Agenda and minutes

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Reserve Members may attend meetings:-

(i)                 to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve;

(ii)               where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and

(iii)             the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve;

(iv)              if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival.

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Member:-

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:

(a)               all Members of the Committee;

(b)               all other Members present.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of interests made by Members.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2012 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

In accordance with the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985, the following agenda item was admitted late to the agenda so that the minutes could be approved at the earliest opportunity.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 4 September 2012 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

To receive questions (if any) from local residents/organisations under the provisions of Committee Procedure Rule 17 (Part 4B of the Constitution).

RESOLVED:  To note that no petitions were received, questions put or deputations received.

To receive references from Council and any other Committees or Panels (if any).

None were received.

Report of the Director of Legal and Governance Services

The Committee received a report which set out information on the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy (The Policy).  The Director of Legal and Governance Services introduced the report and explained that this was a regular annual report.  Within the past year there had been indications that the Government was proposing to introduce new protection for whistleblowing in the public sector but had recently announced that this proposal was now on hold.

The Director of Legal and Governance Services also reported that:

·                     the Policy had been in existence for a number of years.  It protected employees from harassment or victimisation if they raised a complaint.  The Policy was also published widely on the Council’s website;

·                     in the last twelve months, the Council had received only one complaint under the Policy.  The issue raised was investigated and the claims made were not substantiated.

During the discussion on this item, Members of the Committee raised a number of issues, which officers responded to as follows:

·                     it was not believed that the sole complaint made under the Policy indicated that there was an issue relating to non-reporting.  However it was recognised that there was an ongoing issue for the Council in increasing confidence amongst staff generally to feel able to raise issues with their manager.  This issue had been indicated by recent staff surveys;

·                     the Policy ensured that comprehensive responses were provided to all complainants to address all of their concerns;

·                     if an employee raised an issue, every effort was made in order to ensure confidentiality.  However, when conducting an investigation further information may be required from other employees;

·                     complaints under the Policy were usually at the formal end of the scale in relation to dealing with issues raised by employees.  The majority of complaints made by employees were dealt with under the Conduct Procedures;

·                     it was important that senior officers within the Council set the right tone.  This involved addressing broader cultural issues including how ideas were welcomed and reacting positively to different issues;

·                     complaints made anonymously under the Policy were harder to investigate and more difficult to substantiate.  Whilst there was an ability to make complaints anonymously, if the frequency of these increased, it would become onerous for staff in terms of the time spent on investigations.  It was better that the Council to create a climate of trust and confidence amongst its staff;

·                     all new members of staff were advised of the Policy as part of their Corporate Induction.

During the discussion on this item, various Members of the Committee made a number of comments as follows:

·                     it was important that all staff felt comfortable in their ability to make a complaint under the Policy.  This was particularly important for junior members of staff who could feel more worried about repercussions and a breach of confidentiality.  In addition to this, the Policy was not user friendly.  For these reasons there had to be a greater emphasis on allowing employees to raise complaints anonymously;

·                     Members had an important role to play, in representing employees  ...  view the full minutes text for item 196.

Report of the Assistant Chief Executive

This report set out the results of the 2011/2012 Management Assurance Exercise. In response to questions raised by Members of the Committee, officers reported the following:

·                     the Internal Audit team was currently small. However work is currently being undertaken to determine how best to fill vacant posts to meet the needs of the Council;

·                     if purchase order numbers were raised after an invoice had been received, there was currently little disciplinary action taken.  It was important to recognise that employees worked hard and sometimes systems and processes led to errors.  Training was being conducted and procedures were being tightened up.  In addition to this, suppliers were also being advised of the consequences if they issued invoices without the relevant purchase order number.

RESOLVED:  That the results of the 2011/12 Management Assurance Exercise were suitable for use as supporting evidence for the Annual Governance Statement.

Report of the Corporate Director of Resources

In accordance with the Local Governance (Access to Information) Act 1985, this agenda item was admitted late to the agenda as at the time of publication of the agenda, the Statement of Accounts were being amended for late, technical audit adjustments.

The Committee welcomed representatives from the Council’s auditors, Deloitte LLP (Deloitte), who were in attendance for this item.

At the outset, a Member of the Committee stated that in previous years it had been customary for the auditors to meet privately with the Committee prior to the meeting where the Council’s final accounts were approved.  Whilst there were no issues to be raised on this occasion, it was hoped that this practice would continue in the future.  A representative from Deloitte responded that they would be happy to continue with this practice in the future and would be happy to meet with Members of the Committee prior to the next meeting, if requested.

The Committee then proceeded to consider the report which presented the audited Statement of Accounts for 2011/12.  The Corporate Director of Resources reported that there were five recommendations for the Committee to consider as contained within the report.  The report would be presented to the Committee in two sections.  The first section would focus on the audited Statement of Accounts.  The second section would focus on the audited Pension Fund Account.

A representative from Deloitte introduced the audited Statement of Accounts and reported the following points:

·                     the interim findings had been highlighted to the last meeting of the Committee.  All issues had been resolved between Deloitte and the Finance Team within the Council.  It was expected that the Statement of Accounts would be finalised by the end of the week;

·                     the accounts would not be certified at this stage due to an outstanding objection, raised by a resident a number of years ago in relation to credit card charges on penalty enforcement notices.  It was expected that this issue would be resolved within a couple of months;

·                     key risk areas had been identified as part of the audit planning process.  One of these risks related to revaluation of properties.  This was judgemental and work was focused on the assumptions made.  Overall they were satisfied with the approach and assumptions made by the Council;

·                     another key risk area related to the valuation of the pension liability.  They found that the assumptions used by the authority in this valuation fell within a reasonable range;

·                     recognition of grant income was also a key risk.  This included judgements made on different recognition criteria attached to individual grants.  Deloitte had made a recommendation to the Council to hold a central register;

·                     one other key risk was capital miscoding.  The work carried out by them had demonstrated that the new control environment adopted by the Council operated well.  They had worked closely with the Internal Audit team on this aspect;

·                     large provisions had also been included as a key risk area.  heir review of the assumptions made by the Council in calculating  ...  view the full minutes text for item 198.

Which cannot otherwise be dealt with.

The Chairman confirmed a briefing had been conducted for the Committee earlier that day on the investment of the Council’s cash balances.  Option 3 of the proposals had been expressed as the preferred option by Members present.  This would be used as guidance to develop proposals before a decision was required by the Full Council.