Agenda item

Report of the Director – Finance and Corporate Services.

Mr Dulay from BDO the Councils internal auditors presented the Internal Audit Progress Report, which reflected the progress made against the Annual Internal Audit programme along with any significant recommendations in respect of the audits completed during this period.

The report indicated the completion of three reports as follows:

·       The Planning and S106 audit received a moderate rating for both Design ad Operational Effectiveness – three medium level recommendations were made.

·       The Main Financial Systems audit received a Substantial rating for both Design and Operational Effectiveness – no high or medium level recommendations were made.

·       The Corporate Governance audit received a Moderate rating for both Design and Effectiveness - two medium level recommendations were made and management actions have been agreed.

Mr Dulay highlighted some concerns in respect of the Planning and S106 audit, which identified that the Council were failing to meet its target of 85% of householder applications completed within the statutory time limits. This appeared to be due to officer vacancies within the team and a focus on processing major applications. With regards to the S106 audit some developers had failed to notify the Council when S106 Agreement triggers had been met which led to delays in contributions being collected.

Mr Dulay continued highlighting some concerns in respect of Corporate Governance and the ongoing confirmation of Councillors declarations of interests, which had not been updated in the last 12 months. It was recognised however that this may have been affected by not having meetings in person due to the Covid pandemic where declarations of interest forms would have been completed.  Councillor engagement in training was also highlighted as an area for concern especially with the regulatory committees such as Planning Committee and Licensing Committee.

Members made observations in relation to the delays in S106 agreements being fulfilled and whether there was a time limit of when funding should be spent. The Director – Finance and Corporate Services explained that there were now dedicated officers actively monitoring S106 agreements and triggers and highlighted that there had been some challenges associated with the larger schemes and Nottinghamshire County Council funding.

With regards to member training, members of the group suggested that a note be issued to Councillors to remind them of the legislative training required and in particular to those Councillor’s who support Planning Committee and Licensing Committee. The Director – Finance and Corporate Services explained that Councillor’s should receive an individual training log and that it was up to individuals to complete the training.

Members raised specific questions relating to the sector update within BDO’s report provided in Appendix A that accompanied the officers report. The report highlights the emerging issues relevant to Local Authorities and in particular the predicted £3bn budget shortfall that a number of Council’s could face. Mr Dulay explained that continued budget pressures and the mitigation of challenges does effect the audit planning process, adding that the audit plan for next year will be reported at the next Governance Scrutiny Group meeting in February. The Director - Finance and Corporate Services reminded members of the Budget Workshops scheduled for next week and thanked those members who attended the Treasury Management Training on 22 November 2021.

It was RESOLVED that the Group note the final progress report for 2021/22 (Appendix A) prepared by the Council’s Internal Auditor.