Wrthi'n llwytho
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RESOLVED that subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on the 24 September 2025 be received and approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.
RESOLVED, that the Governance and Audit committee receive the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and Plan and recommend on presentation and contents for future representations. In addition, the Committee recommend that representations were made to National Government through the Authorities representative bodies in respect of the funding position in Wales for local authorities.
RESOLVED that the Governance and Audit Committee: 1. Comments on the suggested amendments to the risk register and appetite be reviewed by SLT. 2. Recommends that SLT reconsider the de escalation of Risk 49 – Recruitment and Retention and take account of the follow up Internal Audit report and Audit Wales national review of Recruitment and retention and the corporate impact on services. 3. Note that SLT wished to review the revised risk review process now 12 months has passed where changes have been piloted and will not send a risk summary in January while this review is underway. Next risk register report will therefore be brought forward in April 2026.
RESOLVED that the Governance and Audit Committee accepts the management response form completed by the Council to address the two recommendations identified within the report.
RESOLVED: that subject to the above, the Governance and Audit Committee Forward Work Programme be noted.
RESOLVED, that the Governance and Audit Committee request the report be presented to Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs for further discussion at the appropriate Scrutiny.
RESOLVED, that the report be included at the next Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs meeting for further debate.
All Members were in attendance, The Chair informed the committee, he had received apologies from the Head of Finance, Section 151 Officer. The Deputy Section 151 Officer was attending with Finance officers on her behalf. It was also noted, the Lead Member for Finance, Councillor Delyth Jones had tendered her apologies.
The Chair, Lay Member David Stewart declared a personal interest as he was a recipient of a Clwyd Pension Fund Pension. Councillor Ellie Chard declared a personal interest as she was a recipient of a Clwyd Pension Fund Pension. Lay Member, Nigel Rudd declared a personal interest as he was a member of the Conwy County Borough Council Governance and Audit Committee.
None.
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RESOLVED that subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on the 24 September 2025 be received and approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.
The minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 24 September 2025 were submitted. Matters of accuracy – Page 8 – Minutes – should read ‘The Monitoring Officer’ not ‘He Monitoring Officer’. Page 10 - Public Services Ombudsman Wales Annual Letter and Complaints Report 2024 /2025 – The Chair clarified that Members had requested a forum for Governance and Audit Members on specific projects. This request had stemmed from the Members meeting with internal and external auditors. Page 11 - Public Services Ombudsman Wales Annual Letter and Complaints Report 2024 /2025 -Should read ‘year’ not ‘yar’. Matters arising – Page 8 – Minutes – The Chair confirmed that interviews were held on the 25th September to recruit to the Lay Member vacancy on the committee. He thanked Councillors Mark Young and Boby Feeley for assisting him on the appointment panel. He confirmed that 2 candidates were interviewed both of whom were suitable for the role. An offer was made to one candidate which was to be submitted to County Council on 15 December for formal approval. Subsequently Lay Member Nigel Rudd indicated he wished to cease his position on the committee in 2026. Therefor the report to be presented to County Council in December would also recommend the appointment of the second candidate to be appointed to the committee at a date agreed in 2026. The Chair thanked Lay Member Nigel Rudd for his invaluable contribution and support to the work and discussions of the Governance and Audit Committee. The Chair raised concern that the elected Member vacancy had not been filled. He was concerned that the committee would lose some if its impotence and knowledge and experience. The Monitoring Officer confirmed the Political Group were trying to appoint to the vacancy. There had recently been some changed to the political balance and a report was being produced for presentation to County Council explaining the current situation. Page 9 - Public Services Ombudsman Wales Annual Letter and Complaints Report 2024 /2025 – The Monitoring Officer confirmed the data included in the report presented at the September meeting was correct. The report had since been presented to Cabinet. Page 11 – Nigel Rudd reminded members of his concern of the method the ombudsman used to categorise complaints and the committee recommended to make recommendations on how that methodology was constructed and interpreted. The Monitoring Officer stated he would address with colleagues in complaints and ensure representations were made highlighting the concerns of the committee to the ombudsman. Page 16 – Internal Audit Update – in response to the Chairs comments on ‘if an audit of City/ Town and Community Council had to be specifically requested by the council or would an individual Councillor of such Council able to request an audit be undertaken.’ The Chief Internal Auditor confirmed that requests were usually made through the Councils, but requests had been received from individual Councillors. Factors including the nature of the request were taken into account. Page 18 - Proposed Amendment to Budget Policy Framework Rules- The Monitoring Officer confirmed the recommendations of the committee were presented to County Council in November and was approved. Page 20 - Draft Local Code of Corporate Governance – Members heard it was hoped it would be presented to Cabinet in January 2026 for approval. Page 21- Governance and Audit Forward Work Programme – The Annual Whistleblowing report had been deferred and was due at the November committee meeting. It would know be presented at the January 2026 Committee meeting. RESOLVED that subject to the above, the minutes of the meeting held on the 24 September 2025 be received and approved as a true and correct record of the proceedings.
