To Follow

[The meeting adjourned between 7.32pm and 7.40pm.]

Philip Lazenby, Audit Director from TIAA, was present for this item.

The structure of the report, which was compiled annually, was explained to the Committee.  Members’ attention was drawn to the following areas in particular:

• In respect of the assurance review of Procurement, Management accepted the need to reduce the number of waivers being granted.  However, it was not felt appropriate to implement the recommendation to provide a list of reasons waivers should be approved as it was deemed sufficient by Management to allow the Procurement Board to exercise their judgement in individual cases.

·         There was a low level of non-conformity with key financial controls, with the small number of instances in the sample attributable to human error.  Such instances were less likely to occur once a new finance system was implemented, the target date for which was April 2026.

·         Significant progress had been made since the assurance review on risk management had been undertaken.  Work on finessing the Council’s approach in this area, such as ensuring that there was a focus on risks that the Council was able to influence, was ongoing.  It was accepted that such a task was substantial, and that it required significant support and buy in from across the organisation.

It was noted that all recommendations had been made in the context of substantial or reasonable assurance being provided by the Council.  There had been no instances of limited assurance provided, which was received positively by the Committee.  The two urgent actions that had been identified related to the meals at home service, both of which had been discussed by the Standards and Audit Committee on 19 March 2024.

Members were reassured that whilst a number of reports were supplied in their draft state, it was now highly unlikely for any recommendations to change at this late stage.

Mr Lazenby thanked the Council’s for its support in compiling the report.  Members thanked Mr Lazenby for presenting his final report to the Committee.

The report was noted.