Agenda and minutes

Before commencement of the meeting, it was announced to Members that with the agreement of the Leader of the Labour Party, Councillor E.M.S. Gray had been appointed as a member of the Audit Standards and Governance Committee, replacing Councillor H.D.N. Warren-Clarke.

Councillor D. Hopkins proposed that Councillor E.M.S. Gray be appointed Chairman of the Committee.  This was seconded by Councillor B. Kumar.

Following a show of hands it was

RESOLVED that Councillor E.M.S. Gray be elected Chairman of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee for the 2025-26 Municipal year.

Councillor D. Hopkins proposed that Councillor S.T. Nock be appointed Vice-Chairman of the Committee.  This was seconded by Councillor B. Kumar.

Following a show of hands it was

RESOLVED that Councillor S.T. Nock be elected Vice-Chairman of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee for the 2025-26 Municipal Year.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors S. Ammar and S.R. Colella with Councillor J. Robinson in attendance as the substitute Member for Councillor S. Ammar.

Apologies for absence were also received on behalf of the co-opted Member Mr M. Worrall.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary interests or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

Councillor J. Robinson declared disclosable interests in Minute Item no. 8/25 – Localism Act 2011 – Standards Regime – Dispensations – with Councillor S. Robinson having declared dispensations in the report.  They remained present during the debate in respect of this item but agreed not to vote.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee held on 20^th March 2025, subject to any amendments be approved as a correct record.

The Committee considered the Monitoring Officer’s report which provided updates on Member Complaints, Constitution Review and Member training as follows. 

·         Members were informed that several complaints were reviewed since the last report and found not to be substantiated. 

·         The last Constitution Review Working Group took place on 4^th July 2025 and those recommendations from that meeting would be reported to the Council meeting on 16^th July 2025.

·         The Member Development Steering Group scheduled meeting had been cancelled and re-scheduled for 30^th July 2025.

·         At the meeting of Cabinet held on 18^th June 2025, Members considered and agreed a recommendation from Audit, Standards and Governance meeting held on 20^th March 2025, that cyber security training on the Knowbe4 system, used by the Council, should be mandatory for Members.

·         The number of anonymous complaints were suggested for review by Members.  However, it was explained by the Principal Solicitor that the Council would not generally accept anonymous complaints and only in exceptional circumstances.

·         Clarity on cyber security KnowBe4 training for Members being mandatory was requested, including the validity of the last minutes which stated that Officers could not mandate Members to attend the training.  In response it was explained and confirmed by the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer that this had been agreed as mandatory, following Cabinet approval. 

The portfolio holder also added that discussions had been raised in a recent Cabinet meeting, suggesting that members could not be forced to attend the training but if refused, individuals access to the computer systems could be revoked.

It was agreed that Officers would follow up with group leaders regarding Members who had not completed cybersecurity training.

RESOLVED that subject to Members’ comments, the Monitoring Officer’s report be noted.

The Committee considered the annual update report on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) with the key points highlighted to Members:

·         The Council had not used RIPA powers in recent years.

·         The policy was praised by inspectors and only minor updates were needed.

During Member’s consideration of the item, the following key points were discussed:

·         An anomaly was highlighted on the RIPA policy document.

·         External training had been provided to all relevant staff.

·         The RIPA policy was only used if it was in relation to direct surveillance, for serious criminal offences which carried a custodial sentence of six months or more.

·         Trading Standards, in conjunction with the Police, would usually carry out the necessary covert surveillance work, who were considered to have the relevant knowledge and experience.

·         The RIPA Policy should be considered and used more widely in areas such as illegal tobacco sales. 

·         When comparing the Council’s use of the RIPA policy with other Council’s, in general the policy was not widely used.

·         References to “Twitter” in the policy should reflect current platform names. It was agreed that the policy would be amended accordingly.

RESOLVED that

1)                 The Council’s RIPAPolicy at Appendix 1 asreviewed andupdated be endorsed; and

2)                 The update onRIPA activitydescribed inthis reportbe noted.

The Committee considered a report seeking its approval of individual member dispensations with the following points discussed:

• Dispensations fell into four categories which included: general, council tax arrears, Member and outside body appointment dispensations.  However, the report related only to individual Member and outside body appointment dispensations.
• The Committee approved a range of dispensations for Members to participate in discussions where they might otherwise have a conflict of interest.
• Members were reminded to update their dispensations as roles changed.
• It was agreed that a reminder would be issued at the next Council meeting for Members to review their dispensations.

RESOLVED that

1)    (any Individual Member Dispensations (IMDs) and Outside Body Appointments dispensations requested by Members up to the point of the meeting, and as advised by the Monitoring Officer at the meeting, be granted under section 33 (2) of the Localism Act 2011, to allow those Member(s) to participate in and vote at Council and Committee meetings in the individual circumstances detailed;

2)    the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee grant a dispensation under Section 33 (2) of the Localism Act 2011 to allow Members to address Council and Committees in circumstances where a member of the public may elect to speak;

3)    subject to the caveat set out in paragraph 4.9 of this report in relation to setting the Council’s Budget, the Audit, Standards and Committee grants dispensations under Section 33 (2) of the Localism Act 2011 to allow all Members to participate in and vote at Council and Committee meetings when considering the setting of:

a)     the Budget;

b)     Council Tax;

c)      Members' Allowances; and

d)     Non-Domestic Rates – Discretionary Rate Relief Policy and Guidance affecting properties within the District;

4)    all dispensations granted by the Committee take effect on receipt of a written request from Members for such a dispensation and where Members may have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in the matter under consideration, which would otherwise preclude such participation and voting; and

5)    that the dispensations referred to at resolutions (1), (2) and (3) will remain valid until the first meeting of the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee in the 2027/28 municipal year unless amended by the Committee prior to that date be noted.       