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RESOLVED, that the Governance and Audit committee receive the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and Plan and recommend on presentation and contents for future representations. In addition, the Committee recommend that representations were made to National Government through the Authorities representative bodies in respect of the funding position in Wales for local authorities.
The Chief Accountant introduced the update on the Medium Term Financial Strategy and Plan for 2026/27 – 2028/29 (previously circulated). She informed members the report was an update following the original report presented to Cabinet and Governance and Audit in April 2025. The report outlined the high-level financial predictions for the next three years. The report reflected the current estimates and assumptions of known pressures and funding from Welsh Government and provided low, medium and high-level predictions of those pressures. As an authority we face acute pressures, from growing demand from our communities, complexity of needs that had increased in certain areas and the cost of delivering the services had increased significantly above the rate of inflation. The cost of the statutory duties proving services to those in most need dominated the council’s budget. Additional funding from Welsh Governent and increased in Council Tax was not enough to meet additional costs. Thus, resulting in difficult decisions to reduce spending and other services had to be made. The Authority had to set a balanced budget due to legal requirements, and it was becoming more of a challenge. The working assumption of this report was that it was likely the funding form Welsh Government would not keep up with the rising demand and inflation. Appendix 1 was the Medium Term Financial plan which demonstrated a range of budgetary pressures. For the financial year 2026/27 the low end of the forecast pressures was at £12 million, the middle range at £19 million and a high of £26 million. They were under constant review. Officers did not see a reduction in the pressures over the coming years. Along with the pressures the medium term financial plan showed the impact on the estimated increases in council tax and funding from Welsh Government. The working assumption with regards to council tax was set inline with pressures as a proportion of the 2025/26 budget. It was stressed it was a working assumption; no decision had been made. The funding from Welsh Government in 2026/27 based on the indications received was a rolled forward budget plus an additional 2%. Officers had received the provisional settlement information from Welsh Government following the publication of the papers attached thus meaning the papers included in the pack where slightly out of date. The average increase across Wales was 2.7% with Denbighshire at that average. It was more positive than the assumptions in the report. Officers were working through the details of the settlement information. The Chair thanked the Chief Accountant for the detailed introduction. He reminded members that the role of the Governance and Audit committee was to seek assurance that the Council had effective and robust processes in place to set balanced budgets. The Chair welcomed and offered his thanks for the inclusion on the budget and transformation workshops being held for members. He stressed it was very informative and beneficial to all in attendance. The Chair stated it was pleasing to see the favourable initial Welsh Government funding proposal. In response to members comments and questions the following areas were discussed in greater detail: · Members suggested it would be beneficial to the reader, the data included in appendix 1, in specific refence to percentages around council tax and budget gap a monetary value of what that would look like for a property with council tax band D. · Audit Wales representatives reminded Members that several audits had been undertaken looking at financial stability of Local Authorities. We asked Local Authorities to plan further ahead and for future years. That was part of a National Report which pulled all information together and was seen by Welsh Government. Audit Wales were continuing with the theme of financial stability for the next review looking at local government. Members felt the role of Audit Wales in the debate was strong and robust with strong information. Members were grateful for the support and ongoing work with Audit Wales. Members welcomed the commitment of Audit Wales to work and support local authorities. · The percentage of Welsh Government budget that was allocated to local governments across