Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE POLICY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MANAGER

To review the draft Annual Governance Statement (AGS) including Action Plan for the year 2020/21.

RESOLVED: That the draft AGS Action Plan be noted in order for it to be finalised for approval as soon as possible after the Council’s External Audit has been completed.

REASON FOR DECISION: The Committee is the legal body with responsibility for approval of the AGS. Reporting the draft AGS and Action Plan at this stage provides an opportunity for the Committee to assess and comment on the draft, before it is finalised and brought back for approval after the External Audit has been completed.

Audio Recording – 13 Minutes 30 Seconds

The Policy and Community Engagement Manager presented the report entitled Annual Governance Statement 2020/21 as well as Appendix A and drew Members’ attention to the following items within the report:

·                The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015/234 placed a requirement on the Council to undertake an annual review of the effectiveness of the system of internal controls and prepare an Annual Governance Statement (AGS);

·                The AGS must be considered by Members of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee and the AGS approved under Regulation 6(4)(a) AAR 2015;

·                The draft AGS had been prepared following an in-depth review/ input and scoring of arrangements by the Leadership against the Framework 2016; and

·                The final AGS needed to be approved and accompany the Statement of Accounts. By presenting the draft AGS to this Committee before the audit of the accounts had concluded, the Committee would have time to raise any points that may need to be addressed. The Council had been notified by Ernst and Young that the audit of the Council’s Statement of Accounts would not commence until at least November.

The Policy and Community Engagement Manager advised Members that Appendix A was not the entire Annual Governance Statement but a shorter more meaningful communication of the key areas that were being reported on.

It was:

RESOLVED: That the draft AGS Action Plan be noted in order for it to be finalised for approval as soon as possible after the Council’s External Audit has been completed.

REASON FOR DECISION: The Committee is the legal body with responsibility for approval of the AGS. Reporting the draft AGS and Action Plan at this stage provides an opportunity for the Committee to assess and comment on the draft, before it is finalised and brought back for approval after the External Audit has been completed.