Agenda and minutes

Governance and Audit Committee - Tuesday, 2nd December, 2008 10.30 am

Venue: Darent Room, Sessions House, County Hall, Maidstone. View directions

Contact: Andrew Tait 01622 694342

Media

Items
No.	Item
33.	Minutes - 17 September 2008 PDF 56 KB View the background to item 33. Additional documents: Webcast for 33. Minutes: RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2008 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.
34.	Progress report on the position with Icelandic Banks (Oral Update) Additional documents: Webcast for 34. Minutes: (1) The Head of Financial Services gave an oral update on the position with Icelandic Banks. He said that the County Council’s creditor status was favourable under Icelandic Law and that there were grounds for cautious optimism that the monies invested should be recoverable, although in some instances this process might take a few years. (2) The Head of Financial Services informed the Committee that the County Council’s Treasury Strategy had been modified in the light of recent events in that all new money would be invested in the Government Debt Management Office for high security. (3) The Director of Finance explained that the Government had agreed that the Impairment requirement (whereby the Authority needed to include all potential losses in its budgetary process) had been suspended for a two year period in respect of the losses sustained through investment in Icelandic Banks. (4) RESOLVED that the report be noted.
35.	The effectiveness of the Governance and Audit Committee PDF 64 KB Additional documents: Webcast for 35. Minutes: RESOLVED that:- (a) the report be noted; and (b) Members of the Personnel Committee be invited to attend the next meeting of the Committee to consider the report on “Whistle Blowing.”
36.	Corporate Governance Performance Indicators PDF 145 KB Additional documents: Webcast for 36. Minutes: RESOLVED that: - (a) the report be noted; and (b) a report on Levels of Sickness be presented to the next meeting of the Committee.
37.	Ombudsman Complaints PDF 68 KB Additional documents: Webcast for 37. Minutes: RESOLVED that the report be noted.
38.	Further steps being undertaken to strengthen the County Council's overall Risk Management PDF 119 KB Additional documents: Webcast for 38. Minutes: RESOLVED that:- (a) the report be noted; and (b) a further report on risk registers be presented to a future meeting of the Committee to enable further consideration of Risk Appetite.
39.	Internal Audit Reporting PDF 200 KB View the background to item 39. Additional documents: Webcast for 39. Minutes: RESOLVED that the report be noted.
40.	Internal Audit Reporting - Irregularities PDF 58 KB View the background to item 40. Additional documents: Webcast for 40. Minutes: RESOLVED that the report be noted. EXEMPT ITEMS (Open Access to Minutes) Members resolved that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.
41.	Presentation on key financial and economic risks View the reasons why item 41. is restricted Minutes: (1) The Director of Finance gave a presentation on key financial and economic risks facing the County Council. (2) Members of the Committee suggested further risks which they believed should be identified as key risks. These included third party contractors, the capacity to cope with unknown risks and the effects of the current economic climate on property values and income generation. (3) RESOLVED that the report be noted.