Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from M Veale Chair, Councillor B Carter and Councillor J Davies.

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 24 October 2022 were received for Information.

Audit Action Log

The Chair referred to the Action Log and requested an update on Items 1, 2 4 9 and 10 on the Log and was updated by the Audit Officers.

To consider report of the Chief Executive

Steve Jones Head of Finance led the Committee through the ‘Statement of Accounts 2021 – 22 Certification Delay’ report and responded to the question raised on the report:

·        Paragraph 3.2 – Note on the website why not prepared or published within existing deadlines – Provision used during Covid Pandemic.

Resolved that:

The reasons for the delay in approving the Statement of Accounts 2021/22 be noted.

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

To consider report of the Chief Executive

Councillor A Barry Cabinet Member referred the Committee to the ‘Ombudsman Annual Letter for Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council – 2021/22’ report

The following questions were then raised on the report and were responded to by Simon Jones Senior Solicitor and Gaynor Lewis Complaints Officer:

·        Appendix B – Further details requested in relation to Complaints Handling – Why are the numbers so high in comparison to the number of Complaints

·        Further details requested on – Various Other – What is ‘Other’

·        Trends in relation to Complaints –Is there comparison data available from previous years

Resolved that:

The contents of the Annual letter attached as appendix 1 be noted.

To consider report of the Chief Executive

Councillor A Barry Cabinet Member referred the Committee to the Annual Review and Assessment of Complaint Handling and Effectiveness at Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council 2021/22’ report.

The following questions were then raised on the report and were responded to by Councillor A Barry, Simon Jones Senior Solicitor and Gaynor Lewis Complaints Officer:

·        Are Cabinet Members made aware of Complaints in order that they can be raised with Officers particularly if there has been a big jump in the number of Complaints

·        Explanation of why there is no response from Managers

·        (Action from Committee to write to Departments advising of the need to respond to Complaints)

·        Supply of Statistics on a quarterly basis to Cabinet Members

·        Make a Complaint section on the Website – Not prominent enough – Is something required to make clear to residents where on the Website Complaints have to be made – Consideration be given on this – People who are not on line how are they able to make Complaints – Are paper copies made available

·        Paragraph 6.5 – Further explanation requested on Case Management issues as opposed to a Complaint – Are these logged on the system as a Complaint

·        Table for Data for 2021/2022 – Example requested of a discontinued investigation

·        Example requested of an Investigation not merited

·        Is there need for a further Category such as resolved within 24 hours

·        Explanation of if a Complaint is noted but the staff member has left – Is this Complaint acted upon – If moved to a different Department is the Complaint still acted upon – If considered valid is it looked into

·        The Categories laid out by the Ombudsman – Of benefit to provide further details on this

·        Further details requested on when contact is made by an individual – What is documented – Is there a log of the initial call -  Happy or not – Is the call logged

·        If there is a Complaint against a staff member that has left or if moved to a different Department is the Complaint still followed up as it still needs looking into

·        Staff numbers for the Complaints Department

Resolved that:

(a)    The contents of the report and Appendices 1 and 2 (Annual Complaints and Compliments Reports) be noted and reviewed to assess the Authority’s ability to handle Complaints effectively and to make any associated reports and recommendations

(b)    The Governance and Audit Committee refer this report and the comments of the Committee to Cabinet for their consideration

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

To consider report of the Chief Executive

Matthew Rivers Senior Change Management Officer led the Committee through the ‘External Audit Recommendations’ report.

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 led the Committee through the ‘Governance and Audit Committee Forward Work Programme 2022/23’ report and advised that the proposed agenda items detailed in Paragraph 4.2 of the report were subject to change.

Resolved that:

The Forward Work Programme for 2022/23 be approved.

To receive copies of published Internal Audit reports for Members information

Lisa Cumpston Audit Manager Regional Internal Audit Service led the Committee through the ’Issued Internal Audit Reports’.

Lisa Cumpston also advised that as requested a copy of the Waste Services – Income Collection report had been provided to the Committee.  Confirmation from Managers had also been received that all the recommendations had been implemented and would also be subject to a follow up Audit review in around April 2023.

To receive an update from the Chair

The Chair and the Committee reflected on the matters that had been considered at the Meeting and the questions that had been raised and responded to in detail.

Corporate Risk Register

The Chair referred to correspondence from Matthew Rivers and shared this with the Committee and asked for clarification on this from the Officers.

Lay Member Appointment

The Chair also requested an update in relation to the appointment of a Lay Member