Venue: Civic Suite 0.1A, Pathfinder House, St Mary's Street, Huntingdon, PE29 3TN
Contact: Mrs H Taylor, Senior Democratic Services Officer, Tel No: 01480 388008 / e-mail: Helen.Taylor@huntingdonshire.gov.uk
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To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 29th January 2014. Contact: Mrs H J Taylor 388008 Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting of the Panel held on 29th January 2014 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman. |
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Members' Interests To receive from Members declarations as to disclosable pecuniary, non-disclosable pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests in relation to any Agenda item. See Notes below. Minutes: No declarations were received. |
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Corporate Governance - progress report To receive a report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services. Contact: Mrs H J Taylor 388008 Minutes: The Panel received a report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) which contained details of actions taken in response to recent discussions and decisions. Members noted that the Managing Director would be submitting a report on procurement practices to the Panel’s next meeting. |
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procurement measures to support compliance To consider a report by the Procurement Manager on measures introduced or proposed to support procurement compliance. Contact: N Arkle 388104 Minutes: Further to Minute No 13/30, a report by the Procurement Manager was submitted (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) detailing the measures that had been introduced to support compliance with the Code of Procurement.
Particular attention was drawn to a new requirement in the Code of Procurement for Managers to advise the Procurement Manager by 1st April of all contracts to be advertised in the following year along with spend likely to exceed £100,000. Having been advised that a reminder had been issued to Managers, Members requested clarification on the number of Managers not complying with the requirement.
Having questioned the circumstances in which the Head of Legal and Democratic Services would restrict an organisation involved in preparing a specification or contract document from being invited to quote or tender, the Panel
RESOLVED
that the report be received and the measures implemented and proposed to support compliance with the Code of Procurement noted. |
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Review of the Council's constitution To consider a report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services seeking the Panel’s views on proposed changes to the Council’s Constitution.
(Copies of the Scheme of Delegation have been provided to Panel Members only) Contact: Ms C Deller 388007 Additional documents:
Minutes: (Councillor N J Guyatt, Deputy Executive Leader and Member of the Council’s Programme Group was in attendance for consideration of this item)
With reference to a report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Panel undertook a review of the Council’s Constitution. The Panel were reminded of the procedure for a review in which all Members had been offered the opportunity to submit comments individually on the Constitution and senior managers had also been requested to update the scheme and suggest changes.
The Panel considered a proposal that the monitoring element of the Anti-fraud and Corruption Strategy be transferred from the Corporate Governance Panel to the Overview and Scrutiny Panel. In so doing, the consensus among Members was that the function should remain with the Corporate Governance Panel. Members did support the proposed deletion of the requirement for a report to be submitted to the next meeting where payments of up to £1000 had been approved by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, after consultation with the Chairman of the Corporate Governance Panel, on the basis that the Panel receives an annual report on complaint outcomes.
In discussing a suggestion to vary the terms of reference of the Corporate Governance Panel and Elections Working Group, Members acknowledged that there was merit in transferring some functions to the Standards Committee. However, the Panel felt that the review of the Constitution should remain with the Corporate Governance Panel given the association with the Codes of Financial Management and Procurement.
With regard to a series of initiatives to enliven Council meetings, Members expressed support for trialling alternative layouts in the Civic Suite but felt that further thought needed to be given to the headline debate, Green Paper, frequency of meetings, Annual State of the District Address, Council Programme group and Reports of the Cabinet, Panels and Committees. In that respect, it was suggested that a working group be established to consider these issues further.
Members’ attention was drawn to proposed changes to the Code of Procurement. It was reported that a further change to the Code would be made to reflect the process of debriefing unsuccessful tenderers. At the same time, the Deputy Executive Leader referred to the proposed changes to the procurement thresholds and reported that he would be seeking the views of the Cabinet on the levels as he felt that they were too prescriptive. In that respect, the Panel requested that the views of the Cabinet be forwarded to the new Working Group for consideration.
Having considered other issues relating to reporting arrangements for the determination of pay awards, the Employees’ Code of Conduct, Member Champions, Motions without Notice, the Code of Financial Management and the Management Structure, the Panel
RESOLVED
that a Working Group comprising of the Executive Leader or Deputy Executive Leader, the Chairman of the Council and Councillors M Baker, E R Butler, K Churchill and G Harlock be established to consider the headline ... view the full minutes text for item 60. |
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External Audit: Audit Plan 2013/14 To receive a report from the Accountancy Manager on the external audit plan for 2013/14. Contact: C Mason 388157 Additional documents: Minutes: (Mr C Everest and Ms J Dudley of PricewaterhouseCoopers were in attendance for consideration of this item).
