Agenda item

The Head of Internal Audit to submit a report to update Members on progress made in delivering the 2017/18 Annual Audit Plan and key findings arising from audit assignments completed.

The Head of Internal Audit

(a)  Submitted a report (copies of which had previously been circulated to Members), updating Members on progress made in delivering the 2017/18 Annual Audit Plan and key findings arising from audit assignments completed;

(b)  advised that this was the latest report on the outcome of Internal Audit assignments and the performance of the Internal Audit team;

(c)  confirmed the current status of all assignments was shown in Appendix A and that delivery was on track for March 2018, with 100% of assignments either completed or in progress at the time of reporting;

(d)  highlighted that since the last Committee meeting

·         three audit reports had been finalised as follows:-

                                          i.    Out of Hours Standby.  The new contract with HDC had been in place since 2016.  The purpose of the review was to provide assurance that the service was operating effectively and the contract was fit for purpose.  It was confirmed that a clearly defined service specification was in place, with opportunity to monitor and manage performance.  Training and guidance was confirmed as in place and fit for purpose and  a database of all calls was being maintained.  Savings have exceeded that originally forecast.  Overall the assurance opinion is the highest rating of Substantial for both design and compliance.

                                        ii.    Housing Benefits.  Members had requested this audit last year.  Internal Audit found that clear guidance and procedures were in place for officers assessing claims.  It was noted that some controls, such as a monthly reconciliation had not been regularly undertaken following some staffing changes and these would be reinstated.  It was also noted that the level of outstanding overpayments was high when benchmarked with other councils and there were a number of inactive cases where debts were not being pursued.  Some were due to be written off as unrecoverable but some needed to be pursued in line with debt recovery procedures.  Some recommendations had been made to strengthen procedures and assist this Council in minimising errors and recovery of overpayments.  Overall, a Satisfactory assurance rating had been issued, with moderate risk remaining until actions were implemented.  All of which were due to be implemented within the next couple of months.

                                       iii.    Development Control.  Internal Audit reviewed the processes and procedures operating in the handling of development control.  It was noted that the planning service had experienced a number of changes in staffing and structure which meant that some improvements had been delayed.  The audit had assisted in developing an action plan to target these issues and to take this forward as a project.  Some particular issues were identified in relation to performance management, where calculation of statistics could not be verified or confirmed as compliant with national guidance.  Thirteen recommendations to improve the procedures and controls had been made, all of which were accepted by management and would be progressed as a project/implementation plan.  Currently a Limited assurance on design has been issued, with a moderate risk overall.

·         Appendix 3 of the report provided an overview of the implementation of actions from audit reports.  Fifteen actions had been completed by this Council since the last report and thirty-two remained overdue.  Of the overdue actions, there was only one which was high priority and over three months overdue.  Full details were provided at Appendix 4 of the report.

·         The additional recommendation at 2.2 of the report.

The Chair thanked the Head of Internal Audit for her work and reminded Members that copies of individual audit reports were available to them on request.

A Member drew attention to Appendix 3 of the report, querying how the number of unimplemented recommendations correlated with those at neighbouring Authorities.  The Head of Internal Audit advised that this Council’s figures were slightly higher but highlighted that this Council was generally very good on implementation of audit recommendations.  A number of the recommendations fell within Strategic Planning and Regulatory Services and this Department had experienced delays in implementation due to the resources targeted to Local Plan work.  Updates on all outstanding actions had been received and it was anticipated that most would be implemented shortly.

The Member asked if the figures added weight to the view that an increase in staffing would be beneficial.  If this was the case, Members should support this.

The Deputy Chief Executive advised that the realignment would begin to deal some of these issues and capacity would be addressed.

The Chair commented that it was important to be supportive and understanding of staffing issues.

There being no further comments or questions from Members, it was

RESOLVED that

(1)       the report be noted together with the progress made by the Internal Audit Team in delivery of the Audit Plan;

(2)       the Audit Plan be amended to incorporate a review of the new Housing Repairs contract approach and the consultancy support on the Transformation programme be removed.