Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Stenhouse.

There were no declarations of interest given at the meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 15 July 2024 were confirmed.

There were no matters arising from the above minutes.

The Executive Director - Resources advised that the Work Programme is currently under review with the Monitoring Officer and would be circulated in due course.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Head of Internal Audit.

The Head of Internal Audit reported on the progress made in relation to the delivery of the Annual Audit Plan for 2024/25.

The head of Internal Audit directed Members to Appendix 1 to this report which showed the progress to date in relation ton the implementation of the agreed recommendations. This appendix also reflected the year in which the audit was undertaken and identified between outstanding recommendations that had previously been reported to the Committee and then those that had become outstanding this time round. A total of 49 recommendations (7 Urgent, 25 Important and 17 Routine) were currently outstanding. A further 22 recommendations are not yet due, one of which has been cancelled and three are in the final report stage.

Councillor Wainwright referred toGY2223 - Housing Voids which is part of the 2024/25 Repairs and Voids Maintenance (GY NORSE) audit and asked how many long term voids the Council had, as he had been made aware of a property that had been empty for three years.

The Head of Internal Audit advised that that would be for management to control and long term voids are sometimes required if major refurbishments are required but the normal turnaround period for a normal void would be 10 - 14 days.

The Head of Internal Audit drew Members' attention to Executive Summary GY2505 - Contract Management and advised that the Council has acknowledged the need for improved control but does not currently have the resources to accept the recommendations.

Councillor Wainwright stated that he was not happy but it was a resource issue. Councillor Capewell commented that there must be a way to deal with this in the meantime.

The Monitoring Officer advised that work is ongoing with regard to the Contracts Register which has had two officers working on it as a project over the past year. Missing historical information has been added to the register which has made a huge difference and it is being continually updated. The current Point of Contact is temporary and relies on Heads of  Service  and contract owners to provide her with information. It is not incumbent on her to source the information. The register is being updated but there is no dedicated resource at present to drive it. Work is ongoing to secure funding for an inhouse Contract and Procurement position.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee receive the progress update relating to the Audit Plan for 2024/25.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Executive Director - Resources.

The Executive Director - Resources advised that the draft Statement of Accounts 2021/22 was published in August 2024, following the completion of the 2020/21 Statement of Accounts in April 2024.

The Executive Director - Resources gave an update on audit arrangements and outstanding draft Statement of Accounts to tackle the the backlog of unaudited local body accounts in England. A statutory backstop date has been set to clear the backlog of unaudited accounts up-to-and-including financial year 2022/23. Backstop dates have also been set for financial years 2023/24 - 2027/28.

The Finance team are now working to finalise the draft 2022/23 and 2023/24 accounts by December 2024.

Councillor Carpenter commented that he felt backstop dates were a bit risky as it was possible to write off some things you weren't sure of.

Councillor Wainwright stated he felt that backstop dates were a good thing as every council is in the same position.

RESOLVED:-

That Committee consider and approve the draft unaudited statement of accounts for 2021/22.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Corporate Risk Officer.

The Corporate Risk Officer advised that the report provides an update for the work undertaken to implement the Action Points for 2023/24 and the revised Action Plan for 2024/25.. The actin plan will help to inform the Committee's view of the adequacy of the Council's risk management arrangements and allow it to fulfil its responsibility outlined it ints terms of reference.

Councillor Wainwright referred to Skillsgate training and asked if there was a requirement for all members to complete the training as not all Members currently do.

The Monitoring Officer advised that training cannot be made mandatory as Members are not employed by the Council and that it is down to Members to take advantage of the training offered to them. Training is, However, mandatory for Members of the Licensing and Development Control committees. The Monitoring Officer asked Members if they would like to see a report of which training Members had completed.

Councillor Carpenter stated that this should be down to Group Leaders to chase up.

The Monitoring Officer advised that she would arrange for Group Leaders to receive a list of training that Members had completed.

Councillor Wainwright commented that there had been no training for Development Control Members since the election. Councillor Carpenter advised that this had been programmed in for 21 October 2024.

RESOLVED:-

That the Committee note and approve the Action Plan for 2024/25.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Monitoring Officer, which had been deferred from the previous meeting.

The Monitoring Officer advised that the report provides an annual update to the Council's Code of Corporate Governance, in accordance with best practice. The Code of Corporate Governance shows that it has a high degree of compliance with the principles and sub-principles. Officers have identified areas where work is to be undertaken to further strengthen the governance arrangements and works will continue during the year to progress with the implementation of these areas to be developed.

RESOLVED:-

That Committee approve the updated Code of Corporate Governance as appended.

The Committee received and considered the report from the Monitoring Officer, which had been deferred from the previous meeting.

The Monitoring Officer reported that GYBC has approved and adopted a code of corporate governance, which is consistent with the principles of the CIPFA/SOLACE Framework Delivering Good Governance in Local Government. This statement explains how GYBC has complied with the code and also meets the requirement of regulation 4(2) of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2011 in relation to conducting a review of the effectiveness of its system of internal control.

The report shows the arrangements that are in place for ensuring good governance and the management of risk. The Annual Governance Statement has been informed by the Code of Corporate Governance and the Assurance Statements that are completed by members of the Management Team. It also identifies any gaps that have been identified during 2023/24 and actions that will be taken to address those areas of concern during 2024/25.

The Annul Governance Statement for 2023/24 is relevant to the Cabinet model of Governance now in place which includes Scrutiny Committee.

Over the coming year steps will be taken to address the matter identified in the report to further enhance the governance arrangements. These steps will address the need for improvements that were identified during the review of effectiveness and will monitor their implementation and operation as part of our next annual review.

RESOLVED:-

That Committee consider and approve the 2023/24 Annual Governance Statement.

The Chairman reported that there was no other business being of sufficient urgency to warrant consideration at the meeting.

RESOLVED:-

In the event of the Committee wishing to exclude the public from the meeting, the
following resolution will be moved:- "That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local
Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item
of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information
as defined in paragraph 1 of Part I of Schedule 12(A) of the said Act.