Wales, the percentage of increase of 2.7%incease. The reality was it may not be that Welsh Government may have received from UK Government it may be a higher percentage which would seem to be unfair. It was difficult to confirm this with uncertain data. · Council tax remained a lever for local authorities. It required brave leadership to set it effectively to assist the balancing of budgets. Members pointed out the number of resources that are put into the balancing of budgets and funds. It took away time from officers in some other key areas of streams of work. If an increase was required there was a legitimate business case for increasing council tax. It was ultimately a County Council decision but it was important to review all options. · In response to comments the Wales Audit representative guided members to the recording or minutes if available Auditor Generals meeting with the Senedd Finance committee for further information on what was discussed. Members heard the Auditor General had released some pod casts on topics that Members ay be interested in listening too. · There was a lot of details to work through with the settlement and how much extra it would equate too. · Savings across the authority was monitored regularly with a tracking process in place. Communication with finance officers and service managers to ensure those savings were realistic and met. Members stressed how complex and stressful financial planning could be. · The Chair also highlighted the unfair criticism local authorities received when council tax was increased. It needed to be highlighted the level of funding Welsh Government received to allocate to local authorities had a role to play. · It was stressed the authority was making representations to Welsh Government on the allocation of funding and the difficulties each Local Authority was faced with. · Officers were mindful of the level of reserves. A view to increase the level of reserves incrementally to try and stay inline with the increase in allocated funds. · Members asked if Denbighshire would be making representations towards the Audit Wales review of Children’s Services following some of the reports of care costs. It was stressed that all 22 Welsh Authorities would be invited to provide evidence towards this piece of work. Documents have been issued to all authorities to complete to provide evidence. · Members encouraged officers to continue to annually review of financial resilience. It was important to keep members and officers focused on the pressures faced. · Homelessness formed part of the transformation programme. Any impact of the medium-term financial plan would come from management responses. · When looking at fees and charges a complete review of options and the outcomes of changes was completed but was not always easy to forecast. Every service considered all potential outcomes of an increase in fees and charges. Services looked at what neighbouring authorities were doing and looked at benchmarking to ensure Denbighshire was in line with other authorities. · It was clear that pressures on services arose from two or three areas of key council activity. It may be beneficial to communicate how council tax increases would relate in line with extra pressures from social services and Education and Homelessness. It would highlight the areas that impacted the budget. · It was stressed the figures shared regarding council tax were all just indicative. The final decision would be a decision made by Full Council. · Members were reminded that the authority had several Statutory duties and services it had to offer. RESOLVED, that the Governance and Audit committee receive the Medium-Term Financial Strategy and Plan and recommend on presentation and contents for future representations. In addition, the Committee recommend that representations were made to National Government through the Authorities representative bodies in respect of the funding position in Wales for local authorities.
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RESOLVED that the Governance and Audit Committee: 1. Comments on the suggested amendments to the risk register and appetite be reviewed by SLT. 2. Recommends that SLT reconsider the de escalation of Risk 49 – Recruitment and Retention and take account of the follow up Internal Audit report and Audit Wales national review of Recruitment and retention and the corporate impact on services. 3. Note that SLT wished to review the revised risk review process now 12 months has passed where changes have been piloted and will not send a risk summary in January while this review is underway. Next risk register report will therefore be brought forward in April 2026.
