Agenda item - Review of the Effectiveness of the Audit & Standards Committee

Report of the Executive Director of Finance & Resources (copy attached).

61.1         The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Finance & Resources in relation to the effectiveness of the Audit & Standards Committee; that sought to review the Committee after 18 months of operation. The report sought to prompt discussion of a range of issues to inform a final set of proposals to come before the Committee on 25 March 2014 and inform the 2014/15 workplan.

61.2         The Chair also added, by way of introduction, that the proposed working group, in the report, had already been set up informally and was to be chaired by Dr Horne. Following this Dr Horne added that both of the co-opted independent persons on the working group were able to bring experience from other sectors, and the working group would be able to draw on available resources to validate their work.

61.3         The Executive Director of Finance & Resources acknowledged the skills of the independent persons on the Committee, and welcomed the proactive agenda setting from the Committee in recent months as example of good practice for audit committees. It was added the working group would also be looking at the physical arrangements of the Committee and training for the Committee membership.

61.4         In response to Councillor Sykes the Head of Law clarification some of the wording in paragraph 3.8 of the report, and went on to add that the working group had been set up in advance of the report as it was believed it would be better to progress the work as soon as possible, but the formal status of the working group would need to be agreed by the full Committee as set out in the recommendation to the report. Councillor Sykes also noted that there was a greater scope for Group Spokespersons on the Committee to better champion and communicate with their political groups; as well supporting the role and work of the Monitoring Officer.

61.5         Councillor A. Norman noted that she been involved in Standards matters for some years and it was her view that the Panels had operated most effectively when they were chaired by an independent person who was best equipped to navigate the Members through the case. The Head of Law noted that there was no longer a legal requirement to have Panels independently chaired as there had been under the previous standards regime.

61.6         In response to Councillor Deane the Head of Law explained that the working group would be seeking to look at the procedure in relation to Standards Panels, not the specifics of individual cases; Dr Horne also added that the group would draw on different members’ experiences of various Panels, but it would not be appropriate to go into specific incidences. Councillor Lepper stated that it was important to undertake this type of work regularly to ensure procedures were properly fit for purpose.

61.7         Councillor Wealls commended the proactive work of Officers and those on the working group to quickly progress the formation of the group, and asked for more information on the role of the Committee in relation to governance and ethics. In response the Executive Director of Finance & Resources explained that those on the Committee had the capacity to act as champions of matters within its remit. The Committee had also been instrumental in bringing issues to the attention of Officers by challenging; asking questions and requesting reports.

61.8         Councillor Summers asked a series of questions and the Executive Director Finance & Resources responded that the term ‘audit committee’ could cover a wide range of other governance functions which were broader than simply internet audit. There was scope to consider the physical arrangements for the Committee and look at alternative layouts to better facilitate collaborative discussions. Where items were listed as Part 2 on agendas this had to meet with the necessary legislative requirements, but was also given full consideration as pre-meeting to ensure as much of the agenda as possible was published in Part 1.

61.9         Dr Horne referred to his questions relating to Risk Management sent to the Chair of the Committee which had been addressed prior to this meeting, and the Executive Director of Finance & Resources responded to Dr Horne’s questions about risk management and explained that over recent months the Committee had taken a strong lead in challenging Officers in relation to risk; this was also aided further by the continuity of membership of the Committee who could follow the annual work cycle.

61.10    The Chair noted he felt the reporting of actions from audit recommendations to departments had improved following increased emphasis from the Committee.

61.11    Following a query from Councillor Summers the Head of Law stated he felt the current Standards arrangements were correct for the authority, and he valued the time and insight provided by the independent persons. He added that it would be his preference for the Committee to schedule some time its workplan to review Council policies in a similar function that had been undertaken by the previous Standards Committee.

61.12    In response to a final query from Councillor Summers both the Head of Law and the Executive Director explained that all Members could formally raise their concerns through the provision of Members’ questions and notices of motion to Committees, and there would be an opportunity for the Committee to feed into the annual workplan when this was bought to the June meeting for approval.

61.13    RESOLVED:

(1)       That the themes identified in the member workshop and set out at 3.7 be noted and discussed.

(2)       That a cross-party Member working Group be set up to consider the procedures for dealing with Member complaints.

(3)       That a final report/s with recommendations on the above be brought to the Audit & Standards Committee on 25^th March 2014.