councillors should get an overview of the findings before the meeting takes place. David Thacker responded this is not something that has been raised directly with him and he has worked at other councils where it is not normal for councillors to receive the report. However, if Councillor Booth would like further information before the meetings, he is happy to have a conversation with him regarding this matter. Councillor Booth asked for this to be looked at as something for the future to enable members to fulfil their roles as a critical friend.

·       Councillor Booth asked about the high-risk valuables in relation to public health funerals contained in the report. David Thacker responded Audit findings are labelled using various risk factors from high to medium to low and this was put into the high-risk factor because the contents of the safe were valued at £5000 and there were multiple accesses to the safe but a second safe has now been purchased purely for public health deceased assets and procedures put in place to record an inventory.

·       Councillor Booth questioned licensing and why this is a medium risk? David Thacker responded there was no proactivity to see what businesses were operating without a licence, as the process was focused on renewals of existing licences, and it could be missed additional income for the Council.

·       Councillor Booth stated he would like to know more about the transparency code as it appears the Council has not been complying with the code and asked how long there has been an issue in this area as some past reports seem out of date? David Thacker responded that due to the pandemic some reports were out of date but they are now up to date, apart from one item which will be dealt with by next year, so positive progress is being made. Councillor Booth asked how often the code should be checked and complied with? David Thacker stated that this should be checked annually.

·       Councillor Nawaz stated he would like to understand more about the housing options and the 1.2 million pounds spent on bed and breakfast, asking if these 34 properties are part of the 29 houses that were mentioned in an earlier report or is this separate and how much could the Council save? Mark Saunders responded the 29 houses are part of the 34 houses in the report, with the other 5 houses leased from Clarion Housing. He added that the costing is being looked at as part of the budget process.

·       Councillor Booth stated that the purchase of these properties goes through the Overview and Scrutiny Panel call-in process and asked if these purchases are an ongoing situation? Mark Saunders responded the Council has received two tranches of money from the Government and the money had to be committed by the end of this financial year, with the Council currently having completed on 6 properties and there are more in the pipeline, with deposits being placed and they are now going through the completion process.

·       Councillor Booth asked with David Thacker due to leave in March what are the plans to replace him moving forward? Amy Brown responded there are plans in place to advertise the position and find the right person for the position.

Members noted the activity and performance of the Internal Audit Plan 2023/24.