The Lead Member for Corporate Strategy, Policy, Equalities, and Strategic Assets Councillor Julie Matthews, introduced the Corporate Risk Review, September 2025 report (previously circulated). Councillor Matthews asked for her thanks to be recorded for all staff involved in collating the information within the Corporate Risk Review. The Corporate Risk Register was developed and owned by SLT alongside Cabinet. It was reviewed twice yearly by Cabinet and at Cabinet Briefing. Following the February and September reviews, the revised register was presented at Performance Scrutiny Committee and Governance and Audit Committee. A summary of reviews was shared for information only at these Committees at their January and July meetings. The council currently had 14 Corporate Risks on the Register. With a summary provided at the start of each risk in appendix 2. No risks had been de-escalated during the review, 3 risks had been increased likelihood impact score categorisation (risks 14,21, 52). The September 2025 review has been informed by a number of deep dive reviews leading to significant changes made since the last full risk review in February 2025. These risks were as follows: · Risk 14: The risk of a health & safety incident resulting in serious injury, ill health or the loss of life · Risk 52: To set a balanced budget (statutory requirement) each year there was a risk that services are scaled back to an unacceptable level due to there not being enough money in our budget Members were guided to the cover report which stressed Cabinet and SLT were comfortable with the de-escalation of Risk 48 - Recruitment and Retention from the corporate risk register to relevant service-level risk registers, having considered findings from the internal audit on recruitment and retention. It was highlighted that Cabinet determined to change the title of Risk 52 to “To set a balanced budget (statutory requirement) each year there is a risk that services are scaled back to an unacceptable level due to the on-going financial constraints the Council finds itself under.” In addition, the Insight, Strategy and Delivery Manager provided further guidance on the report. She informed the committee of changes to the team who monitored and worked on the Risk Register. Capacity issues were highlighted to the committee. In review of the risk appetite eight risks 01, 21, 34, 45, 50, 51, 52 and 54 (57%) are currently inconsistent with the council’s Risk Appetite Statement (appendix 3). It was timely for the team to review the council’s Risk Appetite Statement (appendix 3), which was last revised in September 2024. The statement should reflect our appetite now reflecting on the key external factors (Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental) that influence an organisation along with internal dynamics and demands. The next full report would be presented to the committee in April 2026. The Chair thanked the Lead Member and Insight, Strategy and Delivery Manager for the detailed introduction and papers. He wanted it recorded that it was reassuring to note the meaningful risk management in place. That was meaningful to officers and members. Procedures in Denbighshire were robust and needed to be recognised. He reminded members of the role of Governance and Audit in receiving the Corporate Risk Register set out in appendix 4. The risk appetite statement was owned by the Corporate Executive Team. It was a partnership between Governance and Audit committee and the executive team on its review and updating. There were no proposals to amend the risk appetite statement at the last review. Councillor Bobby Feeley stressed the impact the changes to the team would have on the service and timeline of work. The Insight, Strategy and Delivery Manager confirmed it would be a challenge but work had begun to fill the vacancies within the team, and it was hoped they would be filled at the earliest appointment. Councillor Bobby Feeley suggested that on the issues with Health and Social Care integration, due to the link with the NHS if they could both be placed under the same umbrella and budget. The Corporate Director: Communities responded from a citizen’s perspective you would argue it made more sense. It was very challenging and several differences in the fiducial duties. She agreed with the Councillors comments but felt it was highly unlikely to happen given to its complexity. Assurance was stressed that communication between local authorities and public services regularly took place to ensure any benefits or changes to working took place. The Regional Partnership Board also met to review and discuss a variety of concerns of all parties. Officers stressed a thorough review of ach risk to review and look at mitigations and update were needed the risk register provided a robust view of the risks and mitigations in place. Officers were comfortable with that position. Reviews would be ongoing. Members were pleased to hear discussions with Senior Officers, and the Executive team took place to monitor the register. Councillor Mark Young raised concerns on the increase in Risk 52 from B1 to A1. He asked if a briefing note should be sent to Members on the impact this escalation would have. He expressed concern on the timeframe and not receiving an update on the risk until April 2026. The Insight, Strategy and Delivery Manager stated she needed further time on Risk 51 and 52 to obtain further information. The Chair suggested a lot of information was shared on the budgets from updates from Finance officers in regular reports to the committee. The Monitoring Officer suggested that at the next budget workshop further information on Risk 52 could be included. Members suggested it would be helpful to specifically refer to Risk 51 and 52 in the report. Lay Member Nigel Rudd asked for an update on Risk 37 – Partnerships. The Chief Internal Auditor confirmed the audit had been deferred it had been put pack to January – March 2026 and would be presented to committee in April 2026. Mr Rudd expressed concern on the de-escalation of Risk 48- recruitment and retention. The committee