Council and Democracy

Agenda and minutes

Venue: via Microsoft Teams

Contact: Amanda Clayton  01246 34 5273

Items
No. Item

7.

Declarations of Members' and Officers' Interests relating to Items on the Agenda

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received.

8.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

An apology for absence was received from Councillor Brittain.

9.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 465 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED –

 

That the Minutes of the meeting of the Standards and Audit Committee held on 25 November, 2020 be approved as a true record and be signed by the Chair.

10.

LGA Model Code of Conduct pdf icon PDF 208 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Monitoring Officer presented a report to the committee informing members of the Local Government Association (LGA) model code of conduct. The report highlighted the changes that had been made to the previous draft code that had been circulated in May 2020.

 

The committee heard that there was no requirement to adopt the code but there was an expectation that local authorities would try to achieve a level of consistency across a countywide area. Discussions had been ongoing with other Derbyshire authorities and some of the points raised were included in the report.

 

RESOLVED –

 

1.   That the members of the committee consider and comment on the LGA model code.

2.   That a further report is submitted to the next meeting of this committee setting out proposals for a way forward.

11.

Standards and Audit Committee Self-Assessment Action Plan pdf icon PDF 57 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Internal Audit Consortium Manager presented the results of the self-assessment of the committee and an action plan to cover the points raised in the survey.

 

Members highlighted the need for additional training for new members of the committee following the initial sessions, after they had participated in more than one meeting, in order to provide further context and understanding.

 

Discussion took place around the number of reports considered by the committee that are Value for Money related and the Internal Audit Consortium Manager advised that VFM issues are largely covered by the committee’s review of the Code of Corporate Governance and the Annual Governance Statement. Internal audit would draw the committee’s attention to any VFM issues arising during the course of internal audits.

 

RESOLVED –

 

1.    That the self-assessment results / action plan be approved.

 

2.    That a further self-assessment be undertaken in a years’ time

12.

Progress update on the 2020/21 Internal Audit Plan pdf icon PDF 91 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Internal Audit Consortium Manager presented a report summarising the internal audit reports issued during the period November 2020 to December 2020, in respect of reports issued relating to the 2020/21 internal audit plan.

 

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

 

 -      Substantial Assurance’ – 2

 

 -      Reasonable Assurance’ – 1

 

The committee was informed that no fraud had been discovered.

 

Progress against the plan had been impacted by the redeployment of staff to work on business grants between November 2020 and January 2021. It was noted that the situation had been examined carefully and although the plan would not be completed, the Internal Audit Consort Manager was satisfied that it would be possible to give an unlimited opinion at the end of the year provided audit staff were able to return to internal audit work for the remainder of the year. The committee asked about how the opinion would be impacted by the reduced number of audit reports. The Internal Audit Consortium Manager explained that the plan had been refocussed based on risk to ensure that there was sufficient coverage of governance, risk and control arrangements to be able to form an opinion.

 

RESOLVED –

 

1.    That the report be noted.

 

2.    That the CIPFA guidance relating to the Head of Internal Audit Annual Opinion: Addressing the Risk of a limitation of scope be noted

13.

Local Government Act 1972 - Exclusion of the Public

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 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act".

 

 

Part 2 (Non Public Information)

Minutes:

RESOLVED –

 

That under Regulation 21(1)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2000, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 – as they contained information relating to financial and business affairs.

14.

Treasury Management Strategy 2021/22

Minutes:

The Group Financial Accountant presented a report recommending for approval the Treasury Management Strategy Statement, the Capital Strategy Report and the Annual Investment Strategy Statement for 2021/22 and the Minimum Reserve Provision (MRP) Policy for 2021/22.

 

The report noted the Council’s requirement to approve its Treasury Management and Investment Strategies. It detailed the Council’s estimated capital expenditure, how this would be financed and the Council’s borrowing need, in addition to indicating the most cost effective method as internal borrowing.

 

The Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2021/22 was attached at Appendix A to the officer’s report. 

 

A motion was moved and seconded that the prudential indicators be reported to the committee each quarter. On moving to a vote, the motion failed.

 

* RESOLVED –

 

That Council be recommended to:

 

1. Approve the Treasury Management Strategy Statement for the financial year 2021/22.

 

2. Approve the Capital Strategy Report for the financial year 2021/22

 

3. That the Investment Strategy Report be approved.


4. That the Minimum Revenue Provision policy be approved