Audit Committee Minutes, 1 December 2003

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Audit CommitteeMinutes of a meeting of the held in the Warren Room, Lewes House,32 High Street, Lewes on Monday, 1 December 2003 at 2.30pmPresent:Councillor J E A Best (Chairman)Councillors E N Collict, J F Daly, R D Fricker and H B Livings Officers attending:David Feintuck, Committee Officer (Minutes 12 to 20)David Heath, Chief Internal Auditor (Minutes 12 to 20)Mike Keeping, Head of Housing Services (Minutes 12 to 15)Nigel Sharpe, Principal Architect (Minutes 12 to 15)Also attending:Councillor E W LeeGraham Liddell, Audit Manager, Audit CommissionApologies received:None.Minutes Action12 MinutesThe Minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2003 were approved as a correctrecord and signed by the Chairman.13 Progress Report on Decisions Taken by the Audit CommitteeThe Committee considered Report No 323/03 which updated councillors onprogress made in relation to the decisions of the Audit Committee.With regard to Minute No 2.2, the Principal Architect and Head of HousingServices reported on the development potential of the allotment sites atMinute No 15 below.No 10, the Committee noted that the proposed Value forMoney Review of external printing had been integrated with the current review ofinternal printing and the results of that review would be reported to Cabinet. Resolved:13.1 That Report No 323/03 relating to progress made on the decisions of the HDSAudit Committee be received and noted.9Audit Committee 10 1 December 200314 ...

Informations

• Publié par: Neseng
• Nombre de lectures: 21
• Langue: English

Extrait

9

Audit Committee

Minutes

of a meeting of the

Audit Committee

held in

the Warren Room, Lewes House,

32 High Street, Lewes

on

Monday, 1 December 2003

at 2.30pm

Present:

Councillor J E A Best (Chairman)

Councillors E N Collict, J F Daly, R D Fricker and H B Livings

Officers attending:

David Feintuck, Committee Officer (Minutes 12 to 20)

David Heath, Chief Internal Auditor (Minutes 12 to 20)

Mike Keeping, Head of Housing Services (Minutes 12 to 15)

Nigel Sharpe, Principal Architect (Minutes 12 to 15)

Also attending:

Councillor E W Lee

Graham Liddell, Audit Manager, Audit Commission

Apologies received:

None.

Minutes

Action

12

Minutes

The Minutes of the meeting held on 20 October 2003 were approved as a correct

record and signed by the Chairman.

13

Progress Report on Decisions Taken by the Audit Committee

The Committee considered Report No 323/03 which updated councillors on

progress made in relation to the decisions of the Audit Committee.

With regard to Minute No 2.2, the Principal Architect and Head of Housing

Services reported on the development potential of the allotment sites at

Minute No 15 below.

With regard to Minute No 10, the Committee noted that the proposed Value for

Money Review of external printing had been integrated with the current review of

internal printing and the results of that review would be reported to Cabinet.

Resolved:

13.1

That Report No 323/03 relating to progress made on the decisions of the

Audit Committee be received and noted.

HDS

Audit Committee

10

1 December 2003

14

Exclusion of the Public

Resolved:

14.1

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act

1972, the public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion of

Agenda Item 7 (Development Potential of Land Used as Allotments) and

Agenda Item 11 (Value for Money Review of the Income Generating

Potential of the Tourist Information Centres) as there is likely to be a

disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 7 of Part 1 of

Schedule 12A of the Act.

15

Development Potential of Land Used as Allotments

The Committee considered Report No 324/03 which advised the Committee of the

allotment sites that had been earmarked as possible building land.

The Head of Housing Services stated that certain allotment sites were precluded

from consideration as building sites by Planning Policy RE9.

Where building was

possible, the Council would liaise with Housing Associations with regard to the

possibility of affordable housing.

Resolved:

15.1

That Report No 324/03 regarding the determination of the development

potential of the allotment sites that have been earmarked as possible

building land be received and noted;

15.2

That the proposal to submit an outline planning application for the Nevill

Cottages site in Ditchling, subject to Cabinet approval, be noted; and

15.3

That the factors that are likely to prevent development of the other sites

considered be noted.

Note: The following items were taken in open session

HHS

16

Audit Commission Relationship Management Report and Annual Letter

2002/2003

The Committee considered Report No 325/03 of the District Auditor and

Relationship Manager and the Audit Manager, Audit Commission.

The Chairman introduced Mr Graham Liddell, Audit Manager, Audit Commission

who acted as external auditor for the Council.

Mr Liddell stated that this annual

Audit Letter was unusual in that it covered a period of change when the District

Audit and Inspection roles were being combined, when the District Audit working

year was being realigned with the financial year and because of the Council's

current Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA).

There was a statutory

obligation on District Audit to produce an Audit Letter before 31 December 2003.

Mr Liddell described the three main elements of the Audit's objectives which were

an audit opinion of the Council's accounts, comments on the financial aspects of

Audit Committee

11

1 December 2003

corporate governance and comments on performance management.

The other

arm of the District Audit service was the inspection of the Council's services.

Mr Liddell stated that the work of the Council's Audit Committee reflected the

Council's serious and effective approach to the Audit process.

District Audit may

be able to offer additional advice once the results of the Council's CPA were

known.

In response to questions, Mr Liddell explained why the change of working year by

the Audit Commission affected the Council in terms of work straddling two financial

years and in this instance including two sets of accounts and Best Value

Performance Plans.

Some economies of scale would result from the changing

work pattern.

Mr Liddell stated that the Audit Commission had no reservations with regard to the

Council's performance indicators and commented that the Council's Best Value

Performance Plan was a readable document.