on numerous occasions had discussed the issues in recruiting to certain positions within the authority which impacted capacity and completion of work in the authority. He stressed the reason Governance and Audit requested recruitment and retention issues to be held at a corporate level was due to the challenge faced across the whole authority. He stressed it was an issue raised by the committee and sought assurance. He sought support of Members to ask SLT to review the decision to deescalate Risk 48. All members were in support of that representation to SLT. The Audit Wales representative reminded members that a review of recruitment and retention across Wales. It was hoped in the new year a report would be available for Members. The Monitoring Officer added one of the reasons for raising this risk to a corporate level was in respect of the pressures in Social Care. Which was included in Risk 1 of the register. Several internal actions had taken place to address recruitment and retention issues. The risk remained on service level plans and was a key area of discussion. SLT felt the risk could be managed at Service Level. The Chief Internal Auditor added he was completing a follow up review on recruitment and retention audit which was completed a couple of years ago. The Chair asked when risks were amended and increased, should mitigations and controls be strengthened. The Insight, Strategy and Delivery Manager confirmed mitigations were in place. Officers could make it clear in the report were changes to mitigations had been included. The Chair asked to be made aware of any key changes in mitigations be circulated. The Chair asked that the Risk Appetite Statement would take account of the new Chief Executive upon her appointment. Confirmation was provided. RESOLVED that the Governance and Audit Committee: 1. Comments on the suggested amendments to the risk register and appetite be reviewed by SLT. 2. Recommends that SLT reconsider the de escalation of Risk 49 – Recruitment and Retention and take account of the follow up Internal Audit report and Audit Wales national review of Recruitment and retention and the corporate impact on services. 3. Note that SLT wished to review the revised risk review process now 12 months has passed where changes have been piloted and will not send a risk summary in January while this review is underway. Next risk register report will therefore be brought forward in April 2026.
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RESOLVED that the Governance and Audit Committee accepts the management response form completed by the Council to address the two recommendations identified within the report.
The Chief Internal Auditor presented the Audit Wales - Counter Fraud arrangements report (previously circulated). He explained the report was part of a National Audit Wales report conducted annually. The report reviewed what counter fraud arrangements were in place within Denbighshire County Council. The overall opinion following the review was that the Council took a reactive approach to addressing fraud and was not maximising opportunities to prevent fraud occurring. On completion of the review Audit Wales offered 2 recommendations: Recommendation 1 - The Council should strengthen its approach to addressing and preventing fraud by: · updating its key strategic documents relating to counter fraud, including the Strategy for the Prevention and Detection of Fraud, Corruption and Bribery and the Fraud Response Plan, ensuring that the processes set out in those documents match current practice, · revising how it plans and resources counter fraud work, to allow proactive fraud prevention activity to take place, · review the register of interests to ensure staff and members use it effectively. Recommendation 2 - The Council should develop a comprehensive fraud risk assessment that is used to inform the Internal Audit work programme and other counter fraud activity. Both recommendations had been included in the Management response, and it was hoped they would be in place by 31st March 2026. There was only one strategy out of place the document that required updating in that strategy was the CIPFA form used when assessing new fraud claims. The Chief Internal Auditor agreed the register of interests for staff and Members needed review and confirmed it was included on the Internal Audit plan for 2025/26. The Audit Wales representative, Carwyn Rees thanked the Chief Internal Auditor for the introduction and provided further guidance from the Audit Wales perspective. He stressed that as part of the review Audit Wales witnessed a positive culture around anti-fraud and zero tolerance. It was pleasing to note that any allegations of fraud were investigated seriously and addressed appropriate action. The challenge was to be proactive and have a preventative approach. The Chair thanked both officers for the detailed introduction and papers. He added in his opinion he agreed with the Management Response o the recommendations. He added he had previous concerned the risk of fraud not being fully appreciated across the council, in previous discussions the committee had recommended the risk of fraud remained on the risk register. The Committee felt the incidents of fraud could be confused with the risk of fraud. Members recommended the risk of fraud was always a risk for the authority. The committee over the years had challenged the Chief Internal Auditor in the risk of fraud which was why the current Annual Governance Statement action plan included areas to address some of the recommendations suggested by Audit Wales. The Chair stated he was pleased to learn Audit Wales were conducting this review, in the hope it would support the Authority to improve the counter fraud arrangements. In his opinion he felt the Audit Wales report over states the risk and suggested that there could be a risk in Denbighshire which the Chair stressed he did not believe to be true. It could be interpretated in a very negative view of the authority. He stressed his concern on the way the report could be read. The Chair expressed that