Agenda item

John Scott, Audit Manager:

a.    presented the Internal Audit Progress Report to Audit Committee, incorporating the overall position reached so far and summaries of the outcome of audits completed during the period July to August 2019, as detailed at Appendix A

b.    highlighted that Audit Committee held the responsibility for receiving a regular progress report from Internal Audit on the delivery of the Internal Audit Plan as a key requirement of public sector internal audit standards

c.    detailed the content of the report covering the following main areas:

·         Progress Against the Plan

·         Summary of Audit Work

·         Implementation of Audit Recommendations

·         Current Areas of Interest Relevant to the Audit Committee

d.    highlighted one finalised audit review, Boultham Park Restoration, given substantial assurance at the time of the report, prior to full implementation of the agreed Management Action Plan

e.    advised on audit reports at draft stage as follows:

·         Values and Behaviours

·         Project Management

·         Fire Risk

f.     reported on the following audits in progress:

·         Partnership Governance

·         Recruitment

·         Housing Rents

g.    highlighted the following audits being prepared:

·         Efficiency Savings

·         Western Growth

·         Economic Development

·         Private Sector Housing Follow Up

·         Sports Pitches Improvements

·         Treasury Management

h.    reported on other work ongoing in relation to:

·         Housing Benefit Subsidy Testing -  now completed

·         The Expenses claim for the European Election in May 2019 currently being checked

i.      highlighted details of audits postponed following agreement of the S151 Officer due to some 18/19 audits taking longer than expected:

·         Welfare Reform-Universal Credit (some detailed work ongoing)

·         Apprentice Scheme - Financial Arrangements

·         Scrutiny - Operation and Management Training

j.      detailed other matters of interest including:

·         Lincolnshire Audit Committee Forum

·         Brexit

·         Guidance for Audit Committees - Cloud Services

11. highlighted performance against a range of indicators, with high achievement secured in respect of Audit KPI’s to date

12. detailed the contents of the Audit Plan Schedule at Appendix 4 of the report

13. requested members' consideration on the content of the report.

Members discussed the content of the report in further detail, asking questions as follows:

·         Question: The audit of Boultham Park Project in part only in relation to Linkage Trust partnership agreement was difficult to assess without the fuller picture?

·         Response: Officers had to be selective in their choice of Audit, the service did not have the resources to audit everything. The first audit of the Boultham Park Project concentrated on the partnership project and the second on the final account.

·         Question: How long had it taken for officers to be asked to look at an audit of Western Growth Corridor? It was a longstanding project.

·         Response: Officers were currently looking at governance risk in relation to the Western Growth Corridor project. Other elements would be audited during its lifespan.

·         Question: Did the detailed work on Universal Credit (UC) include investigation of the problems experienced during preparatory work before it was introduced?

·         Response: Auditors were looking at the impact of UC on rent payments and UC advice arrangements.

·         Comment: There was a piece of work going through Housing Scrutiny Committee to allow tenants on Universal Credit moving address to have their information automatically updated on the Universal Credit system.

·         Response: The Head of Shared Revenues and Benefits was looking at how to coordinate services to provide the best possible advice to customers.

·         Comment: Members needed more information on the figures behind the Western Growth Corridor planning application moving forward.

·         Question: Had any work been carried out in terms of Brexit on risk and the business rate base?

·         Response: A report was currently being prepared on financial assumptions for the MTFS, including the business rate base. The retention of business rates had been deferred for another year which had a positive impact on the council.

·         Question: Did we already use cloud services?

·         Response: The ‘cloud’ was a term for using the internet to access systems and data stored outside an organisation’s own premises. The council used some. Some local authorities were moving forward faster but there were risks involved and costs to take into account.

·         Question: Why had scrutiny member training been deferred to quarter 1 2020/21?

·         Response: This was purely down to a resource issue.

RESOLVED that the contents of the report and continuation of further monitoring arrangements be noted.