RESOLVED that the external auditors’ progress report be noted.

RESOLVED that the annual report of internal audit for 2024/25 be noted.

The Committee considered the draft Internal Audit Plan for 2025/26. 

The key points were discussed:

·         The plan was risk based, designed to support the Council in achieving its objectives.

·         The approach to audit planning had changed with each area selected by internal audit had been discussed and agreed with SLT, following a review, which included key areas such as procurement and contract management.

·         The internal audit plan was based upon a resource allocation of 250 chargeable days, which had been agreed by the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer.

·         There was a 15-day contingency for ad hoc advice.

·         Any significant amendments during the year would be reported to the Audit, Standards and Governance Committee.

Following the presentation, areas of discussion included:

·         Any future Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) considerations, as part of audit plans, would be reported to the Committee.

·         Spend on agency staff across local government had increased significantly, particularly in areas such as finance, planning and ICT.  It was explained that this was due to difficulties in filling vacancies or if a permanent post had been terminated.

·         Members requested future reporting of benchmarking to include agency staff, consultancy spend, procurement and contract management, to compare with other councils which was agreed to be provided by relevant officers.

RESOLVED that the 2025/26 Internal Audit Plan, subject to any amendments be approved.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer introduced the report which set out details of delivery against key financial requirements. 

The key points were discussed as follows:

·         Reporting on the national indicators had been moved into appendices.

·         The Council were complying with national and local requirements.  The local requirements generally were delivered through the budget, which was approved on 19^th February 2025, in particular with regard to the Treasury indicators.

·         The Government had published a list of councils who had not complied with publishing their 2023/24 accounts in accordance with the backstop date of 28^th February 2025 which included BDC.  Members were advised that this was due to the Council not having external auditors at that time.

·         The Council met the deadline for publishing the 2024/25 accounts.

·         A financial stability plan was being developed to include the Tech One financial system, Financial Rules, Training Plan and Procurement Processes which would be reported at a future meeting.

·         VAT returns were being submitted monthly; a large refund was still under negotiation.  Some historical VAT issues remained under review, particularly around shared services with Redditch Borough Council.

RESOLVED that

1)    the position in relation to the delivery of the 2024/25 Accounts and the auditing of the 2023/24 accounts,

2)    the position in regard to other financial indicators set out in this report,

3)    the current position with the Council’s new External Auditor, Ernst and Young, and

4)    the introduction of a Financial Stability Plan following the successful delivery of the Financial Improvement Plan be noted.

The Committee received a report which set out the final position on the financial savings programme with the following key points considered:

·         The Council ended the year with a £129k underspend, largely due to additional fleet and finance cost savings with the accounts completed and offset by investment interest, lower interest payments and additional grant income.  This compared to an underspend figure of £53k reported at Quarter 3 – a £76k improvement of the Council’s position.

·         The largest savings was due to pension costs linked to the 23-triennial revaluation, which ran for three years.

·         The position at year end 2023/24 in terms of departmental savings included two Amber items which required careful monitoring.  The Red item in relation to Finance would not be delivered, with additional resources established to ensure the accounts were up to date.

·         Some savings targets (e.g. planning income, parking, waste) remained at risk which could be largely impacted by LGR.

·         Future savings monitoring reporting were to be reviewed and reported through the monitoring report, with considerations for this to be scrutinised under the Finance and Budget Working Group.  It was agreed by the Committee that this proposition would to be discussed further with the Chairman of the Finance and Budget Working Group.

·         Clarity on the overspend for Shared Services was requested by Members.  It was explained that future reporting would be amended to show the overspend for individual services.

RECOMMENDED that the Outturn position on the 2024/25 Departmental Savings Programme, including any potential implications for future years be noted.

The Committee considered an update report about corporate and departmental risks presented by the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer.

The following discussions were carried out:

·         A new, simplified risk report format was introduced. 

·         Members were encouraged to provide areas for improvement within the risk reporting.  However, after consultation with the portfolio holder, corporate risks would include further narrative.

·         14 corporate risks were identified which included Planning decisions and potential special measures, Cybersecurity and Shared service delivery.

Following the presentation, Members discussed the following:

·         Further detail on mitigation actions and timelines for the Service (departmental) Risks were requested.

·         Members also requested clearer action plans and accountability for risk owners.

RESOLVED that the strategic risks detailed in the Corporate Risk Register and changes to risk scores and removal/addition of new risks be noted.

The Board considered the annual appointment of Risk Champion.

Councillor R. Bailes, the former Risk Champion for the 2024/25 municipal year, had decided to step down as Risk Champion.  Following discussions concerning her involvement in the role, expressing disappointment at the lack of productivity when recommendations had been advised, it was agreed by the Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer that a draft role description and proposal would be reported back to Members for the Risk Champion position. 

It was agreed that the appointment would be deferred pending a review of the role’s purpose and impact.

The Audit, Standards and Governance Committee Work Programme was considered by Members.

Members discussed the need for an additional meeting to be added to the work programme schedule to ensure productivity within the future scheduled meetings and considered moving from four to five meetings per municipal year which was noted by the relevant Officers for review.

It was also agreed that Officers would review the scheduled meeting for January to be moved to February 2026 to align with audit deadlines.

RESOLVED that the contents of the Committee’s work programme, as reported, be noted.