although the authority may not have many experiences staff with fraud in employment. There was experience within officers and individuals were working towards gaining relevant qualifications. The Chair argued that as an authority risk of fraud was assessed and reviewed. The Audit questions and criteria used as a base of the report in his opinion seemed to be based on what would be found in a large City Council. The report did not cover any opportunities for collaborative working with neighbouring authorities, he stated it may be an area for members to explore. The Chair felt the report demonstrated what the authority was doing in relation to counter fraud but unfortunately did not offer any extra value to the work of the authority. In response to the Chairs comments the Audit Wales representative thanked the Chair for his reflections and thoughts. He stressed that Governance and Audit were not the only audience that the reports were presented. Different audiences benefited from different pieces of work. Lay Member Nigel Rudd asked if there had been a missed opportunity in the gathering of data within the exercise. The report addressed the concerns of officers in relation to counter fraud. He asked if consideration to a discussion with the Chair of Governance and Audit had taken place. He felt it would have been beneficial to the report and how the data was reflected in the paper. He suggested that in future reports of this nature that aspect be considered. He thanked Audit Wales for the inclusion of the final column in landscape management action plan. He felt the additional column was very valuable and added substance to the paper. The Chair conformed he had been interviewed as part of the process of data gathering for the report. Members stressed the importance of being mindful of the language and data used within public reports and how they could be interpreted. Councillor Mark Young sought assurance that action plan would be fully resourced, and timings were achievable. The Chief Internal Auditor confirmed the recommendations had been reviewed and he would be reviewing again in the new year to ensure all recommendations are met by the end of the financial year. RESOLVED that the Governance and Audit Committee accepts the management response form completed by the Council to address the two recommendations identified within the report.
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RESOLVED: that subject to the above, the Governance and Audit Committee Forward Work Programme be noted.
The Governance and Audit Committee’s Forward Work Programme (previously circulated) was presented for consideration. Members were reminded that the Chair, Vice- Chair and Chief Internal Auditor met monthly to review the forward work programme in advance of the scheduled meeting. The Chair stressed on occasion items were being added without his knowledge and made it difficult to assess the size of agendas and thus length of meetings. He stated he had been in communication with officers to establish a process for items being added to the forward work programme or agendas. The next meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee was scheduled for 26 January 2026. In addition to the listed reports the following items needed to be included on the forward work programme: · Whistleblowing Annual report · Corporate Joint Committee report – A joint report for Denbighshire County Council and Conwy County Borough Council submitted to the Governance and Audit Committees. · Verbal update on Christ the Word School following the Estyn report. Which is also being presented to Performance Scrutiny in January 2026. A note on the Statement of Accounts had been issued to Members from the Head of Finance and Audit providing the latest position. The April agenda was looking heavy and may need to be looked and reviewed at the agenda setting meeting. Members were reminded that a Treasury Management Training session had been arranged for 12 December 2025. The invitation would include all elected Councillors and Lay Members. The Chair suggested that a priority be given to arrange a session on Project Management Forum along with a training session on the Statement of Accounts. There was a number of other training sessions suggested that still required arranging. RESOLVED: that subject to the above, the Governance and Audit Committee Forward Work Programme be noted.
The Chair introduced the Treasury Management 2025/26 information report (previously circulated). The Treasury Management Strategy was due to be presented to committee in January 2026 as a substantive report. The Chair highlighted the report stated the use of money market funds. They were approved for use within the treasury management strategy the Chair asked if there was a reason why they had not been used before and if there were any risks attached to them. The Finance and Assurance Manager confirmed Arlingclose the authority’s financial advisor had suggested that the authority started using money market funds as an alternative for investments. There was no significant reason why the authority had started to use them. The Chair asked if the scheduled audit had been completed on the separation of duty, adequate supervision and regulatory compliance. The Chief Internal Auditor stated the audit was pending to be completed in November time. The areas stated by the Chair would all be covered in the audit. The Finance and Assurance Manager confirmed a meeting had been scheduled with Internal Audit to begin the process. Members were reminded that a Treasury Management Training session had been arranged for all Councillors and Lay Members to attend. The Monitoring Officer stated that a diary marker and email would be circulated to all Councillors. The Finance and Assurance Manager confirmed a discussion with Arlingclose of the topics to be covered in the session had taken place. A draft presentation had been shared with officers to amend and review before the training. Members were satisfied with the information report. Noted, that the Governance and Audit Committee note the information report.
