Agenda and minutes

Councillor Liversidge  )  other Council business

Councillor Peach  )

Councillor Wood  -  personal

If you need advice on declaring an interest, please contact the Governance Officer above, if possible before the day of the meeting

None.

Last meeting held on 16 September 2016 (for confirmation)

The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 16 September 2016 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

Joint report of Director of One Nottingham, Director of Strategy and Policy and Head of Crime and Drugs Partnership

Elaine Fox, Corporate Policy Team, presented the report, which detailed the key findings from the annual partnership governance health checks. The main points were as follows:

·  the majority of partnerships scored either ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ in all areas;

·  a sample check of three of these scores was undertaken, and verified, by Corporate Policy and Internal Audit;

·  the Greater Nottingham Transport Partnership has been removed from the Partnership Register as it has ceased operating.

RESOLVED

(1)  to note:

(a)  the key findings from the Partnership Governance Health Checks and Register of Significant Partnerships, as detailed in appendices 1 and 2;

(b)  the findings and recommendations from the verification of governance documentation of four of the partnerships (D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, Education Improvement Board, Safeguarding Children Board and Green Theme Partnership), as detailed in appendix 4;

(2)  that the Corporate Policy and Data Protection Teams work to ensure compliance by all partnerships.

Report of Corporate Director for Strategy and Resources

Amanda Wright, Customer Experience Lead, presented the report, which detailed complaints received by the Council, and decisions made by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) on complaints received by them about the Council, during the period April 2015 to March 2016. The main points were as follows:

·  in 2015-16, the LGO received 19,702 complaints nationally, of which 112 were about the City Council, 27 of which were investigated, and 13 of those upheld (a 48% uphold rate). Compared to 2014-15, this is a slight increase for received (109), a slight decrease for investigated (26) but a large increase in upheld (6 - 23%);

·  the largest increase was in regards to complaints about the Benefits and Tax Service, rising from none upheld out of 25 complaints in 2014-15 to 5 upheld out of 20 complaints. The LGO has yet to respond to a request for justification of this increase;

·  the City is below the national average for upheld complaints, currently 51%, and 5^th lowest when compared to the other core cities;

·  overall, the Council’s figures reflect the national trend for the main subjects of complaint, which are Adult Care, Benefits and Tax and School Admission / Appeal services.

RESOLVED

(1)  to note the report;

(2)  that Ms Wright forward to Councillors the LGO response in regard to the query about the increase in upheld Benefit and Tax complaints.

Report of Director of Strategic Finance

Susan Risdall, Technical Accounting, presented the report, which requested the Committee review the Accounting Policies of the Council. It was explained that Part 3 of the Annual Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 requires Councils to produce an Annual Statement of Accounts, which must include a statement of accounting policies.

The Regulations also require a draft of the Statement of Accounts to be prepared and certified by the responsible financial officer by 30 June each year. In accordance with best practice for local authorities, the draft accounting policies should be reviewed by an Audit Committee before the draft Statement of Accounts is produced.

In addition, where International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) allows a degree of choice, Audit Committees should be aware of, and confirm, any choices made.

RESOLVED that the following is approved:

(1)  inclusion of the Statement of Accounting Policies in the Annual Accounts 2016/17;

(2)  the degree of choice proposals, as allowed under International Financial Reporting Standards.

Presentation

The Committee received an update on the ongoing work in relation to student housing, including HIMO licensing and enforcement, Council Tax billing and loss, counter fraud approach, build and developments and student numbers.

During discussion, the following comments were made:

·  Councillors enquired whether council tax is paid to the Council by central government when a HIMO is exempt (zero rated) due to it being fully in use as student accommodation;

·  if a property is declared as a ‘void’, but a landlord claims a student is in residence, the council must check the validity of that claim.

At this point, Councillor Hartshorne arrived.

RESOLVED that the update is noted, and that Paul Jordan be requested to organise a meeting with members of the Committee to discuss student-related issues in more detail.

Report of Director of Strategic Finance

Shail Shah, Head of Audit and Risk, presented the report, which outlined the work undertaken by the Internal Audit service during quarters 1 and 2 of 2016/17. The report included appendices detailing an analysis of:

·  High Risk findings (appendix 1);

·  final Audit reports, with recommendations / levels of assurance (appendix 2);

·  a summary of the current position against the Internal Audit Plan 2015/16 (appendix 3).

RESOLVED to

(1)  note the work undertaken by, and performance of, the Internal Audit service during quarters 1 and 2 of 2016/17, including the information / analysis contained in the appendices;

(2)  note the principles contained in the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS), which is a requirement of the Account and Audit Regulations 2015 in respect of the provision of an internal audit service, and approve the proposals in regard to an external assessment of the City Council’s Internal Audit Service by Birmingham City Council;

(3)  select ‘Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)’ and ‘Equality Impact Assessments’ audits for examination at a future meeting of this Committee.

Report of Director of Strategic Finance

RESOLVED to note the role and functions of the Audit Committee, as detailed in the report, and endorse the work programme and terms of reference, as detailed in the appendices.

Report of Director of Strategic Management

RESOLVED to note the actions taken under delegated authority by the Chief Finance Officer during the first half of 2016/17, in line with currently adopted Treasury Management Code of Practice.