Agenda and minutes

The Chairwelcomed allparties tothe meeting.The Committeenoted theemergency evacuationprocedure forthe Council Chamberif required.

Apologies received from Councillor Lavan.

To note any declarations of interest from the Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

There were none.

To note that at the Full Council Annual General Meeting on 21 May 2024,

Councillor Tim Rippington was appointed Chair of the Audit Committee for the

2024/25 municipal year.

It was noted that at the Full Council Annual General Meeting on 21 May 2024, Councillor Tim Rippington was appointed Chair of the Audit Committee for the 2024/25 municipal year.

To note that at the Full Council Annual General Meeting on 21 May 2024,

Councillor Nicholas Coombes was appointed Vice-Chair of the Audit Committee for the 2024/25 municipal year.

It was noted at the Full Council Annual General Meeting on 21 May 2024, Councillor Nicholas Coombes was  appointed Vice-Chair of the Audit Committee for the 2024/25 municipal year.

To note the Audit Committee Membership for 24/25 municipal year as follows:

Councillor Tim Rippington;

Councillor Nicholas Coombes;

Councillor Abdul Malik;

Councillor Cara Lavan;

Councillor Patrick McAllister;

Councillor David Wilcox;

Councillor Rob Logan;

Councillor Tom Blenkinsop;

Councillor Jonathan Hucker

Independent Member Adebola Adebayo;

Independent Member Simon Cookson.

The Audit Committee Membership for 24/25 municipal year be noted as follows:

Councillor Tim Rippington;

Councillor Nicholas Coombes;

Councillor Abdul Malik;

Councillor Cara Lavan;

Councillor Patrick McAllister;

Councillor David Wilcox;

Councillor Rob Logan;

Councillor Tom Blenkinsop;

Councillor Jonathan Hucker

Independent Member Adebola Adebayo;

Independent Member Simon Cookson.

To note the Membership of the Values and Ethics Sub-Committee for 24/25

municipal year as follows:

Adebola Adebayo – Chair;

Councillor Tim Rippington;

Councillor Nicholas Coombes;

Councillor Jonathan Hucker;

Councillor David Wilcox

The Value & Ethics Sub-Committee membership be noted as follows:-

Adebola Adebayo – Chair;

Councillor Tim Rippington;

Councillor Nicholas Coombes;

Councillor Jonathan Hucker;

Councillor David Wilcox

Meetings all on Monday at 2pm unless otherwise stated.

Thursday 30 May 2024;

22 July 2024;

23 September 2024;

25 November 2024;

Tuesday 28 January 2025;

Tuesday 25 March 2025.

These were noted as follows:-

Thursday 30 May 2024;

Monday 22 July 2024;

Monday 23 September 2024;

Monday 25 November 2024;

Tuesday 28 January 2025;

Tuesday 25 March 2025.

This was noted.

To agree the minutes of the previous meetings as a correct record.

It was agreed that the Information Security Policy link be included in minutes of 25 March 2024.

RESOLVED – that the minutes of 4 March & 25 March 2024 be approved as a correct record subject to the amendment above .

This was noted.

Up to 30 minutes is allowed for this item.

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum.  The detailed arrangements for so doing are set out in the Public Information Sheet at the back of this agenda.  Public Forum items should be emailed to democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk and please note that the following deadlines will apply in relation to this meeting:-

Questions - Written questions must be received 3 clear working days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting, this means that your question(s) must be received in this office at the latest by 5 pm on 23 May 2024.

Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the two days prior to the meeting.  For this meeting this means that your submission must be received in this office at the latest by 12.00 noon on 28 May 2024.

Members of the press and public who plan to attend a public meeting at City Hall are advised that you will be required to sign in when you arrive and you will be issued with a visitor pass which you will need to display at all times.

The Committee noted the responses to questions in the Public Forum Bundle and the Chair invited Supplementary Questions.

Suzanne Audrey asked why some International travel was not declared on the Register of Interests and what circumstances would members not be required to report travel and was informed by the MO that all members had a duty under the Code of Conduct to register hospitality. Officers could provide advice and support but it was their responsibility to do so.

 The Chair agreed that the following Supplementary Questions would be responded to in writing:-

Suzanne Audrey – The last set of international travel was published in January 2023. Is this something Audit Cttee should care about?

The MO agreed to check with the International Team whether this should be published quarterly or annually and when it would be next published.

Dan Ackroyd - What were the specific public interest factors considered and what was the weighting given to them to determine whether the information should be exempt or not?

The report was summarized for the benefit of the Committee and the following points arose from discussion:

1. GT reviewed all of Internal Audit (IA) work and had regard to issues identified and this was reflected in their work programme, in financial statements and VFM reporting. Improvement recommendations were also followed up;

2. The hard work undertaken to get the 22/23 accounts signed off was welcomed. The 23/24 would be concluded in September 24;

3. Bristol Waste Company (BWC) had their own auditors and GT reviewed the outcomes of their reports and looked at all transactions material to BCC;

4. BWC’s materiality was lower than BCC’s at about 2% of revenue expected;

5. Account balances that were material in nature were looked at but GT did not duplicate the work of PriceWaterhouseCooper. This was reported within the Audit Findings report. It would not be brought forward if material to BWC but not to BCC;

6. In relation to procurement breaches impacting on financial stability GT considered changes management had put in place for compliance and if there continued to be high levels of breaches further action would be sought. The Interim Director Finance added that the DSG Safety Valve that had recently been agreed would help with financial stability. BCC continued to have relatively low reserve levels. Procurement was a significant management action that was continually monitored and driven forward;

7. It was noted that new procurement arrangements came into place from 28 October. It was agreed that as Procurement Breaches had been a focus for some time it would be useful to have an offline briefing update.

