Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor D. Towns and Independent Member P. Topping. 

Minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 26 July 2023, as circulated, to be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 26 July 2023, as circulated, be confirmed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

Unless already entered in the Council’s Register of Members’ interests, members are required where a matter arises at a meeting;

a. Which directly relates to Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (‘DPI’) as set out in Appendix B, Table 1 of the Code of Conduct, to disclose the interest, not participate in any discussion or vote and not to remain in room. Where members have a DPI or if the matter concerns an executive function and is being considered by a Cabinet Member with a DPI they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with the matter.

b. Which directly relates to the financial interest or well being of a Other Registrable Interest as set out in Appendix B, Table 2 of the Code of Conduct to disclose the interest and only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak at the meeting but otherwise must not take part in any discussion or vote on the matter and must not remain the room.

c. Which directly relates to their financial interest or well-being (and is not DPI) or the financial well being of a relative or close associate, to declare the interest and members may only speak on the matter if members of the public are also allowed to speak. Otherwise, the member must not take part in discussion or vote on the matter and must leave the room.

d. Which affects the financial well-being of the member, a relative or close associate or a body included under the Other Registrable Interests column in Table 2, to disclose the interest and apply the test set out at paragraph 9 of Appendix B before deciding whether they may remain in the meeting.

e. Where Members have or a Cabinet Member has an Other Registerable Interest or Non Registerable Interest in a matter being considered in exercise of their executive function, they must notify the Monitoring Officer and arrange for somebody else to deal with it.

NB Any member needing clarification must contact monitoringofficer@northumberland.gov.uk. Members are referred to the Code of Conduct which contains the matters above in full. Please refer to the guidance on disclosures at the rear of this agenda letter.

Councillor Reid declared an interest in item 12 on the agenda (Group Audit Committee: Advance Northumberland Internal Audit Update) as Chair of Advance Northumberland.

The Audit Committee operates under an agreed programme of core business, in accordance with its Terms of Reference as set out in the Council’s Constitution. The Committee is asked to review and note its monitoring report/action log for the 2023/24 council year.

The Committee was asked to review and note its monitoring report/action list for the 2023/24 council year (a copy of which had been filed with the signed minutes).

Regarding Action 1, J. Willis, Executive Director for Resources and Transformation (S151) advised that an informal update on progress made was due to take place with Group Leaders.  Following this a formal report would be drafted for the November meeting of Audit Committee.  

Councillor Wallace questioned why members of the Audit Committee would have to wait until November to receive the update.  He asked if Audit Committee could receive the update via email to stop any further delays.  The November meeting could then discuss the update in public session.  In response J. Willis commented that members had requested a formal report be produced for Audit Committee which was what she had been working towards.  An email could be sent to members, but this was not asked for originally.  She reassured members that progress was being made with the action plan and many of the recommendations put forward by the Challenge Board had already been completed.  The BEST programme had incorporated some of the improvements identified and the relevant overview and scrutiny committee was due to receive a report on this soon.  J. Willis stated that an all member briefing could also be arranged if deemed appropriate by councillors.

Councillor Grimshaw asked for the update on progress being made following the Caller Report include the work taking place with staff and councillors, particularly around ensuring female voices in the workplace were being heard.  J. Willis confirmed that this would form part of the update.

The Deputy Leader explained that the progress against the action plan and recommendations of the Challenge Board would be reported in various places.  Aspects would be reported to Audit, others to the Staff and Appointments Committee and others to the Corporate Services and Economic Growth Overview and Scrutiny Committee.  However, Group Leaders would be given a briefing in the next few days on progress made which they would hopefully share and discuss within their individual groups.  

Members agreed to receive a report regarding Action 1 at their November meeting of Audit Committee.  

Regarding Action 2, Councillor Dale commented on recruitment and sickness issues across services.  She stated that there needed to be a whole system approach.  She believed the transformation programme needed to be measured against recruitment and sickness levels to ensure council services could continue to be delivered effectively and efficiently.

Councillor Jackson commented that he felt that the item should not be removed from the action list as Audit Committee needed to continue to examine the business case to ensure the funding put aside in the Council’s budget was value for money.

J. Willis queried what additional information the Audit Committee would like to see as the Strategic Business Case had been scrutinised and approved by Cabinet.  Also, the BEST update was to be considered by the relevant overview and scrutiny committee along with the annual workforce  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

Review of External Inspection Reports – Adult Social Care and Children’s Services

To inform Members of the activity pertaining to Adults Social Care and Children's Services regarding external inspections and associated actions.  This covers the period from 1st January 2023 to 30th June 2023.

