Eastleigh Borough Council Audit and Resources Committee Meeting

There was no public participation on this occasion.

There were no declarations of interest in relation to items of business on the agenda.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

The Executive Head of Organisational Development presented the report.

RESOLVED –

That the Audit and Resources Committee noted the Update on Future Ways of Working report.

The Chief internal Auditor (Acting) presented the report.

Councillor Broomfield requested confirmation of when there would be a follow up review due for the Horton Heath project and asked if it could be shared with the Horton Heath Development Management Committee when it was available.

The Chief internal Auditor (Acting) confirmed that the Chief Internal Auditor’s Monitoring Report, that includes the summary of the findings from the One Horton Heath Follow Up Review, would be shared with the Horton Heath Development Management Committee once it was finalised.

RESOLVED –

That the Audit and Resources Committee considered the Internal Audit Monitoring Statement for the first quarter of 2022/23.

The Executive Head of Governance and Monitoring Officer provided a verbal update, which was as follows:

·  To date the audit was progressing well with work on the material risk areas ahead of schedule. In particular;

1.  Valuations – Internal valuations were all completed in June and with the EY specialist for assessment.

2.  Nitrates – This was an unknown for EY but they had engaged a specialist, who had been met with several times to bring them up to speed. Some areas of technical accounting were to be agreed but there were no issues at the current time.

3.  Group assessment – related company accounts were discussed with EY and there we no issues at the current time.

·  The walk through and systems work was complete, and analytics data due to be sent in the next couple of weeks. The actual audit would take place during November and December as previously planned.

(a)  Strategic Risk Management Group (SRMG)

Councillor Holes reported SRMG had met on 5 September 2022 and that:

•  The group reviewed the Corporate Risk Register and discussed the changes made since their last review. 

•  There were updates on the Operational Risk Registers from three areas, these were from the Environment Executive Area, Health and Wellbeing Executive Area and Local Area Managers. Some suggestions were made to officers.

•  There was a common theme coming from officers around resources and management of staff vacancies, which was also reflected in the Corporate Risk Register. The review of the People Strategy and the work around Attract, Recruit, Retain should mitigate this risk, although it was recognised that this was a risk facing all organisations, not just particular to EBC

The Executive Head of Organisational Development added that the draft People Strategy based on the themes of Recruit, Reward and Retain was due to go to the Corporate Leadership Board and Executive Team for approval, along with a draft Learning and Development Strategy.

(b)  Procurement Executive Group (PEG)

Councillor Irish reported that PEG had met that afternoon, and the following was discussed:

•  A draft update to Contract Standing Orders was presented, which would be proposed at Council in November when updates to the Constitution were presented. The update provided the rules around compliance with public contract regulations when using Dynamic Purchasing System. The Group was happy with the proposal and the Executive Head of Governance would now share with procuring officers to seek their input.

•  The Group reviewed its Terms of Reference and agreed no changes were necessary.

•  The Group reviewed the Procurement Action Plan and Procurement Performance Indicators. It was suggested that officers considered approaching other local authorities to establish a procurement forum, similar to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Procurement Partnership that previously met, so that best practice could be shared. It was agreed that this would be added to the Action List.

•  The Group noted that there had been one waiver requested and approved during Q1 of 2022/23.

•  An update on the progress of the development of the Procurement Policy was provided and questions were discussed. Currently the plan was to present the draft policy for scrutiny to this Committee on 1 November 2022, although the timetable would be reviewed, given some comments raised around market testing the proposed policy.

•  The Group received a paper on the procurement of spare parts for the Council’s fleet, which sought agreement where circumstances apply for the procurement of second hand vehicles and the use of aftermarket refurbished, reconditioned or recovered spare parts where they meet strict safety and quality criteria. This was well received by the group who agreed that this was a positive step.

•  The next meeting was on 22 November 2022.

(c)  Housing Group

There was no update from the Housing Group on this occasion as they had not met since the last Audit and Resources Committee meeting.

The Committee considered the current Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

It was AGREED -

That the current Forward Plan be noted.

The Committee considered the Action List, which set out the recent decisions and subsequent actions arising from the Committee.

The Internal Audit Charter External Assessment had now been completed.

It was AGREED -

That the Action List can be removed from future agendas.

The Committee considered its current Work Programme.

It was AGREED -

That the Work Programme be noted.

RESOLVED -

(1)  That, in pursuance of Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they are likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act; and

(2)  That, in pursuance of the public interest test, the public interest in disclosing the information contained in the following item of business was outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the exemption.

RESOLVED –

That the report be noted.