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Agenda and minutes
Venue: Brunel House, St Georges Rd, Bristol BS1 5UY
Contact: Steve Gregory 0117 92 24357
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Election of Chair To receive nominations for the election of Chair for the 2016/17 municipal year.
Minutes: Councillor Olly Mead was elected Chair for the 2016/17 municipal year.
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Election of Vice Chair To receive nominations for the election of Vice-Chair for the 2016/17 municipal year.
Minutes: Councillor Clive Stevens was elected Vice Chair for the 2016/17 municipal year.
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Welcome, Introductions Apologies and Safety Information PDF 92 KB Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillor Bowden-Jones and Ken Guy.
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Membership of the Committee To note the members appointed to serve on the Committee for the 2016/17 municipal year.
Minutes: The Membership of the Audit Committee was noted as –
Councillor Nicola Beech; Councillor Nicola Bowden-Jones; Councillor Helen Godwin; Councillor Gary Hopkins; Councillor Olly Mead; Councillor Liz Radford; Councillor Clive Stevens.
Independent Members: Ken Guy; Brenda McClennan.
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To note the attached terms of reference for the Committee which were agreed by the Full Council at its meeting on 31 May 2016.
Minutes: The Terms of Reference as approved at Full Council on 31 May 2016, were noted.
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Dates and Times of meetings 2016/17 all at 9.30 am Below are the provisional dates/times of meetings for 2016/17 (starting at 9.30 am) -
These dates are not fixed as it is for the Audit Committee to determine what dates are most suitable. Although the Audit Committee has historically met on a Friday morning, the Committee may wish to consider if this remains the favoured option for 2016/17. Minutes:
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Public Forum 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 20 June 2016.
Petitions and Statements - Petitions and statements must be received on the working day 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 23 June 2016.
Minutes:
The Audit Committee noted the statements.
Statement 1 - the Committee acknowledged the importance of Social Value in respect of the Council’s commissioning and procurement process and the Chief Internal Auditor confirmed that this was being implemented. A point was raised that some Neighbourhood Partnerships used a ‘scorecard’ system when allocating grants to enable greater clarity regarding social value. It was emphasised that it would be desirable to have a higher degree of subjectivity to challenge social value aspects. The Committee requested that the Chief Internal Auditor investigate if this was the case.
Statements 2&3 - the Committee received two statements in respect of the Southmead and Horfield Traffic Regulation Order Scheme concerning limited parking restrictions near the new Southmead hospital to limit commuter parking.
The Committee noted the comments made and acknowledged that this issue should be considered by the Place Scrutiny Commission who was asked to further consider –
1. If the proper process was followed particularly with regard to the 48 hours that had been given between the publication of some of the proposals and the deadline for comments to be submitted in response; 2. Whether current processes were sufficient to enable proper engagement from the public; 3. What could be done by the Council to address the issue caused by the TRO proposals; 4. What could be done to ensure access to the hospital site by car; 5. Clarify if the implementation of the proposals were in line with the planning permission concept of mitigation with regard to the parking restrictions.
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Declarations of Interest 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.
Please note that the Register of Interests is available at https://www.bristol.gov.uk/councillors/members-interests-gifts-and-hospitality-register
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.
Minutes: None were declared.
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Minutes of Previous Meeting PDF 91 KB To agree the Minutes of the 29 April 2016 meeting as a correct record. Minutes: The Minutes of the 29 April 2016 were agreed as an accurate record.
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To note actions from the 29 April 2016 meeting. Minutes: Actions were noted. Chief Internal Auditor referred to item 2, review of financial Regulations, and informed the Committee that a draft report had been prepared. A final report would be brought to the next Audit Committee meeting in July.
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Draft Work Programme PDF 92 KB To note the work programme. Minutes: The draft Work Programme was considered.
During consideration the following points were made:
1. The July meeting of the Audit Committee would include a more detailed session on Governance and Risk; 2. A report regarding the work of the Council’s Trading Companies would be brought to the Audit Committee once more detail was known, following a meeting between the Chief Internal Auditor and the Company Secretary; 3. The Corporate Risk Register would be brought to the July Audit Committee and would now include the outcome from consideration of the impact of the results of the European Union referendum which had resulted in the United Kingdom deciding to leave the EU. Resolved:- that, subject to the above comments, the Work Programme be noted.
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Internal Audit Plan report 2016/17 PDF 173 KB The Committee is requested to approve the Internal Audit Plan for 2016/17 and re-approve the Internal Audit Charter, Terms of Reference and Strategic Statement following its recent update. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee received a report from theChief Internal Auditor requesting the approval of the Internal Audit Plan for 2016/17 and re-approval of the Internal Audit Charter, Terms of Reference and Strategic Statement following its recent update.
During the discussion, the following points were made:
1. The Plan might change during the municipal year based on the level of risk; 2. An additional half post was being resourced to assist further work related to fraudulent tenancy activity, details of this would be reported to the July Audit Committee meeting as part of the Internal Audit Annual Report 2015/16; 3. Regarding additional resource the Committee was reminded that its role was to ensure that resources were sufficient and where it was considered insufficient Members of the Audit Committee could, by monitoring and interaction, seek to improve this. Resolved :- that the Internal Audit Plan for 2016/17 be approved and the Internal Audit Charter, Terms of Reference and Strategic Statement, following its recent update, be re-approved.
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Bristol City Council - External Audit progress report - June 2016 PDF 61 KB To receive an update report in respect of the External Auditors work for 2015/16 Minutes: The Committee received a report from the External Auditor BDO Accountants which provided an update of audit work for 2015/16.
The Committee noted that the principal objectives were to review and report on, the extent required by the relevant legislation and the requirements of the Code of Audit Practice for Local Government, the audited body’s :
• financial statements; • arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources.
There was also a requirement to certify specified grant claims and returns as directed by Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd. An assessment would be made to determine whether the arrangements put in place by the Council would allow for completion of the work by the expected deadlines and whether there were any issues that were likely to have a significant impact on the ability to provide unmodified audit reports and opinions.
The Committee noted that final audit work was starting next week with ‘sign off’ anticipated to be end of August or early September.
Resolved:- that the report be noted.
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Honorary Aldermen nominations PDF 227 KB To consider the nominations for Honorary Aldermen/Women, as nominated by the respective political groups, and make recommendations to Full Council on the appointment of new aldermen/women. Minutes: The Committee received a report from the Interim Service Director – Legal and Democratic Services to consider the nominations for Honorary Aldermen/Women, as nominated by the respective political groups, and make a recommendation to Full Council on the appointment of new aldermen/women.
The Committee noted the criteria as set out in the report for conferring Alderman/Woman status. In addition some committee members referred to the Full Council AGM on 31 May, 2016 which had further considered this and which had concluded that the criteria for nomination needed to be re-visited. Having regard to this the Committee went through the nominations according to those who met the criteria and in relation to the discussion at Council. Some members were approved, some not and others deferred pending review of the criteria, as set out below.
Resolved:- that due to their significant contribution to the local community the title of Honorary Alderman/Woman be conferred upon:
Jenny Smith; David Morris; Alastair Watson; Simon Cook; Glenise Morgan;
and that this be recommended to Full Council accordingly.
The meeting finished at 11 am.
CHAIR
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