Agenda item

The Action List from the previous meeting was noted:

1.     Key Collaborations and Partnerships:  The CIA confirmed that the review is complete and the draft report is ready for issue and will be shared with the Committee in due course.  Key collaborations and partnerships have been considered as part of the risk assessment and drafting of the Internal Audit operational plan. There will be at least four reviews to be completed for services operating in partnership. These are Housing Benefits, Council Tax, Revenue Shared Service (Lead Authority is Torfaen County Borough Council) and the Youth Offending Service where Monmouthshire is the Lead Authority.  Any findings and recommendations from the review will be responded to accordingly. [ONGOING]

2a  Finance Team capacity: The Head of Finance reported that some appointments had been made to the Finance team. Appointments to some senior posts are ongoing. The delay is being managed by prioritisation of key pieces of work.  The aim is to complete recruitment over six to eight weeks to achieve a full complement of staff.  In response to a question, it was confirmed that focus is on the current financial situation to ensure that

the best use of resources, to continue to deliver the service changes and to produce savings.  It is hoped to meet a mid-July deadline for the draft accounts but there remain many variables that could cause delays.   The Audit Wales Officer confirmed that the timetable set out is in line with Audit Wales’s expectations and it is predicted that there should be a November certification date.

In light of this update, the Committee wished to understand the current position more fully and in particular the consequences of the prioritisation decisions being made.  Consequently, the Chair requested a concise paper setting out the Finance Team’s organisation structure, type and number of vacancies, plans for resolution and a fuller explanation of the consequences on workload and prioritisation.  A Member expressed concern about the continuing delays. [ONGOING]

      2b Trend analysis of the value of commercial investments year on year, and the income received that contributes to services:  It was noted that an e mail has been sent to Members containing the requested information. [CLOSED]

4a.  Audit Wales Outline Plan: The Chair has seen the Audit Wales letter detailing the revised timetable [CLOSED]

4b.  Training Materials for ISA 315: It was confirmed that there are no resources or events currently available. Updates will be provided as information becomes available. [CLOSED}

5a. People Strategy and Asset Management Plan: will be reported at the 19^th October meeting 2023 [ONGOING]

5b   Report language to be more concise with timelines. Will be reported in the regular report at the meeting on 19th October 2023. [CLOSED]

5c   Social enterprise (slippage of nearly a decade Wales-wide): Further information will be sought to close this item. [ONGOING]

6.  Whole authority Complaints report: Consideration of weighting system for future reports [ONGOING]

9. Review of Strategic Risk Register:

a)    An update on the remaining two elements of Risk 4 was provided prior to the meeting. [CLOSED]

b)    Strategic Risk Register: refine the structure and contents of this paper so that it is more fully aligned to the responsibilities of the Committee [ONGOING]

12. Forward Work Plan: This has been updated [CLOSED]