Issue - meetings

SIAS ANNUAL REPORT 2024/25

Meeting: 10/09/2025 - Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (Item 21)

21 SIAS PROGRESS REPORT 2025/26 PDF 704 KB

REPORT OF THE SHARED INTERNAL AUDIT SERVICE

To receive the Internal Audit Service progress report 2024-25 of the SIAS.

Decision:

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted:

(1) The SIAS Progress Report for the period to 15 August 2025.

(2) The implementation status of the reported high priority recommendations.

(3) The plan amendments to the 2025/26 Annual Audit Plan.

REASON FOR DECISION: To report progress made by the SIAS in delivering the Council’s Annual Internal Audit Plan for 2025/26 as at 15 August 2025.

Minutes:

Audio recording – 54 minutes 39 seconds

The SIAS Head of Assurance presented the report entitled ‘SIAS Progress Report 2025/26’ and highlighted that:

· Member engagement was appreciated on final internal audit reports issued to FAR Committee members. Questions prior to the meeting were encouraged and would get a more detailed response.

· Page 40 showed the high priority recommendation, however since publication the Churchgate variation agreement had been signed off, so this should be considered implemented not partially implemented.

· Since publication the LGA Corporate Peer Review draft was issued so the draft reports performance indicator was now 9%.

· The UK Shared Prosperity Fund audit was inadvertently missing from Appendix B but will be included in future.

· The Digital Transformation Programme is part of the Council’s Delivery Plan however it was suggested that conducting this audit should be reviewed in light of service capacity and the impact of LGR more broadly on the Programme. A Cyber Risk audit was proposed as a swap, still permitting coverage of a key risk within the Delivery Plan.

The following Members asked questions:

· Councillor Ruth Brown

· Councillor Paul Ward

· Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham

· Independent Member John Cannon

In response to questions, the SIAS Head of Assurance stated that:

· Cyber Security is audited regularly but this audit would be cyber security risk in the context of LGR.

· Cyber security issues and challenges were common in Local Authorities that had already gone through reorganisation and / or devolution, so an audit would help support management of the relevant risks.

In response to questions, the Director - Resources stated that:

· Both digital transformation and cyber security have risks that should be audited.

· The decision around swapping the audit needed to made as soon as possible.

· Nothing was settled in regards to LGR however there were advantages of both SIAS and SAFS, therefore it would be a benefit to keeping them in any local government new arrangements.

Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham proposed and Councillor Ruth Brown seconded and, following a vote, it was: