Venue: Committee Room 5, Guildhall, Swansea
Contact: Democratic Services: - 636923
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Election of Chair for 2018-2019 Municipal Year. Minutes: Resolved that Paula O’Connor be elected Chair for the 2018-2019 Municipal Year. (Paula O’Connor (Independent Chair) presided) |
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Election of Vice-Chair for 2018-2019 Municipal Year. Minutes: Resolved that Councillor P R Hood-Williams be elected Vice-Chair for the 2018-2019 Municipal Year. |
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Disclosures of Personal and Prejudicial Interests. Minutes: In accordance with the Code
of Conduct adopted by the City and County of Swansea, the following interests were declared: - Councillor M B Lewis – Minute
No. 5 – Internal Audit Monitoring Report Quarter 4 2017/18 - Member of the Pension
Fund Committee – personal. Councillor W G Thomas -
Minute No. 5 – Internal Audit Monitoring Report Quarter 4 2017/18 - Member of
the Pension Fund Committee – personal. Councillor T M White - Minute
No. 5 – Internal Audit Monitoring Report Quarter 4 2017/18 - Member of the
Pension Board – personal and Minute No. 9 – Update on
Actions from Performance Review 2016/17 – personal. Paula O’Connor – Agenda as a
whole – Employee of Velindre NHS Trust – Providing
Internal Audit Service as Head of Internal Audit to Abertawe Bro Morgannwg
University Health Board – Personal. |
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To approve & sign the Minutes of the previous meeting(s) as a correct record. Minutes: Resolved
that the Minutes of the previous meeting of the Audit Committee were approved as a correct record subject to the following
amendments: - ·
Minute No.72 – Minutes The following be added:
- ‘The Committee having a flavour of the key
risks of the Authority, particularly the impact of the 31 high risks
identified. The Committee should be able
to assess the significance of risks against the well-being objectives of the
Council and the risks should be highlighted / made public.’ ·
Minute No. 78 – Internal Audit Section – Fraud
Function Anti-Fraud Plan for 2018-2019 Add
the following: - ‘Concern
was expressed regarding the current resources within the Section and the very
limited amount of pro-active work being undertaken and the number of
investigations in progress.’ Noted comments of the Committee in respect of Minute No.77 – Internal Audit
Annual Plan 2018-2019, resolution 2) which required an amended Internal Audit
Plan to be reported to the next Committee meeting. The
Chair explained that she had agreed an amended Work Programme with the Head of
Financial Services and Service Centre and Chief Auditor. |
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Internal Audit Monitoring Report Quarter 4 2017/18. PDF 131 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Chief Auditor presented a report which
provided the
audits finalised and any other work undertaken by the Internal Audit Section
during the period 1 January 2018 to 31 March 2018. It was outlined that he Internal Audit
Section had seen a significant increase in the levels of sickness in the 4th
quarter of 2017/18 with a total of 32.5 days sickness absence. 28 days related to one part time member of
staff being on long term sick during the period. The cumulative sickness absence to date stood
at 149.5 days against a projected annual budget of 80 days. It was added that a total of 40 audits were
finalised during Quarter 4 and these were provided at Appendix 1, which also
showed the level of assurance given at the end of the audit and the number of
recommendations made and agreed. A total of 332 audit
recommendations were made and management agreed to implement all but one of the
recommendations i.e. 99.7% against a target of 95%. Details of classifications and grants audited were also provided. An analysis of the details in Appendix 2 showed that by the
end of March 2018, approximately 86% of the Audit Plan were either completed or
in progress. Details of additional work done by Internal Audit and
follow-ups completed between 1 January 2018 to 31 March 2018
were also provided. The Committee were also provided with details of significant
issues which led to the moderate ratings issued in the
quarter. It highlighted the audit of
Social Care Contracts which reviewed the progress made
to date in ensuring that all contracts complied with CPR’s. The Committee asked questions of the Officer, which were responded to accordingly. Discussions included the following: - ·
How sickness levels had not significantly
affected the Audit Plan; ·
Identifying and prioritising high risk audits; ·
Checks and procedures surrounding grant audits; ·
Deferred audits being prioritised in quarter 1
of the following financial year; ·
Prioritising audits in Information Technology; ·
Undertaking spot check audits on services; ·
Building GDPR into the 2018-2019 programme. Resolved that: - 1)
The contents of the report be noted; 2)
High risk audits be prioritised; 3)
Deferred audits relating to governance and risk
be undertaken in Quarter 1 or 2 2018-2019; 4)
GDPR should be added to the 2018-2019 audit
programme; 5) The Committee be advised if the Council is GDPR compliant. |
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Response to Moderate Report Issued in Quarter 4. (Verbal) Minutes: The Head of Adult Services updated the Committee on the
moderate assurance level of the audit of Social Care Contracts. She provided the historical background to Social Care
Contracts, particularly since April 2014 when Social Care contracts came under
the jurisdiction of the Council’s Contract Procedure Rules. She added that even though the numbers
appeared high, a huge amount of work had taken place and assured the Committee
that the situation had greatly improved. It was outlined that of the 94 reviewed, 16 were closed and 78 were being significantly overhauled and
examples of previous practice / the review were provided. The Committee discussed the following: - ·
The review resulting in contracts losing /
saving money; ·
The review to ensure contract specifications
remain appropriate for needs; ·
The current fragile nature of the care sector; ·
Contracts providing value for money; ·
Training provision / qualifications of staff who
negotiated contracts; ·
Costs to the service of renegotiating contracts. Resolved that: - 1)
The content of the update be noted; 2) The Committee be updated on completed actions and the timeline for outstanding actions. |
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Audit Committee Initial Training. (Verbal) Minutes: The Head of Financial Services and Service Centre / Section 151
Officer provided the Committee with details regarding the role of the Audit
Committee. He emphasised the need for the Committee to hold matters to
account to provide public assurance; the role of External Auditors within the
process; the diminishing timetable to close the Statement of Accounts; the
current difficult financial times; and the need to have a good functioning
Audit Committee. In addition, he made reference to the