The Chair introduced the annual Senior Information Risk Owner (SIRO) information report for 2024-25. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025 and was expected to be implemented in stages, the Chair asked that the committee be made aware of any implications of the changes. The Monitoring Officer informed members there was an Information Governance group that discussed lessons learned from data breaches and any breaches that need further reporting and investigations. Feedback was also fed back to any individuals and departments of the outcome of any breaches. Members heard, officers were still awaiting a response from the ICO regarding one of the breaches reported. There was compulsory e learning training that all employees were required to complete and renew every 3 years on data protection. All employees were kept up to date with any changes to policies or procedures. The greatest cause of data breach was human error; officers offer tips and hints to reduce the potential for any errors. The authority had robust procedures in place regarding cyber security. There were no cyber attacks that had penetrated the authorities’ cyber barriers. It was an area officers were always reviewing and monitoring. The Chair thanked all Officers for the report. NOTED, that the Governance and Audit Committee note the information report.
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RESOLVED, that the Governance and Audit Committee request the report be presented to Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs for further discussion at the appropriate Scrutiny.
The Chair introduced the Audit Wales report (previously circulated) for information. He stated it was his believe the report was due to be presented to Scrutiny for further debate. Lay Member Nigel Rudd stated he was disappointed with the Audit Wales report when it was first released as it primarily focused on the public sector to the exclusion potentially of the private sector. He thought it would have be beneficial to have had some detail or information on the nature of the housing market and how the provision of temporary accommodation sits within that market. He felt the hidden message within the Audit Wales report was around prevention of homelessness. He felt that the report did not demonstrate the inability to pick up the housing market in terms of what was happening in terms of owner occupation, evictions and defaults; what was happening in terms of advice provided with the working relationship with lenders identified under the help to buy scheme; what was happening in terms of trying to pick up any planning issues. He felt that that information would have provided a clear and strong focus on how that primary engagement across the authority was happening. Prior to the meeting Mr Rudd had requested some detail on the qualifications of staff, engaged in this area. He asked if there were any employees with a qualification or certificate in mortgage advise and protection advice engaged in this area. Which may be beneficial to support and reduce the risk of residents becoming homeless. It was pleasing to read about the positive work of the department with the rapid rehoming and demonstrated some good practices. The Audit Wales Representative Carwyn Rees confirmed the scope of the audit was down to the Auditor General’s remit, looking at where public bodies were spending money. He stated he would feedback the comments made for future reports of this nature. The Corporate Director: Communities stated she was unaware that the reports were only for informational purposes. She stressed the number of Senior Officers in attendance that had given up time to attend. Officers were prepared to be scrutinised on these reports. In response the Chair stressed the formal Scrutiny of these reports was best placed with one of the authorities Scrutiny Committees. Governance and Audit members needed to be made aware of the regulatory reports hence them being presented for information. The Monitoring Officer stated there may have been a communication error, his understanding was these types of reports would be presented as an information report in the first instance and if the committee felt it warranted further discussion by Scrutiny or Governance and Audit Committee the appropriate recommendations would be made. Councillor Mark Young asked for further information on the plans on preventing temporary accommodation becoming long term accommodation. In response the Homelessness Service Manager stated as part of the rapid rehousing plan officers had considered various options and had reviewed regularly. A priority of officers had been to reduce the number of hotels and bed and breakfasts used as temporary accommodation which is not suitable accommodation. Considerable work to reduce the number of residents in that type of accommodation had resulted in a reduction in the numbers along with a reduction in the length of time residents are in those types of accommodations. The Head of Adult Social Care and Homelessness stressed a lot of work in prevention had taken place. Officers had worked hard to prevent residents becoming homeless and entering the system. It had made a great impact on the amount of homelessness in Denbighshire. Ongoing support was offered to residents in the service or following time residents spent in emergency or temporary accommodation. The rapid rehousing plan had been in place for some time and encompassed the whole aspect of homelessness. This report addressed one aspect of the process which had been reviewed by Audit Wales. Officers confirmed they had responded to the high-level Audit Wales recommendations. Action plans were already in place and numerous action plans were already implemented. The Chair suggested the report be presented to the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs for discussion and input on to the relevant Scrutiny forward work programme. Councillor Rhys Thomas, Lead Member for Housing and Communities welcomed the Audit Wales report. He noted it was a national report and was heartening to see there were several references to the good work done within Denbighshire. RESOLVED, that the Governance and Audit Committee request the report be presented to Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs for further discussion at the appropriate Scrutiny.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED, that the report be included at the next Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs meeting for further debate.