The Panel received and noted a report by the external auditors (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) detailing the draft External Audit Plan for 2013/14.
Ms J Dudley of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP drew the Panel’s attention to the key audit risk areas identified for the year and highlighted the approach that would be undertaken to complete these audits.
Members’ views on fraud were then sought by the external auditors where it was concluded that any areas to bring to the attention of the external auditors would arise from the Fraud Working Group.
After an explanation on how it was arrived at, Members discussed the suggested £90k triviality threshold.
In response to a question, the Panel received clarification on how the external auditors would be involved in detecting fraud. Attention then was drawn to the level of audit fees for the 2013/14 year, which was expected to be on a par with this year. Having received assurances that any additional testing relating to the new Council Tax Support Scheme and the localisation of Business Rates would be met from within existing resources, the Panel
RESOLVED
that the content of the draft External Audit Plan for 2013/14 be noted and the triviality threshold set at £90k.
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Accounting policies for the annual financial report 2013/14 To receive a report from the Accountancy Manager seeking approval of accounting policies for the 2013/14 accounts. Contact: C Mason 388157 Minutes: Consideration was given to a report by the Accountancy Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) on the outcome of the annual review of accounting policies applied by the authority when producing the Annual Financial Report. The Panel noted that four policies now require amendment with two of these being considered significant. Having been reassured that the changes proposed were for the purpose of clarification and transparency to ensure compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards and would not have any direct financial implications, the Panel RESOLVED that the draft accounting policies for 2013/14, as set out in Annex A to the report, be approved. |
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To consider a report by the Internal Audit Manager seeking endorsement for a proposed Employee’s Code of Conduct. Contact: D Harwood 388115 Minutes: Further to Minute No. 13/30 and with the assistance of a report by the Internal Audit Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book), the Panel considered the content of an Employee Handbook designed to replace and strengthen the existing Employee’s Code of Conduct. Having suggested that the document would be enhanced by the inclusion of an introduction and in thanking officers on the quality and high standard of the documents, the Panel RESOLVED
(a) that the content of the Employee Handbook be noted; and
(b) that the Head of Paid Service be authorised, after consultation with the Chairmen and Vice-Chairmen of the Corporate Governance and the Employment Panels, to consider and finalise the Employee Handbook with a view to submitting the document to full Council for adoption on 30th April 2014. |
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Audit Committee Guidance To receive a report by the Internal Audit and Risk Manager on new guidance by CIPFA – Audit Committees Practical Guidance for Local Authorities and Police 2013. Contact: D Harwood 388115 Minutes: A report was submitted by the Internal Audit & Risk Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) summarising the content of new guidance issued by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy on the role and functions of an audit committee.
The report described, in brief, a revised position statement which included seven core functions of an audit committee, proposed terms of reference and two checklists for evaluating the Panel’s effectiveness.
In discussing the core functions, attention was drawn to the monitoring of the effectiveness of the control environment, including arrangements for ensuring value for money and Members indicated their wish to receive further information on how officers intend to improve the Panel’s understanding of this.
Members were advised that the Panel’s current terms of reference have been assessed against the model terms and remain appropriate. However, it was suggested that the Panel may wish to consider the model terms in more detail as part of their annual effectiveness review. Whereupon, it was
RESOLVED
that the content of the report be noted and a review of the Panel’s Terms of Reference be undertaken during the annual effectiveness review. |
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Risk Register update To receive a report by the Internal Audit and Risk Manager providing an update on the Risk Register. Contact: D Harwood 388115 Minutes: With the aid of a report by the Audit and Risk Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) the Panel were acquainted with changes made to the risk register between 3rd September 2013 to 11th March 2014 inclusive.
Having requested clarification as to why reduced retained business rates were classified as an operational risk rather than corporate risk, the Panel
RESOLVED
that the contents of the report now submitted be noted. |
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Work and Training Programme To consider a report by the Internal Audit Manager.
Contact: D Harwood 388115 Minutes: By way of a report by the Internal Audit Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) Members received and noted a work programme for the Panel for the period 2014/15. In doing so, the Panel requested that their next training session be arranged for after the May elections. |
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Mr S Couper Minutes: The Panel was informed that this would be the last meeting that Steve Couper would attend in his role of Assistant Director, Finance and Resources, prior to his retirement on 31st March 2014. The Chairman extended his appreciation for the contribution made to the Panel by Mr Couper and extended the Panel’s best wishes to him for a happy and healthy retirement |