Review of External Inspection Reports – Adult Social Care and Children’s Services

Members were informed of the activity pertaining to Adults Social Care and Children's Services regarding external inspections and associated actions.  The report covered the period from 1 January 2023 to 30 June 2023.  (A copy of the report has been filed with the signed minutes).

A. Hartwell, Senior Manager, Performance and Systems Support and A. Curry, Senior Manager, Commissioning presented the overall positive report.  Since the report was written there had been some updates.  Of the Northumberland-based Adults Social Care providers there were no longer any judged to be inadequate.  Inspections of children’s residential homes continued to be judged as good or better, with Kyloe secure unit judged as outstanding on all criteria when it was inspected in the autumn.  Phoenix House children’s home was currently being inspected.  The Adult Learning Service was still awaiting its inspection.

Councillor Dale asked if data could be produced which gave a breakdown in inspection judgements between academies and maintained schools.  It was suggested this information be provided following the meeting and could be included in future reports.

Councillor Grimshaw commented on the recruitment and retention of staff in social care services and asked if this had resulted in any care homes having to close because of these challenges.  A. Curry confirmed that since the COVID pandemic there were more adult care homes within the county, but the Council continued to try to invite local care providers to provide more specialist care in the area.  

Councillor Cessford commented on ways in which the local authority worked with the management of adult social care settings where ratings had deteriorated.  He asked if more information could be provided within these six-monthly reports which showed the adult social care providers ratings over a longer period of time.  This would allow members to understand any patterns/trends identified and help evaluate the effectiveness of the assistance given by the local authority.  It was confirmed extra detail could be added to future reports.

Councillor Oliver queried whether there were any capacity issues particularly when places had been restricted due to a poor CQC inspection status.  A. Curry confirmed that where the Council had restricted new placements to a service officers would manage the situation while ensuring resources could be redirected to help rectifying problems.  

Councillor Wallace talked about independent living and adult care provision and the choices available to residents.  A. Curry stated that the southeast of the county had the most concentration of adult care provision and would expect those residents would have more choice than those in more rural areas.  Capacity levels were stable but domiciliary care remained the biggest area of risk/concern at the minute due to a shortage of care workers although there had been a slight improvement since April 2023.  Most people wanted to stay in their homes for as long as possible, but the Council continued to try and improve the choice available for all. 

RESOLVED that Audit Committee assesses the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.

Corporate Fraud Annual Report

The purpose of this report is to update Audit Committee on Corporate Fraud activity undertaken during the period 1 April 2022 – 31st March 2023.

Corporate Fraud Annual Report

A. Hodgson, Corporate Fraud Manager presented a report which updated Audit Committee on Corporate Fraud activity undertaken during the period 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023.

The team were responsible for achieving fraud prevention, detection, and identification values were detailed within the report.  It was reported that during the period, 1,571 referrals were opened and 1,407 closed.  With the exception of the Right to Buy (RTB) verification and SPD data matches, these were reactive referrals, where a report of a suspicion of fraud had been received.  It was noted that Council Tax was by far the largest area of investigation, and a large proportion of these were from the proactive single person discount project (SPD) which launched in October 2022.  

It was reported that due to the relaxing of Covid restrictions the Corporate Fraud Team had been able to return to face-to-face interviews and more criminal-focused investigations.  This had resulted in the team being able to consider relevant sanctions and prosecutions.

The Chair thanked officers for the very clear and important report.  He questioned if returning to face-to-face interviews had resulted in a measurable impact.  It was confirmed that without in person interviews there could not be criminal sanctions.  During the 2020/21 there had been zero sanctions compared to last year which saw six recorded.  Along with sanctions it was noted that the monetary value yielded was also increasing year on year.

Councillor Dale welcomed the cross-cutting approach that was being taken by the Corporate Fraud Team to work with several internal departments and external bodies to help assess their fraud risk and implement measures to deter fraudsters and prevent fraud and error entering the system.  She asked for her gratitude to be passed to staff.  It was confirmed comments made would be passed to the team. 

Councillor Grimshaw agreed with the comments made by Councillor Dale.  She also asked if social media and other forms of communication could be used to highlight that the Corporate Fraud Team was and would continue to investigate suspected fraud, corruption and theft and actively seek to prosecute and recover such sums of money. 

