Agenda and minutes

No declarations of interest were received.

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Caulfield.

RESOLVED –

The Minutes of the meeting of the Standards and Audit Committee held on 25 September, 2019 were agreed as a true record and signed by the Chair.

The Internal Audit Consortium Manager presented a report summarising the internal audit reports issued during the period 17 August 2019 to 1 November 2019, in respect of reports issued relating to the 2019/20 internal audit plan.

It was noted that nine reports had been issued during this period and had been given the following levels of assurance:

-      ‘Substantial Assurance’ – 1

-      ‘Reasonable Assurance’ – 7

-           ‘Limited Assurance’ – 1

The committee was informed that no fraud had been discovered.

The Town Centre Operations Manager attended to discuss the audit report carried out on Car Parks Income. It was clarified that the Limited Assurance status was due to the recommendations from the previous audit, in 2017, not having been implemented.

The Town Centre Operations Manager gave an update on each recommendation including the steps taken and the future plans. The Chair requested that a progress report be submitted to the January meeting of the committee and then a full report be presented to the April meeting.

It was suggested that the date of the previous audit would be a useful inclusion in the report for the new members of the committee.

The Town Centre Operations Manager was also asked to give an update on a recommendation from a previous audit report concerning procurement at the Market Hall Café. It was explained that a central procurement exercise was underway across all the council’s catering outlets to achieve cost savings through rationalisation and to increase operating profits. The tenders would be processed through the DSFS system with key consideration given to customer preferences, quality and cost.

* RESOLVED –

That the report be noted.

The external auditor presented an update to the committee. The following key points were highlighted;

·        A new audit director had been appointed, Mark Dalton, who would attend the February committee meeting.

·        There had been no significant changes to the risk profile.

·        Mazars had undertaken one piece of non-audit related work for the council.

The committee’s attention was also drawn to a selection of recent publications relevant to their audit function.

*RESOLVED –

That the update report be noted.

The Deputy Monitoring Officer presented a report to the committee outlining amendments to the Council’s procedures and guidance following the review by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) on local government ethical standards. It was explained that the review had previously been considered by the committee in April 2019.

Members discussed the wording of the recommendations in appendix 2 and the Chair and Deputy Monitoring Officer responded to questions from Members.

*RESOLVED –

That the amendments be approved.

To move “That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act".

Part 2 (Non Public Information)

RESOLVED –

That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item of business on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

The Client Officer presented a report to the committee on the external procurement contract. The committee heard that the current procurement contract was agreed in December 2015 and since then had been impacted by a number of significant changes including the responsibility for managing the contract moving between the Council’s service areas and the NHS team becoming a wholly owned subsidiary. In September 2019 the contract management responsibility was returned to the Customers, Commissioning and Change portfolio. 

The Client Manager was working collaboratively with the new Derbyshire Support and Facilities Service (DSFS), meeting with them every two weeks. The DSFS had put a new senior procurement partner in place with local government experience and had committed to spending more time with CBC officers to build relationships and understanding. The Council’s Corporate Management Team had agreed that procurement awareness training would be mandatory for all Service Managers.

The committee heard that the new DSFS unit was continuing to build capacity, the contract register was robust and the DSFS were committed to deliver the outcomes agreed in their contract. The Contract Manager would monitor the situation but had seen reassuring improvements.

The Assistant Director for Customers, Commissioning and Change (CCC) advised the committee that procurement had moved into the CCC service area in order to provide a level of focus. A three-year improvement programme was underway which would be underpinned by the ICT investments being made throughout the Council. It was recognised that the Council was not yet receiving the support it required from the contract but that would be a key requirement moving forward.

The Chair agreed that the process was a slow one but necessary in order to achieve the best possible outcome. It was requested that the Client Manager report back to the committee following the audit update due before April 2020 to give an overview of the progress made.

*RESOLVED –

That a report be made to the committee following the audit update in Spring 2020.