Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Samuel Gardiner  -  work commitments

Councillor Sajid Mohammed  -  work commitments

Councillor Eunice Regan  -  personal reasons

None

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2025

The Committee confirmed the Minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2025 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

To note

The Chair presented the Recommendation Tracker of the progress made against the Committee’s recommendations to the Executive and senior officers.

The Committee noted the Recommendation Tracker.

Report of the Corporate Director of Finance & Resources

Stuart Fair, Corporate Director for Finance and Resource, and Richard Green, Internal Audit Team Leader, presented a report on the proposals for the compilation of the Council’s Annual Governance Statement for 2024/25. The following information was highlighted:

a)  The Annual Governance Statement represents an integral part of corporate reporting, with the report setting out the intended process and scope for its production. This year, it is aimed to develop wider input from directors, service managers and councillors in compiling the Statement through the use of a questionnaire, as part of establishing a wide assurance base. Work is underway so that the final Governance Statement can be presented in July along with the Annual Statement of Accounts, with oversight from the Monitoring Officer and input from Internal Audit.

The Committee noted the arrangements for the production of the 2024/25 Annual Governance Statement.

Report of the External Auditor

Laurelin Griffiths, Auditor at Grant Thornton, provided an update on the development of the plan for the Council’s next external audit. The following information was highlighted:

a)  The development of the next Audit Plan is underway so that it can be brought forward in the next few weeks for input and comments from the Council’s Section 151 Officer, ahead of coming to the Committee in June. The Plan will be produced to align with the new national backstop dates.

The Committee noted the update from the External Auditor.

Report of the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources

Councillor Linda Woodings, Executive Member for Finance and Resources, Stuart Fair, Corporate Director for Finance and Resource, and Toyin Bamidele, Finance Improvement Programme Lead, presented a report on the progress made within Council Improvement Programme 10 (Strengthen Internal Controls and Assurance). The following information was highlighted:

a)  The work to strengthen internal controls and assurance as part of the Council Improvement Plan links closely with the development of the Annual Governance Statement. The effective identification and mitigation of risk is a key focus, with a new Risk Management Strategy being developed to embed a robust approach to risk as a clear part of the organisational culture – with learning support and professional development opportunities in place. New national Public Sector Internal Audit Standards have been published and work is underway to ensure that the Council’s processes comply with these as part of improving good governance.

The Committee raised the following points in discussion:

b)  The Committee asked how it was demonstrated that the Council’s risk management processes were effective in identifying and mitigating against potential future issues, and in responding to emerging risks outside of the Council’s direct control. It was explained that a refreshed Corporate Risk Register is in place and is reviewed monthly by senior officers to ensure that risks are identified, that there is proactive action taken in responding to risks, and that appropriate mitigation plans are in place. There is an ‘open door’ system to ensure that new and emerging risks enter the Risk Register easily, and there are clear procedures in place for the day-to-day control of risk, with risk management dashboards being developed. A great deal of activity is underway to ensure that effective risk management is embedded as part of day-to-day decision-making and mitigations, with training taking place across the Council on risk awareness.

c)  Risk issues are always reviewed for the purposes of developing improvements in approaches, and an annual ‘lessons learned’ process is being considered as part of assessing the outcomes of the risk management process. Issues are escalated to the Risk Register where required, but often proper mitigations are put in place to prevent potential risks from becoming problems. Benchmarking has also been carried out against other similar Local Authorities to ensure that the Council is delivering best practice. Work is being carried out to improve the way that data on risk can be set out in an accessible way, which includes the establishment of appropriate dashboards.

d)  The Committee considered that the effective management of risk is a vital area of improvement for the Council, and that there was a strong need to ensure that there was the right capacity within the Internal Audit team – with a permanent Head of Internal Audit in place.

The Committee noted the specific improvements delivered to the end of March 2025 and the planned activities to the end of August 2025 as part of the work being undertaken in response to Council Improvement Programme 10 (Strengthen Internal Controls and Assurance).

Report of the Coprorate Direcetor of Finance and Resources

Resolved to defer consideration of the Finance Improvement Programme item to the Committee’s next meeting.

Report of the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources

Richard Green, Interim Internal Audit Manager, Lee Mann, Strategic Director of Human Resources and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Trevor Bone, Head of Facilities Management, and Paul Milward, Head of Resilience, presented a report on the actions being taken in monitoring the Internal Audit reports where the lowest assurance rating had been given. The following information was highlighted:

a)  A review of the Internal Audit reports giving a ‘No Assurance’ rating has been carried out, including all recommendations that remain outstanding. Over the last three months, Internal Audit has had good engagement the relevant service managers and many recommendations are in the process of being resolved. A new system of measuring the recommendations and establishing appropriate timelines has been implemented to ensure that they are being addressed actively, and the tracking and monitoring document has been improved. Currently, 44 recommendations have been implemented, while 16 continue to be progressed – with only three priority recommendations still to be resolved.

The Committee raised the following points in discussion:

b)  The Committee asked how the added value brought by the Internal Audit process was demonstrated, and how progress was being achieved against the most significant issues. It was explained that a follow-up report will be produced in relation to the ‘No Assurance’ findings to demonstrate the changes made and the resulting improvements achieved. A satisfaction survey will be sent to the relevant service managers for their view on the outcomes arising from the recommendations, and follow-up audits will also be carried out to ensure that any new measures are embedded and delivering a positive impact.

The Committee noted the Audit Action Plan completion summaries and the actions identified in the Service responses in relation to the ‘No Assurance’ Internal Audit Reports.

