Basingstoke & Dean Borough Council Audit and Accounts Committee Meeting

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J Izett and S Kotecha.

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no urgent matters.

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 July 2024 were confirmed by the Committee as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Senior Auditor introduced the report, which provided members of the Committee with the work completed by the Internal Audit team during the period of July-September 2024 and the current position with overdue recommendations.

The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments:

• Praised the new report format introduced at the start of the 2024/25 municipal year, which concentrated the Committee’s efforts on audits with reasonable assurance and overdue recommendations.
• Queried the process of deadlines for overdue audit recommendations. The Senior Auditor confirmed that Heads of Service had worked on completion of the overdue tasks and provided regular progress updates.
• The Senior Auditor stated that updates on audit recommendations were regularly sought before the original target date.
• Emphasised the establishment of the Business Continuity Group to address recovery planning challenges and suggest improvements.

Resolved: The Committee considered and commented on the report.

The Head of Audit, Fraud and Insurance introduced the report which presented the Committee with the status of the corporate risks identified within the corporate risk register which is reviewed by the Senior Leadership Team every six months before being presented to Audit and Accounts Committee.

The Head of Audit, Fraud and Insurance stated that the Head of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer had taken over the role of the nominated Senior Leadership Risk Management Champion. The role involved endorsing risk management within the council and ensuring compliance with risk management policies.

Resolved: The Committee considered and commented on the report.

The Chief Finance Officer introduced the report, which showed the activity within the Council’s treasury management function from 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024.

The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments:

• Questioned the council’s slight fall in Weighted Average of Return (WARoR) alongside a lower level of credit risk in comparison to other councils. The Chief Finance Officer stated that the Council’s return aligned with expected performance and would balance investment decisions in line with the approved Treasury Management strategy.
• Requested further context on the new Treasury Management Internal Investments Benchmarking chart to improve understanding. The Chief Finance Officer agreed to provide additional context in future reports.
• The Chief Finance Officer explained that the council’s investments in gilts and supranational bonds were because of their strong returns and AAA ratings, in consultation with the Council’s Treasury Management Advisors, Link Treasury Services.
• It was clarified that Appendix 1 of the report outlined which of the Council’s investments complied with its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) policy, highlighting the monitoring of responsible investment practices and participation in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative.
• Clarified that the council could invest in other local authorities as part of its Treasury Management Strategy but had opted not to do so due to low returns relative to associated risks.

Resolved: The Committee note the contents of the report.

The Investment Portfolio Lead introduced the report, which detailed the activity related to the council’s Annual Property Plan 2024/25 for the first quarter (period 1^st April to 30^th June 2024).

The Committee discussed the report and made the following comments:

• Pointed out a typographical error on the first page of the report regarding expected property rental income, correcting it from "£19.18 million" to "£19.8 million," which was correctly stated in section 2.2 of the report.
• Mentioned a public media disclosure about the council’s Civic Campus being listed as a development opportunity with an assigned value, noting its absence from the report. It was agreed to write to the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property to request a response.
• The Chief Finance Officer clarified that the valuation of the Civic Campus value, quoted in press reports, was based on its book value from the previous Statement of Accounts (year ended as at 31 March 2024) as an operational asset and did not accurately reflect its market value.
• Expressed concern of decline of the overall property value by -7.1% to March 2024 because of the latest capital re-valuation. It was explained that there were various factors that lead to overall property values such as timing of valuations, change of valuers alongside market conditions.
• Reiterated the Committee’s recommendation in June 2024 to review the council’s Property Investment Strategy.
• It was agreed that future property reporting would be presented to Committee biannually unless significant changes to the portfolio occurred, which officers would report by exception.
• Suggested the inclusion of historical overview of property values and revenue charts in the next report to provide confidence to the Committee.

Resolved: The Committee considered and commented on the report.

The Chair introduced the work programme and gave a brief overview of the items that would be included on the agenda for the upcoming meetings.

The Chair also introduced the list of actions from previous Committee meetings.

It was clarified that there was a typographical error in the External Audit Results Report scheduled for 25th November 2024; the Committee would be informed about the 2022-23 financial statements, not the 2023-24 financial statements.

The Chair indicated that he would consult with the Chief Finance Officer regarding the 2023-24 Statement of Accounts, particularly about whether they should be presented at the November meeting.

The meeting ended at 7:11pm.

Chair