Agenda item

The Committee noted the response for the questions submitted by Suzanne Audrey and the Chair invited a Supplementary Question.

Suzanne Audrey  - Supplementary Question – ‘Is it possible that there will be a default position of disclosure to the public for the lessons learned report on the Bristol Beacon unless there is something commercially sensitive?’

Response from the Director – Finance – ‘The report will be shared unless the Monitoring Officer decides there are parts which can’t be shared due to commercial sensitivity – the commitment is there.’

Petition on the Bristol Beacon. – Suzanne Audrey spoke to the submission and it was:-

Resolved – That the content of the petition be noted & it be referred to the Mayor’s Office for consideration.

The report was summarised for the benefit of the Committee and the following points were highlighted:-

1.      There had been a backlog of external audit work at a national level and stakeholders had worked to find a practical solution;

2.      One solution was a backstop. Where there had been multiple years of unsigned audit opinions the most recent year would be worked on in order to provide and open and closing position for that year. It was noted that BCC’s accounts were only delayed by a couple of months whereas other LA’s were in a far worse position; Another solution was to not include pensions and property valuations as they did not drive Council tax levels. These were both welcome developments.

The following points arose from discussion:-

1.      The Dedicated School’s Grant (DSG) deficit would be £128M if nothing was done. Officers had worked with Stakeholders and the Schools Forum and devised a plan of proposals which would result in a reduction of the deficit to £49M for 23/24. The DfE had not stated any clear position at this stage. The DfE had signed off on a 3 year safety valve programme to work with LA’s to more effectively manage their DSG’s. Officers were working with a number of different elements and making really good progress so that the 3128M deficit did not happen. It was noted that the DSG position was reported to every Schools Forum meeting. The Committee noted that the Director of Childrens’ Services would be leaving and sought assurance that in the interim period this work would be driven forward. The Director Finance agreed to share the the governance document of Our Families Board with the Committee so that the Committee could be assured of the number of officers involved in this work;

2.      The representatives for GT stated that here were no clear trends identified for identifying savings. There was a need (as with all LA’s) to start the process earlier, be bolder and have higher expectations of what can be achieved. It was noted that the BCC had made improvements on this work last year. Regarding the DSG BCC had recognized there was an issue and was working with the Schools Forum to mitigate but the numbers were big and had the potential have a bearing on the overall budget;

3.      For the new Committee system the monthly budget reports would be timetabled for the relevant Committees;

4.      There was some discussion regarding the interest rate used for borrowing on the Bristol Beacon. The Director Finance stated that Ernst Young were independent consultants and would not put their own reputation at stake by inaccurately reflecting the position;

5.      It was noted that there was a full, detailed report of all the additional works which had been required during the reconstruction of the Bristol Beacon;

6.      The Committee noted that great steps had been made to strengthen the procurement processes for BCC. The contract management system was now in place along relevant frameworks, forward planning, and induction and relevant training for staff. All these arrangements would help bring about full compliance;

7.      GT reported that there were no particular trends or reasons for the high level turnover of finance staff;

8.      It was noted that there were some improvement recommendations carried over because they were long term issues which take time to resolve;

9.      GT reported that it was becoming harder to identify savings and they invariably came through transformation. A dashboard mechanism was being used to monitor demand pressures and to ensure they were being addressed;

10.  Reference was made to Adult Social Care and an agreed review of lessons learned progress made on the 2021/22 transformation programme which was expected in April 2023 and had yet to be delivered. The Director Finance agreed to report back when this would be undertaken;

11.  It was noted that paragraph 2, Page 43 of the GT report was incomplete;

12.  GT reported that the independent inquiry into Bristol Beacon should have commenced in June 23 with a phased approach completing in January 24.

Councillor Poultney arrived.

Resolved - That Grant Thornton’s Interim Auditors Annual Report for 2021/22 and 22/23, focusing on their value for money assessment, along with an action plan agreed by management be noted.

The Chair agreed to change the order of the agenda and to consider item 13 at this point