The Chair introduced the Care Inspectorate Wales Inspection report – Cysgod Y Gaer for information (previously circulated). Lay Member Nigel Rudd thanked Officers for the good report. It was an easy-to-read report that made review of the contents easy to digest. It raised no concerns. The Chair echoed the thoughts of Nigel Rudd and welcomed the positive report. Members thanked officers for the report and asked if there were any outstanding compliance risks that needed attention. In response the Head of Adult Social Care and Homelessness confirmed the report had produced some recommendations, officers were working at each recommendation and several actions had already been put in place. Training was difficult to release staff to attend training sessions, but a lot of work to upskill employees in several different methods had taken place. All mandatory training had been completed. The Chair suggested the report be presented to the Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs Group for further discussion at a Scrutiny Committee meeting. All Members were in agreement. RESOLVED, that the report be included at the next Scrutiny Chairs and Vice Chairs meeting for further debate.
The Chair introduced the Care Inspectorate Wales report on Fostering Services for information (previously circulated). The Chair stressed two reports had been included under the one covering report. Councillor Mark Young asked for further assurance on foster carer recruitment and retention and the capacity of Children’s Services to deliver the improvements mentioned in the report. In response the Head of Service for Education and Children's - Children's Social Care informed members the team had a project to recruit more foster carers and to support those already in the service. The team were ready to send out communication on the work of the teams. There would be numerous press releases sent out in a staged way to give positive mention to services who provide excellent services across the authority. Thanks were offered to all services for proactively working with the team to offer benefits in the recruitment to the service. There were some areas of the improvement plan from CIW which were difficult to complete. Recruitment to key supervisory posts were challenging to fill. The team were working well with the challenges and working towards filling the vacant positions in the department. Members were grateful for the honest answer and acknowledged the challenges around recruitment. The Chair noted reference to the Joint Inspection of Child Protection arrangement which was conducted in February 2023. He reminded members of the concern on the timing and short notice of the inspection. He asked if the same issues had been experienced with these inspections. The Corporate Director: Communities stated that was the nature of inspections in Social Care, they can be unannounced or short notice provided. The joint inspection was unique as the Local Authority was the Lead for 4 agencies all at the same time. The coordination of that inspection was challenging. The inspections detailed in the papers was the follow- up from the joint inspection from the Social Care aspect only. The timing of the Joint inspection being just before Christmas had been a significant issue of the inspection. Officers stressed the concerns on timings had been reiterated to the agencies which had been considered with subsequent inspections. The Corporate Director: Communities informed members that the way the action was presented to the committee was a result of the was CIW reported back to the authority. Numerous types of formats are used dependant on the inspection. They did not follow the same criteria as other regulatory bodies. Recommendations from inspections are imbedded in service plans and business plans of the service. Lay Member Nigel Rudd suggested lobbying to the regulatory bodies to all use the same repot template or format across all bodies to allow for consistency and ease for officers. Officers were happy to liaise with officers with the thoughts and suggestions of the committee. The Chair thanked all the Officers for the detailed and positive report. NOTED, that the Governance and Audit Committee note the contents of the information report.
Rhaid i gynghorwyr ddweud pan fydd ganddyn nhw gysylltiad personol â rhywbeth sy'n cael ei drafod, fel swydd, eiddo neu aelod o'r teulu. Mae buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu yn ddigon cryf i'r cynghorydd adael yr ystafell fel arfer a pheidio â chymryd rhan.
Caiff datganiadau eu darllen o'r cofnodion unwaith y byddan nhw wedi'u cyhoeddi.
Dyw'r cyngor ddim wedi cofnodi presenoldeb ar gyfer y cyfarfod hwn.
Yn rhestru cynghorwyr presennol y cyngor yn unig. Nid yw aelodau cyfetholedig, swyddogion a chyn-gynghorwyr yn cael eu dangos.