Resolved – That the External Audit Plan for 2023/24 be noted.

The report was summarised for the benefit of the Committee and the following points arose from discussion:-

1. The CIA confirmed that any audit with a No or  Limited Assurance opinion would be considered at a future meeting of the Audit Committee;

2. It was noted that where ‘N/A’ was indicated this referred to audit embedded assurance work area  needed to support through change and in these instances no assurance opinion was given;

3. The increase in limited assurance compared to last year was concerning. The rationale for the overall limited assurance opinion for 2023/24 was within the report and was indicative of the challenges the organisation was facing, the use of resources and the extent of transformation, particularly the implementation of actions on time. It was confirmed that the half-year report for the November 24 Committee would provide an update on management’s response to the position;

4. There was assurance that the work of CLB was working towards the 90% target;

5. It was confirmed that KPMG complemented the skills IA did not have and it was important to have the right balance when managing risk;

6. It was noted that some areas with limited assurance opinions had continued year to year. The MO stated that a number of reports on these areas had already been to Audit Committee and were considered by CLB on a weekly basis where senior managers attend to account for the actions they were taking. There was a commitment to improvements and the Committee should take assurance from that. The Interim Director Finance added that in the short time he had been in post he had seen significant evidence of management focus and targeted delivery of actions;

7. It was confirmed that the repeated limited assurance came from the work areas of savings delivery, procurement breaches and contract management.

Resolved -  That the Internal Audit Annual Report and the opinion on the Council’s Internal control environment for the financial year ending 31 March 2024 be noted.

The report was summarized for the benefit of the Committee and the following points arose from discussion:-

1. The National Fraud Initiative produced measures for specific types of fraud. A panel of experts had worked out figures and this was a useful measure as it allowed BCC to compare itself with other LA’s;

2. It was confirmed that the recoverable amount for 23/24 was £984k;

3. The three external investigations reported in Appendix 1 were as a result of external parties;

4. It was noted that 11 of the internal investigations were not detailed as they were ongoing and would be reported at a future meeting.

Resolved – That the Annual Fraud report 23/24 be noted.

The report was summarised for the benefit of the Committee and the following points arose from discussion:-

1. With regards to transparency in reporting the MO reported that it was hoped to be able to webcast Audit Committee from early 2025;

2. The £10M optimism bias for savings was based on a risk based approach and was included in the current financial year;

3. There had been a significantly improved visibility of savings delivery and processes from last year which had been a different approach;

4. The target figure for procurement breaches was zero but in reality human error played a part. Significant, mandatory training had started to show improvements in the curve and some departments had embraced this quicker than others. Particular patterns were a focus on CLB;

5. It was noted that 12.5 days sickness appeared to be a high rate;

6. A lessons learned report had yet to be produced in respect of Barton House and more work was required on BCC’s estate;

7. Staff performance reviews were reported at 77%. It was reported that the Director of  Workforce and Change would want 100% and managers were continually reminded about this.

Resolved – That the draft Annual Governance Statement be agreed as a fair reflection of the internal control and governance environment during 2023/24 and to date, prior to it being finalised and signed by the Leader, the Chief Executive, Section 151 Officer and Monitoring Officer.

The report was summarized for the benefit of the Committee and the following points arose from discussion:-

1. It was confirmed that IA still provided a service to WECA as and when needed;

2. It was confirmed that every audit with limited assurance opinion was subject to a detailed follow-up;

3. All periods indicated for audits were indicative and on discussion with management it might change;

4. CRR55 was audited in Q4 and a report was currently being finalised.

Resolved – That the proposed Internal Audit 2024/25 Q2 priorities be approved.

The report was summarized for the benefit of the Committee and the following points arose from discussion:-

1. The Chair thanked officers for all the work undertaken to complete this work in a short time;

2. The reporting of the numbers on £50,000 salary band was a CIPFA indicator;

3. It was noted that there had been an objection to the statement of accounts 22/23;

4. A revised budget would include changes to the on-going approved budget eg the use of reserves and adjustments approved by Cabinet. There was a note on expenditure for the Clean Air Zone which was a reporting requirement of CIPFA;

5. It was noted that the disposable of an asset was different for registered museum pieces.

Resolved – That the draft, unaudited, Statement of Accounts for 2023/24 be noted.

The report was summarized for the benefit of the Committee and the following points arose from discussion:-

1. It was agreed to report within the Action Sheet on £75,000 budget for RAAC and what assessment for additional funding might be needed;

2. In respect of CRR9 it was suggested that it would be helpful to have an indicative of when the risk tipped;

3. It was confirmed that each Policy Committee would consider its own risk areas;

4. It was agreed that as risk CRR55 had not been updated since April  24 the Risk Owner would be requested to attend the next Audit Committee to provide an update;

5. It was agreed to report back within the Action Sheet on CRR60 in relation to what were the other consequences other than reputational damage.

Resolved -  That the Q4 2023/2Corporate Risk Report (CRR) be noted.