Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor J Davies and Councillor J Scrivens.

The Chair advised that Mr R Williams Co-opted Member had resigned and he extended his best wishes on behalf of the Committee to Mr Williams together with thanks for his work on the Committee over the years.

Members are reminded of their personal responsibility to declare any personal and prejudicial interest in respect of matters contained in this agenda in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992 relating to Council Tax, the Local Government Act 2000, the Council’s Constitution and the Members Code of Conduct

Note:

(a)  Members are reminded that they must identify the item number and subject matter that their interest relates to and signify the nature of the personal interest and

(b)  Where Members withdraw from a Meeting as a consequence of the disclosure of a prejudicial interest they must notify the Chair when they leave

No Declarations of Interest were made.

The Minutes of the Meeting held 28 September 2022 were received for Information.

The Chair referred to an Action Log that was now in place for matters arising from the Minutes.

Mark Thomas Head of Regional Internal Audit Service then updated the Committee on the Action Log.

The Chair advised that Items on the agenda would be considered in a different order to the agenda.

To consider report of the Chief Executive

The Chair welcomed Councillor A Barry Cabinet Member together with Ellis Cooper, Alyn Owen, Steve Jones, Lisa Curtis Jones, Sue Walker, Ceri Dinham, Judith Jones, Hannah Brown and Andrew Mogford to the Meeting.

Councillor A Barry referred the Committee to the ‘Corporate Self-Assessment’ report.

Andrew Mogford then gave a summary of the key points in the report.

The following questions were then raised by the Committee and were responded to in detail by Councillor A Barry and the Officers.

·        Case studies and the key challenges flagged red – How are these managed in terms of the Organisation – How are issues prioritised and identified – Have key challenges been addressed going forward

·        RTI Board – Further details requested on this – Who sits on this Board, where does it report – Where does it sit in the overall structure

·        Staff Survey – Is the sample enough to draw conclusions – Is the number of non respondents of concern

·        Front Line Workers who do not have access to Computers – How is engagement undertaken – Is there face to face with all staff where appropriate

·        Public engagement – How can engagement with members of the public be improved

·        Is there engagement with Audit Wales – Opinion sought on the opinion of Audit Wales on this – What are other Authorities doing – Can a judgement be made against other Authorities

·        How are all the Plans marshalled and reviews – Is it included in this years Performance Review

·        Suggestion to add this on to the Action Log and the Work Programme of the Committee

·        What can be delivered in relation to Capacity, Skills, Finances – How far can we go

Resolved that:

The report be noted and recommend that it progresses to Council for approval.

The Chair then thanked the Officers for attending and the update to the Committee.

To consider report of the Chief Executive

Andrew Mogford led the Committee through the ‘Rolling Programme – Corporate Risk Update from CMT Members: Performance’ report.

The following questions were then raised by the Committee on the report and were responded to by the Officers:

·       Paragraph 1.2 – Where do we need to get to – Where would we need to be

·       Update on assessments – 20/21 data

·       Will there be Workshops on the new accountability framework

·       Catch up for schools – Some pupils behind from on line learning – To catch pupils who are falling behind – What Strategies are in place in relation to non attendance

Resolved that:

The report be noted.

The Chair then thanked the Officers for attending and the update to the Committee.

To consider report of the Chief Executive

Andrew Mogford led the Committee through the ’Quarterly Update on Corporate Risks’ report and advised that this would be brought to a Workshop on Corporate Risks.

The following question was then raised by the Committee on the report and was responded to by Councillor A Barry and Andrew Mogford:

·       The importance of common language especially across other Organisations – Is work taking place on a lexicon of understanding

Resolved that:

The report be noted.

To receive the report of Audit Wales

The Chair welcomed Helen Goddard and Ian Phillips from Audit Wales to the Meeting.

Ian Phillips then led the Committee through the ‘Audit Wales Assurance and Risk Assessment Review – Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council’ report and the recommendations contained in the report.

The following questions were then raised by the Committee and were responded to by Ian Phillips and the Officers:

·       Zero Carbon Action Plan – Request for update

·       The cost of decarbonisation

·       Where does decarbonisation sit in the Scrutiny framework

The Chair then thanked Ian Phillips for the update to the Committee.

To consider the report of the Head of Regional Internal Audit Service

Lisa Cumpston Audit Manager Regional Internal Audit Service led the Committee through the ‘Progress against the Internal Audit Plan (1 April 2022 to 12 October 2022’ report.

The following questions were then raised by the Committee on the report and were responded to by the Officers:

·       The number completed and the number to be done – Should there be concern over progress

·       No Assurance report – Waste Services

·       (Request by the Chair for the Committee to receive a copy of the report)

·       Paragraph 4.5 - Was the money recovered – Time line for this

·       Have all the arrangements proposed been agreed with – Size of income in a year

Resolved that:

The report be noted.

To consider the report of the Head of Regional Internal Audit Service

Lisa Cumpston Audit Manager Regional Internal Audit Service referred the Committee to the ‘Internal Audit Recommendations 2022/23’ report.

The following questions were raised by the Committee on the report and were responded to by the Officers:

·       Helpful to have a table advising of where we are

·       Request to know all the outstanding recommendations

·       Needs to be a way to ensure on the right track

·       Request that going forward the Committee have a summary of recommendations not agreed and to flag up going forward

The Chair then thanked Lisa Cumpston Audit Manager Regional Internal Audit Service for the update to the Committee.

To consider the report of the Head of Regional Internal Audit Services

Mark Thomas Head of Regional Internal Audit Service led the Committee through the ‘Governance and Audit Committee Forward Work Programme 2022/23’

The following question was then raised by the Committee and was responded to by the Officers:

·       Paragraph 4.2 – (7) – Final Statement of Accounts - Statutory Deadline for this

The Chair referred to the need for informal training for the Committee

The Chair also referred to the next scheduled Meeting and asked if the start time could be amended to the morning of 28 November 2022.

Resolved that:

The Forward Work Programme for 2022/23 be approved.

To receive an update from the Chair

The Chair and the Committee reflected on the matters that had been considered at the Meeting with the Chair referring to joined up working with the Joint Scrutiny Committee.

The Chair advised that there was no business deemed urgent.