Agenda item

The Leader was in attendance for this item.

1.    Mr Paul Dossett introduced the report which detailed the findings of the external audit governance review and recommendations for improvement. The review had been undertaken following concerns raised during the Council’s annual Value for Money Audit for the audit year 2021/22 and the Council’s Annual Governance Statement about poor progress being made to resolve governance and service issues. It was emphasised that a holistic approach to the recommendations was required to achieve the intended outcomes. The report was accompanied by a presentation which is appended to the minutes.

2.    The Leader thanked Mr Dossett for the report. He highlighted that it was important to address the cultures and behaviours identified by the auditors. The Leader agreed that there were significant improvements to be made across the council to ensure that the Council operated cohesively. It was said that there was progress made towards achieving this through the Chief Executive model.

3.    The General Counsel said that there was ongoing work to provide a robust training package for Members. There were also a number of projects that had been undertaken in response to the Annual Governance Statement 2021/22. Further details would be provided on the delivery of these projects at the November meeting. The General Counsel highlighted that these activities would be insufficient in improving the Council’s governance without collective buy-in from all Members and officers.

4.    In response to comments and questions from Members it was said that:

a)    As former Cabinet Member for Highways & Transport, Mr Brazier compared the findings of the report with his own experience in the Executive. He felt that the issues contained in the report had been misrepresented or not wholly understood by the author of the report. However, other Committee Members did not agree with this view and raised concerns regarding this challenge to the findings of the External Auditors.

b)    In general, the Committee welcomed the report and the recommendations by the external auditor. However, a number of Members expressed their concern regarding the recommendation to abolish Cabinet Committees. The Leader agreed that any changes to the Cabinet Committee structure would be put to a cross-party working group for consideration. 

c)    When asked how Grant Thornton would enforce the recommendations in the paper, Mr Dossett reminded Members that these were not statutory recommendations. However, Grant Thornton would continue to monitor the Council’s progress towards achieving better governance and, if necessary, there would be further actions taken by the external auditors.

5.    It was proposed and seconded that a report from the Cabinet Member for Communications and Democratic Services be brought to the January Governance and Audit Committee meeting for assurance. The report would update Members on the Executive response to the governance review recommendations.

6.    RESOLVED to:

a)    Note the report and Governance Review by External Audit.

b)    Note that a further report be brought to the Governance and Audit Committee in April 2024 for assurance.

c)    Note the presentation of the Annual Governance Statement at the next meeting and the inclusion of relevant sections of the report in the statement.

d)    Note that a report from the Cabinet Member for Communications and Democratic Services be brought to the Governance and Audit Committee in January 2024 for assurance.