Agenda item

To provide the Audit Committee with a summary of the work completed by Risk Services in quarter three of the 2019/2020 financial year.

The Committee considered the Risk Services Quarter Three report which provided a summary of the work completed by Risk Services in quarter three of the 2019/2020 financial year.

Mr Chohan, Internal Auditor informed members that all audits had now either been scoped, planned or were about to commence. Following the recent restructure of Internal Audit, all posts had now been successfully filled.

A question was raised as to the reasons behind only 91 per cent of Council services demonstrating up to date business continuity plans. Mr Thompson, Director of Resources clarified that plans had been in place within all departments but that in some cases evidence of sufficient updates had been lacking. He assured members that arrangements were in place to address this issue. Mr Jack, Chief Executive reiterated that all corporate business continuity plans which had been identified as essential were up to date.

The Committee noted that the Communications team had not yet updated either their business continuity plan or their Risk Register, with assurances provided by Mr Thompson that both these would be addressed prior to the next report to the Audit Committee.

Discussion was held around the Performance Indicator measuring the number of trained Emergency Response Group volunteers. Mr Chohan advised that the 2019/2020 target had not been achieved and was questioned regarding the recruitment of suitable volunteers from the Council’s Wholly Owned Companies (WOC). Mr Jack advised that such recruitment may not be appropriate from all of the WOCs and that volunteers were largely sought from Highways and Adult Social Care as they demonstrated the necessary knowledge and skills. The Committee requested that the Director of Adult Services be invited to attend the next meeting of the Audit Committee in order to provide an update and further information.

Committee members were informed that insurance renewals for April 2020 onwards would be placed under the long term agreements procured in April 2019 for a period of up to five years. The financial benefits of securing long term agreements were questioned and Mr Thompson assured the Committee that sufficient savings had been secured by committing to five year contracts.

Mr Towers, Director of Governance and Partnerships was questioned over the maintenance of a register of interests for Council Officers. He confirmed that a register was maintained and updated annually and anticipated that the introduction of an electronic system should make the process quicker and easier.

Mr Chohan drew the Committee’s attention to any completed audits which were rated as Inadequate or where Priority One recommendations had been made. Discussion occurred around the audit of Contract Management and Social Value which had resulted in two Priority One recommendations and internal audit had identified that the implementation of effective contract management was inconsistent across the Council. Mr Thompson summarised that the procurement process had been recognised as just the start of any contractual agreement and that the monitoring of contractor performance would be necessary throughout the duration of a contract. A new Social Value Coordinator post had been created and recruited to which would create capacity and resource to further strengthen arrangements.

Further information was requested regarding the proposed Contract Management training. Mr Thompson explained that a risk-based targeted programme of training would be introduced, with additional information to be provided to the Committee at a future meeting.