CIPFA definition of an Audit Committee and its role, whilst working in partnership
with scrutiny. Resolved that the contents of the training be noted. |
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Risk Management Training. (Verbal) Minutes: The Strategic Delivery & Performance Manager provided an
overview presentation on Risk Management. Details provided included: - ·
Purpose and objective; ·
What is risk / risk management? ·
The risk management cycle; ·
Risk identification / evaluation / response
control; ·
Audit Committee – key responsibilities; ·
Audit Committee – key considerations on the
status of risk in the Council. The Committee asked questions in relation to the presentation,
which were responded to accordingly. Discussions centred around the following: - ·
Methods of highlighting risk; ·
The need for the risks to be linked to Council
objectives as well as operational business areas; ·
Linking risk management with the budget cycle; ·
Risk management relating to capital projects; ·
Identifying, the level of and controlling risk; ·
The Committee being fully aware of the risks
within the Council; ·
Identifying / evaluating risk; ·
Risk comparisons with other local authorities. Resolved that the contents of the presentation be noted. |
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Update on Actions from Performance Review 2016/17. PDF 36 KB Minutes: The Chief Auditor provided an update report following the Audit
Committee Performance Review 2016/17. A
summary of the key findings that came out of the performance review was provided at Appendix 1. It was added that a Special Audit
Committee had been scheduled for 26 June 2018 in order to discuss the item in
detail. The Chair stated that the report was helpful in informing
the Council of the outstanding issues and being aware of the current position. She added that examples of good practice from
other local authorities would be beneficial. Resolved that: - 1)
The contents of the report be noted; 2)
The report be discussed at a Special Audit
Committee scheduled for 10
a.m. on Tuesday, 26 June 2018. |
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Wales Audit Office Update. PDF 272 KB Minutes: Geraint Norman, Wales Audit Office presented the Wales Audit
Office Update Report – June 2018. Details provided included Financial
audit work and Pension Fund Audit work 2017/18 – City and County of Swansea and
Performance Audit work. Resolved that the contents of the report be noted. |
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Wales Audit Office Proposals for Improvement Report - Six-Month Update. PDF 102 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Strategic Delivery & Performance Manager presented a
report that provided an overview of the status of Swansea Council’s response to
proposals for improvement made by Wales Audit Office to provide assurance to the
Committee on progress. Appendix A provided the Six-month Status Update Report and
the key proposals / next steps were outlined. The Committee highlighted tracking items for progress to
ensure delivery and assurance that the Authority could progress within the
timelines. The Chair queried the slow progress in completing the
actions regarding the 2014/15 assessment. Resolved that the contents of the report be noted. |
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Overview of the Overall Status of Risk Report Quarter 4 2017/18. PDF 102 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Strategic Delivery & Performance Manager presented
an overview of the status of risk in the Council in order to provide assurance
to the Committee on the effectiveness of the Risk Management Policy, framework and
its operation within the Council.
Appendix A provided a summary of the overall status of risk within the
Council, quarter 4 2017/18. He highlighted that 73% of the risks that were in place on
28 December 2017 were recorded as having been reviewed
by 27 March 2018. He added that while
the position had improved, further progress was needed. He referred to movement within the Register and stated that
further progress was required from responsible officers to record reasons for
removing risks from the register would be recorded in
future in order to provide an audit trail. The Chair commented that a level of detail regarding each
risk was required and assurance that the Authority was managing the risks. She added that open discussions regarding the
risks was required at Committee. The
Strategic Delivery and Performance Manager noted that he had
been given authorisation by CMT to allow Committee Members full access
to the Corporate Risk Register that contains corporate level risks and the
detail required. Discussions followed and it was noted that there may be occasions when discussions regarding the Corporate
Risk Register would have to occur in private session. It was noted that Councillors now
had access to the online Corporate Risk Register. Resolved that: - 1)
The contents of the report be noted; 2)
The Strategic Delivery & Performance Manager
seeks to provide the Chair with electronic access to the Corporate Risk
Register; 3)
A hard copy of the Corporate Risk Register be
provided to the Chair; 4) Future reports to include an appropriate level of information in order for the Audit Committee to discharge its responsibilities in accordance with the Terms of Reference. |
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Draft Audit Committee Training Programme Report. PDF 129 KB Minutes: The Chief Auditor presented the Draft Audit Committee
Training Programme 2018/19. The Chair highlighted that in future, training occurs prior
to the start of Committee meetings. She
added that the content of the Programme was good and would cover the training
needs of the Committee. Resolved that: - 1)
The Audit Committee Training Programme be approved; 2) Where possible, future training takes place prior to the commencement of Committee meetings. |
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Audit Committee Work Plan. (For Information) PDF 93 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Chief Auditor reported
the Audit Committee Work Plan for information.
He highlighted that the Audit
Committee terms of reference was included at Appendix 2 and would
be reported as part of future Work Plan reports. He added that the Committee would address the
key terms of reference going forward. The Chair highlighted that
the Work Plan was now focussed upon the Audit
Committee key roles and responsibilities.
The Committee welcomed the
new format / content with the focus on governance, risk and assurance. |
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Audit Committee Action Tracker Report. (For Information) PDF 132 KB Minutes: The Chief Auditor provided an Action Tracker report for
information. The Chair commented that Governance Framework would be
included in the 2018/19 Plan. In
addition, areas previously deferred would be brought back and more details of
the work completed would be provided. The Chief Auditor also provided an update regarding Minute No. 68 – Amendments to Contract Procedure Rules. |