Report of the Corporate Director Finance and Resources

Dom Omelia, Head of Customer Access, presented a report on the Council’s annual complaints performance and service improvement. The following information was highlighted:

a)  The Annual Assurance Report sets out how the Council handled the complaints that it received in the previous year, and the learning that has been taken. The primary approach to complaints is to achieve early resolution at the first point of contact, with very few complains being referred ultimately to the Ombudsman. A new metric has been introduced to show the average number of upheld complaints per 100,000 city residents – the Council is performing well in this context, and also in the context of the number of complaints upheld by the Ombudsman.

The Committee raised the following points in discussion:

b)  The Committee asked what the main themes of complaint were, how feedback was returned to residents on the outcomes of their complaints and how any issues were escalated. It was explained that there is a distinction between service requests (such as notifying the Council of new potholes or incidents of fly-tipping) and formal complaints – though people raising them might see them as the same. Different processes are also in place for the management of complaints about services that the Council has commissioned from an external provider. Although residents may only be notified that a service request has been completed, no complaint may be closed without a formal response being returned. Complaints are directed to the relevant service leads to seek to address the root causes as rapidly as possible, and Executive Members are copied into the responses to complaints affecting their remit.

c)  The single largest reason for people making a complaint is missed bin collections, as waste collection is a service used by everyone in the city, and a specific process is in place to respond to issues. Improvement work is also underway around the timely issue of resident parking permits. It is important to identify and address the root causes of themes of complaints that suggest a wider system delivery problem, using local knowledge of community experience.

d)  The Committee asked how residents are encouraged and empowered to complain when there is a problem with a Council service, rather than staying silent. It was reported that actions have been taken to make the complaints system as open and accessible as possible. Officers should also be working to identify potential problems in a proactive way, encouraging customer feedback at the point of contact and using learning arising from this to develop service improvements. Activity is underway to improve customer insight, using data from councillor casework and citizen panels. Customer satisfaction surveys are carried out where possible and proactive work is done to identify and engage with under-represented groups of people.

e)  The Committee considered that it would be helpful for the range of complaints pathways and their usage to be set out as part of performance monitoring in this area.

The Committee noted the progress made in supporting the ‘One Council’ approach  ...  view the full minutes text for item 97.

Report of the Corproate Director of Finance and Resources

Councillor Linda Woodings, Executive Member for Finance and Resources, and Lucy Lee, Strategic Director for Transformation and Change, presented a report on the performance monitoring and governance process that have been established to support the delivery of the Council’s Transformation Programme. The following information was highlighted:

a)  There is a substantial portfolio of savings to be delivered within the Council’s Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP), so it is vital that a robust governance process is in place to ensure that delivery is properly monitored. Each savings programme has a sponsor at the Corporate Leadership Team level, with identified senior responsible officers – who are supported by colleagues from the Transformation Office as part of ensuring that there is a robust process for being able to understand where savings are being delivered.  Responsible officers engage closely with Finance Business Partners so that Finance colleagues are involved in decision-making processes as early as possible. An assurance process is in place in individual service areas, which then reports up to cross-cutting Programme Review Boards.

b)  Delivery dashboards are produced to demonstrate the overall position in terms of progress, which is feed into the Commissioners and the overall Transformation Board. Monthly ‘deep dives’ are carried out into the progress of each savings programme, and also into the areas of most significant risk. A high degree of oversight is in place in relation to holding each programme to account for progress and enabling effective reporting by the responsible officers, as part of a clear accountability process in continual dialogue with the Commissioners. Ultimately, there is a clear understanding of where the Council currently is in its improvement and transformation journey, and risks are being responded to actively and rapidly. The Executive is closely involved in transformation delivery, which has improved upon previous years – with the right level of capacity now in place to help deliver the required savings.

The Committee raised the following points in discussion:

c)  The Committee asked how risks to service users was taken into account as part of delivering transformation, and how mitigations were used to ensure that savings being made in one area did not result in increased service pressures in another. It was explained that associated Equality Impact Assessments on service impacts had been carried out as part of developing final transformation proposals for delivery. The overall savings have been built into the MTFP, but there are challenges in delivering real transformation, so a £15 million contingency sum is in place. However, much of the cross-cutting transformation work relates to the delivery of organisational changes and internal efficiency savings, so this does not have a direct impact on individual service experience.

d)  The Committee asked what was being done to support managers in delivering effective transformation, and what learning had been taken from other Local Authorities. It was set out that a great deal of work had been carried out to create an environment within the Council where the requirement for transformation could be responded to in an agile  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.

To consider excluding the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining item(s) in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

The Committee resolved to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the remaining agenda items in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 on the basis that, having regard to all the circumstances, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed the public interest in disclosing the information, as defined in Paragraph(s) 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Act.

Report of the Coprorate Director of Finance and Resources

Resolved to defer consideration of the Finance Improvement Programme item to the Committee’s next meeting.

Report of the Coprorpate Director of Finance and Resources

Richard Green, Interim Internal Audit Manager, Lee Mann, Strategic Director of Human Resources and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Trevor Bone, Head of Facilities Management, and Paul Milward, Head of Resilience, presented the Exempt Appendix to the report on the actions being taken in monitoring the Internal Audit Reports where the lowest assurance rating had been given.

The Committee noted the Exempt Appendix to the report.

To confirm the exempt minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2025

The Committee confirmed the Exempt Minutes of the meeting held on 28 March 2025 as a correct record and they were signed by the Chair.

To note

The Chair presented the Exempt Recommendation Tracker of the progress made against the Committee’s recommendations to the Executive and senior officers.

The Committee noted the Exempt Recommendation Tracker.