Meeting Details

On the proposal of Councillor Reeves, seconded by Councillor Thompson it was

RESOLVED

 
That the minutes of the meetings held on the 8 July 2024 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Committee received report ES/2104 of the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Resources and Value for Money, which related to the process required to meet the Government’s backstop dates for all old year audits. For East Suffolk Council this related to the 2021/22 and 2022/23 Statement of Accounts. Councillor Langdon-Morris confirmed that disclaimed opinions would be provided for these accounts and that one completion report would cover all open years. The draft Annual Governance Statements (AGS) for both years would also be finalised alongside the Statement of Accounts.

Councillor Lynch asked what would the delay be if an issue was found in these accounts, considering the current lack of capacity. David Riglar (Ernst & Young) stated that no additional work was being done on the legacy accounts, only the value for money work which was outstanding. Therefore no changes would be expected. Mr Riglar confirmed these would be delivered by the backstop date. 

Councillor Byatt asked what the additional costs would be to the Council from this backlog. The Chief Finance Officer confirmed that funding had been received for additional costs occurred with backlog. Mr Riglar stated that work was being done by the Public Sector Audit Appointments to confirm what, if any, additional costs there would be. 

Councillor Byatt referred to the high number of freedom of information requests mentioned in the report, and asked how the Council coped with managing these. The Head of Internal Audit stated that a report would be received at a future meeting which would include information on freedom of information requests and a breakdown of the types of requests received. In general the Council was quite efficient in dealing with these, as most of the information was published online. 

Councillor Byatt asked for an update on the breach of the rent standard. The Chief Finance Officer stated the refund process was ongoing, and additional information from the Head of Housing would be emailed to the committee.

Councillor Speca proposed that the first recommendation in the report be removed so that the Committee could sign off the repots at their meeting on the 9 December.  Officers confirmed that they could facilitate this, but the reports might not be published on the same day as the agenda for that meeting. 

On the proposal of Councillor Lynch, seconded by Councillor Speca it was by a unanimous vote

RESOLVED

That the Audit and Governance Committee approve the final Annual Governance Statements for 2021/22 and 2022/23.

The Committee received report ES/2105 of the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Resources and
Value for Money which provided an update on performance of the treasury management function for the first half of 2024/25. 

Councillor Langdon-Morris stated that as at 16 September, short-term Investments totalled £88m, long term investments totalled £19.56m and liquidity investments (including current accounts) totalled £38.56m. Interest received on investment balances totalled £1.60m against an original 2024/25 budget of £3.15m. East Suffolk Council has operated within its approved Prudential Indicator Limits for 2024/25. 

The Senior Accountant confirmed that treasury management training had recently been held and was well attended and well received. 

Councillor Lynch asked if more information could be provided on the variation in the money market fund investment. The Senior Accountant stated that the Council had invested the maximum amount in this fund. The rate on this fund did change daily. A more detailed list of these changes could be provided to the committee in future reports.

Councillor Byatt asked whether the Councils investments were as ethical as they could be. The Senior Accountant confirmed that investments in banks and building societies investments were fairly robust, although there could always be an issue we were not aware of. This was a priority for many local authorities and was being discussed with the treasury advisors. 

On the proposal of Councillor Lynch, seconded by Councillor Speca it was by a unanimous vote

RESOLVED

That the Audit & Governance Committee 
1. Approved the quarter 2 (Mid Year) report on the Council’s Treasury Management activity for 2024/25.

The Committee received report ES/2106 of the Leader of the Council.

The Head of Internal Audit stated that this report was received by the committee every year and it set out the principles of how good governance was delivered in the Council. There had been a refresh to include the ‘Three Lines Model’ of good governance and some updates to policy's and procedures listed under the Principles section. There had been changes in best practice. The document would be referred to Full Council for final sign off.

Councillor Byatt asked how people who did not have access to the internet could access the information. Could the guide given to Councillors also be referred to. The Head of Internal Audit stated the document would be updated to include this information. 

Councillor Lynch asked if the Internal Audit team was large enough to do all the work covered in this document. The Head of Internal Audit stated that a report would be received at a future committee meeting on resourcing.

On the proposal of Councillor Speca, seconded by Councillor Reeves it was by a unanimous vote

RESOLVED

That the Audit and Governance Committee commented upon the refreshed Code of Corporate Governance and recommended to Full Council that it adopts the refreshed Code of Corporate Governance 2024/25 attached at Appendix A to the report.

The Committee received report ES/2107 of the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Resources and
Value for Money.

The Head of Internal Audit confirmed that three reports had been issued, Main Accounting (Core Banking), Main Accounting (Key Systems) and Accounts Payable 2023-24. Each one had been issued an effective opinion.

Councillor Byatt congratulated finance on their effectiveness.

On the proposal of Councillor Byatt, seconded by Councillor Lynch it was

 RESOLVED

That Audit and Governance Committee considered and commented upon the presented Internal Audit reports. 

On the proposal of Councillor Thompson, seconded by Councillor Speca it was by a unanimous vote

RESOLVED

That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.