While Mr Liddell stated that the

Council had appropriate arrangements for good corporate governance in place,

the Council had not yet assessed its arrangements against the CIPFA/SOLACE

framework as a whole.

Further investigations with regard to risk management

would to be conducted once CPA had been completed.

Mr Liddell stated that the Council's accounts were completed to a high standard.

The Audit Commission now had a duty to report issues to councillors before

issuing its form SAS 610.

Issues of commutation with regard to certain central

government funding dating back prior to 1992/93 would involve an adjustment

moving funds from (unusable) capital receipts to either earmarked reserves or the

general fund which would be in the Council's favour.

`

The Chairman thanked Mr Liddell for attending to present the annual Audit Letter.

Resolved:

16.1

That Report No 325/03, the Audit Commission Relationship

Management Report and Annual Letter 2002/2003 be received and

noted.

DFCS

17

Changes to the CIPFA Code of Practice for Internal Audit in Local

Government

The Committee considered Report No 326/03 relating to the key changes in the

CIPFA Code of Practice for Internal Audit and the way in which the changes would

impact on the Council's Internal Audit Section.

The Chief Internal Auditor stated that a new CIPFA Code of Practice for Internal

Audit originally issued in 2000 had recently been updated to take into account the

Account and Audit Regulations 2003.

Changes included the definition of the role

of the Internal Audit Service to encompass issues such as risk management,

control and corporate governance.

The Chief Internal Auditor stated that while

independence of audits was maintained wherever possible by rotating auditors

assigned to specific areas, sometimes practical solutions entailed specialised

auditors working on such issues as IT and EMAS.

The CIPFA Code (Standard 3)

covered in detail the relationship between Internal Audit and the Council's Audit

Committee.

The Internal Auditor's Annual Report would also cover the

arrangements for co-operation between internal audit, external audit and other

review bodies.

The strategic audit plan would include all areas covered in the

Audit Committee

12

1 December 2003

Code.

Close work between the Chief Internal Auditor and Audit Commission

ensured that the Council was already complying with most of the Code.

In response to questions the Chief Internal Auditor noted that the CIPFA matrices

helped in the Internal Audit of particularly complicated areas of the Council's work

such as Benefits.

Resolved:

17.1

That Report No 326/03 relating to the changes to the CIPFA Code of

Practice for Internal Audit in Local Government be received and noted;

and

17.2

That the proposed amendments to the working methods and

documentation of the Internal Audit section be noted.

DFCS

18

Internal Audit Interim Performance Report 2003/2004

The Committee considered Report No 327/03 relating to the Internal Audit work of

the Audit and Best Value division for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 October 2003.

The remit of the Audit Committee included a duty to agree a three year strategic

audit plan and an annual plan and keep these under review.

The Chief Internal Auditor noted that although the actual audit days were 31 short

of the planned audit days to date (table 3.1 of the Report) it was anticipated that

these figures would be balanced by the end of the financial year (paragraph 3.3 of

the Report).

The EMAS audit had been particularly time consuming while the

IT audit had been conducted early in the year.

It was attempted to conduct

internal audit to harmonise with the less busy periods of the managers concerned.

Paragraph 4 of the Report summarised the Internal Audit work undertaken on the

main systems within the Council.

In response to questions, the Chief Internal Auditor noted that a Value For Money

Review of Personnel, including staff training and retention policies, had been

conducted 18 months ago.

Mr Liddell stated that the Audit Commission ran

workshops on such matters.

He further stated that it was praiseworthy that there

were no major recommendations outstanding with regard to the monthly follow-ups

of internal audit recommendations.

The Chief Internal Auditor stated that the

possibility of a Value for Money Review of IT Procurement had been discussed

and it was intended that the draft scope of such a review would be brought to the

March meeting of the Committee.

Resolved:

18.1

That Report No 327/03 relating to the Internal Audit work of the Audit

and Best Value division for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 October 2003

be received and noted; and

18.2

That the proposed outline of a Value for Money Review of IT

Procurement would be brought to the March meeting of the Audit

Committee.

Note:

It was resolved at 14 above that the public be excluded from discussion of

the following item as it contained exempt information.

Audit Committee

13

1 December 2003

19

Value for Money (VFM) Review of the Income Generating Potential of the

Tourist Information Centres (TICs)

The Committee considered Report No 328/03 which presented the draft Report of

the VFM Review of the Income Generating Potential of the TICs, including

comments from Officers, and sought approval for the recommendations contained

in the Report.

The Chief Internal Auditor stated that the scope and objectives of the Review had

been approved by the Audit Committee on 2 September 2002 following earlier

amendments agreed by Cabinet to the Committee's original proposal.

The Review

indicated the cost and income of the TICs, the prime role of which was to provide

information rather than make a profit.

In summary the Review pointed to a well

managed service generating income growth with good plans and strategies.

The

scope and objectives of the Review had included policies for income generation,

income targets and performance measurements and marketing methods.

Results

were detailed in the Report together with a benchmarking exercise conducted with

the co-operation of other local councils.

The Committee noted the high level of service and satisfactory income generated

by the TICs and discussed benchmarking and exchanging information with local

councils with regard to the TICs.

It was not anticipated that TICs would become

full cash handling satellites of the Council.

Resolved:

19.1

That Report No 328/03, the Value For Money Review of the Income

Generating Potential of the Tourist Information Centres, including

comments from Officers, be received and noted; and

19.2

That the recommendations as set out in Section 5 of the Report be

approved and be included in the final Report which is presented to

Cabinet.

DFCS

20

Date of Next Meeting

Resolved:

20.1

That the next meeting of the Committee be held in the Warren Room,

Lewes House at 2.30pm on Monday, 19 January 2004.

The meeting ended at 4.18pm

J E A Best

Chairman