J. Willis, Executive Director of Transformation and Resources (S151) confirmed that there was planned communications to highlight that people were being identified and sanctions made, particularly in relation to housing tenancy and right to buy fraud.

RESOLVED that Audit Committee notes and considers the update on work undertaken by the Corporate Fraud Team, as part of Audit Committee’s role in maintaining governance oversight of counter-fraud activity as part of the overall framework of governance, risk management and control.

Annual Report from Audit Committee to Council

The purpose of this report is to present an Annual Report from Audit Committee to Council for 2022/23, for the agreement of Audit Committee.

Annual Report from Audit Committee to Council

K. McDonald, Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management presented a copy of the Annual Report from Audit Committee to Council for 2022/23.  (A copy of the report has been filed with the signed minutes).

Members were advised that it was good practice recommended by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) that Audit Committee should prepare an annual report for presentation to Council.  Therefore, a report had been prepared for Council detailing the main governance matters which had been considered by Audit Committee during 2022/23 and the outcomes of the self-assessment and current review of Audit Committee arrangements.

The Chair noted that a total of 48 reports had been considered by Audit Committee during the year which was a considerable feat especially considering some of the difficult subjects discussed at the meetings.

Councillor Dale welcomed the report and highlighted the importance of the Audit Committee.  She highlighted the principal areas where the Audit Committees should exert influence, add value and challenge.  She thanked the Chair and Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management for ensuring Audit Committee could maintain its independence and members could talk independently to officers.  

RESOLVED that Audit Committee agree the Audit Committee Annual Report for 2022/23, for presentation to Council.

Councillor J. Reid withdrew from the meeting at this point and did not return.

Audit Strategy Memorandum 2022/23

To present the Audit Strategy Memorandum for Northumberland County Council for the year ending 31 March 2023.  The purpose of this document is to summarise our audit approach, highlight significant audit risks and areas of key judgements and provide you with the details of our audit team.

Audit Strategy Memorandum 2022/23

Members received the Audit Strategy Memorandum for Northumberland County Council for the year ending 31 March 2023.  (A copy of the document has been filed with the signed minutes).

J. Dafter, External Auditor drew members’ attention the main points of the report which sought to summarise Mazars audit approach, highlighted significant audit risks and areas of key judgements and provided the Audit committee with the details of the audit team.

In response to a query from Councillor Dale it was confirmed that the housing capital receipts only included those from the County Council not Group entities.

RESOLVED that the Audit Strategy Memorandum 2022/23 be received.

The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 29 November 2023 at 10.15 am.

RESOLVED that the next meeting has be scheduled for Wednesday, 29 November 2023 at 10.15 am.

As this was the Chair’s last meeting before stepping down, Members expressed their appreciation to S. Watson for his exemplary leadership and commitment to the work of Audit Committee over a number of years.  Members wished him well for the future.

The Audit Committee is invited to consider passing the following resolution:

(a) That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items on the Agenda as it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act, and

(b) That the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure for the following reasons:-

Agenda Item

12                                            Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding the information).

Disclosure could adversely affect the business reputation or confidence in the person/organisation, and could adversely affect commercial revenue.

RESOLVED:

(a)      That under Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items on the Agenda as it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the 1972 Act, and 

(b)      That the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure for the following reasons:- 

Agenda Item

12                          Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A 

Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding the information). 

Disclosure could adversely affect the business reputation or confidence in the person/organisation, and could adversely affect commercial revenue. 

Group Audit Committee: Advance Northumberland Internal Audit Update

The purpose of this report is to update Group Audit Committee on progress against planned internal audit activity in relation to Advance Northumberland, including a summary of work finalised since the previous update to Group Audit Committee in July 2023. This report was presented to Advance Northumberland Audit Committee on 12 September 2023.

Group Audit Committee: Advance Northumberland Internal Audit Update

K. McDonald, Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management presented the report which updated Group Audit Committee on progress against planned internal audit activity in relation to Advance Northumberland, including a summary of work finalised since the previous update to Group Audit Committee in July 2023. This report was presented to Advance Northumberland Audit Committee on 12 September 2023.  (A copy of the report has been filed with the signed minutes, coloured pink and marked “Not for Publication”). 

RESOLVED that Audit Committee notes the Advance Northumberland: Internal Audit Update Report provided in Appendix 1 and considers this report as part of its ongoing evaluation of the framework of governance, risk management and control within Northumberland County Council’s accounting group boundary.