Agenda and minutes

Lay Member, Andrew Blackmore was appointed as Chair.

County Councillor P. Strong was appointed as Vice Chair.

No declarations of interest were made.

The Chief Internal Auditor provided an update on the Lay Member recruitment and selection process aligned to the changes required by the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021.  In Monmouthshire, the Governance and Audit Committee consists of 12 Members. One third must be Lay Members.

Following the successful appointment of three Lay Members to the Governance and Audit Committee, one vacancy remains unfilled.  The vacancy will be advertised.

It was agreed to form a selection panel consisting of the following 4 members:

Chair

County Councillor P. Murphy

County Councillor P. Strong

Mr C. Prosser

Details of the process will be sent to the selection committee in due course.

The Deputy Chief Executive announced that there is a members’ Induction session for members of the Governance and Audit Committee and any other interested elected members with a variety of contributions.

The session will cover the role of the Governance and Audit Committee, the changes arising from the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2022 and links with scrutiny committees. Regular report authors will also contribute to the session – e.g. the Chief Internal Auditor and Performance Manager.  Audit Wales officers have also been invited to contribute to the session.

The Forward Work Programme was presented. This lists the reports expected before Committee in the meeting up to March 2023, when they are scheduled to appear and the responsible officers.