Agenda item

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – RESOURCES

To consider the Annual Report of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee for the 2024/25 Civic Year.

RESOLVED: 

(1)    That the Committee considered and commented on the Annual Report of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee as attached at Appendix A, particularly in relation to feedback on how the Committee operated during 2024/25.

(2)    That the Committee delegated to the Director – Resources, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, to make any changes to Appendix A arising from discussion of this report.

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: The Annual Report of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee be noted.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATIONS: To enable the Committee to consider the report before it is presented to Full Council. To provide Full Council with assurance as to the effectiveness of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.

Audio recording – 1 hour 16 minutes 07 seconds

The Director – Resources presented the report entitled ‘Finance, Audit and Risk Committee Annual Report 2024/25’ and highlighted that:

·       The report for Council outlined the good work of this Committee over the last civic year.

·       The progress on the recommendations made during this year following the SIAS audit were included at page 157 of the report.

·       Feedback from Committee members was included and any further comments at this meeting could be added.

·       The planned work for the year, including a Financial Regulations review and Medium-Term Financial Strategy in November, was outlined at page 161 of the report.

The following Members contributed to discussion:

·       Councillor Sean Nolan

·       Councillor Stewart Willoughby

·       Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham

·       Councillor Ruth Brown

·       Councillor Paul Ward

·       Independent Member John Cannon

The following points were raised:

·       The Committee thanked the Director – Resources and Officers in his team.

·       Members of the Committee had gained experience in the last civic year and were now understanding the important aspects of the reports and asking poignant questions. 

·       It was noted that the background work done by Officers was valuable.

·       The training sessions before the meetings were better as Committee Members did not have to give up an additional evening.

·       Committee Members should make use of opportunity to meet shared services, and the Chair was building a relationship with KPMG.

·       The Independent Member John Cannon was thanked and noted to have valuable experience and asked challenging questions to ensure good governance oversight.

·       The training sessions were effective and should be timed to meet the needs of the most Members.

·       Further training on Business Rates Pooling would be helpful for Members.

The Director – Resources added that the self-assessment survey completed by Members would inform future training and that should Members wish training could be after the Committee meetings depending on the length of the agenda. The Chair agreed this could be trialled at the meeting on 10 September 2025 as there were three agenda items planned.

The Independent Member commented that the Committee worked well and was always conducted in a positive and collaborative way focussed on residents. However, it was noted that debate on items was limited, and this could lead to certain issues being missed. The Chair clarified that the debate section was in relation to the recommendations and potential amendments, rather than general discussion points.

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

RESOLVED: 

(1)   That the Committee consider and comment on the Annual Report of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee as attached at Appendix A, particularly in relation to feedback on how the Committee operated during 2024/25.

(2)   That the Committee delegate to the Director – Resources, in consultation with the Chair of the Committee, to make any changes to Appendix A arising from discussion of this report.

RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL:

(3)    The Annual Report of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee be noted.

REASON FOR RECOMMENDATIONS: To enable the Committee to consider the report before it is presented to Full Council. To provide Full Council with assurance as to the effectiveness of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.