Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Powell-Vaughan.

The Panel noted the resignation of Councillor Powell-Vaughan and the appointment of Councillor P Baillie in place thereof in accordance with the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 4.3.

To appoint a Vice-Chair for the Municipal Year 2025/26.

RESOLVED: That Councillor Chapman be appointed Vice-Chair for the Municipal Year 2025/26.

To approve and sign as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 7^th April 2025and to deal with any matters arising, attached.

RESOLVED: that the minutes for the Committee meeting on 7^th April 2025 be approved and signed as a correct record.

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director of Enabling Services and S151 Officer detailing the Draft Statement of Accounts 2024/25.  It was noted that the appointed external auditors were due to commence the 2024/25-year end audit on 7^th July 2025 which was expected to be completed by October 2025. There had been positive early planning and engagement with Ernst & Young LLP who would be conducting the audit and as such was on track and noted the importance of keeping momentum up.

The Committee also noted under the Council’s Equal Pay Claim Schools Forum were being asked to agree £10.9 million from the Dedicated Schools Grant to attribute to meeting the equal pay claims obligations.  Should Schools Forum not agree this then it would be referred to the Secretary of State to adjudicate.

RESOLVED:

(i)  That the draft statement of accounts 2024/25 has been signed by the S151 Officer and is now brought to this Committee for comment be noted; and

(ii)  That the audited statement of accounts 2024/25 will be presented to the Committee for approval following completion of the audit be noted.

The Committee received and noted the report of the Director of Legal and Governance detailing the draft Annual Governance Statement 2024-25 noting that the final version would be signed as part of the Statement of Accounts.  The Committee noted that there appeared to be more governance issues listed than in the previous year but acknowledged those identified had a resources plan in place.

Report of the Executive Director Enabling Services and S151 Officer providing an overview of the External Assurance Review undertaken during 2024/25 at the request of MHCLG and sets out the progress made against the recommendations.

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Enabling Services and S151 Officer detailing the findings of the City Council External Assurance Review published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.  The report also provided an update on the actions taken to address the risks and implement recommendations made in the review.

The Committee noted that there had been a number of external reviews which had provided recommendation and that these need collating into a clear consolidated action plan which would be submitted to the September meeting for review and then reported on quarterly going forward.

RESOLVED:

(i)  That the findings of the External Assurance Review and progress made against the key risks highlighted and recommendations made in the review be noted;

(ii)  That a deep dive into specific key risks and recommendations be requested when the action plan comes back for review; and

(iii)  That the consolidated action plan to address recommendations made across the following external reviews be monitored and reviewed through quarterly reporting to the Committee.

·  CIPFA Financial Resilience Review (2023)

·  CfGS Review of Governance and Decision Making

·  Value for Money Commentary

·  External Assurance Review

·  Corporate Peer Challenge

Report of the Executive Director Enabling Services and S151 Officer providing an overview of the current arrangements for Local Audit and proposed reform arrangements, including the backstop arrangements to manage the impact of the local government audit backlog in England.

The Committee received and noted the report of the Executive Director of Enabling Services and S151 Officer providing an overview of the proposed changes to Local Audit, including the creation of the Local Audit Office. The report also set out the latest position for rebuilding assurance for the Statement of Accounts following the implementation of the backstop arrangements.

Report of the Head of Housing Needs & Support providing an update on Temporary Accommodation Action Plan

The Committee received and noted the report of the Executive Director of Resident Services providing an update on Temporary Accommodation Action Plan following Internal Audit issuing a limited assurance judgement in March 2025 in relation to how the Authority managed and assessed need for temporary accommodation and how it used accommodation in line with the relevant laws and policies.  The report summarised the progress made against the agreed actions and steps being taken to achieve the required level of assurance.