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RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee meeting held on 3rd February 2026 as an accurate record.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the national report published by Audit Wales and seek clarity and further information, as required, from Audit Wales on the content of the report; 2. To note the Council’s response to the recommendation reported by Audit Wales that relates to Councils across Wales, and seek clarity and further information, as required, from the Council; 3. To consider whether there are any matters of a governance, internal control or risk management nature that require further action or attention by the Governance and Audit Committee; and 4. To consider whether there are any matters of a performance nature that require referral to the Council’s Scrutiny Committees.
RESOLVED: 1. To review the draft report and consider what comments and / or recommendations, if any, they wish to make; and 2. To endorse the Head of Internal Audit’s Annual Report 2025/26.
RESOLVED: 1. To consider and approve the Internal Audit Charter 2026/27 as attached as Appendix A to the report, in accordance with the Committee’s Terms of Reference and the ‘Global Internal Audit Standards in the UK Public Sector’.
RESOLVED: 1. To review and approve the draft risk based Internal Audit Plan for 2026/27.
The Chair welcomed Members, officers and the Cabinet Member for Resources to the meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee. Apologies for absence were received from County Borough Councillor R Bevan, Mr M Jehu and Mr J Roszkowski.
In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee meeting held on 3rd February 2026 as an accurate record.
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee meeting held on 3rd February 2026 as an accurate record.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Audit Wales provided the Committee with its work programme and timetable for Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, which covered the positions in respect of annual audit summary; financial audit work; performance audit work; Local Government national studies planned / in progress; other Regulators; Audit Wales national reports and other outputs published in the last year / work in progress / planned; and Good Practice Exchange events and resources. One Member referred to the thematic review into Unscheduled Care and spoke of its importance in helping Local Government and the Health Authority to gain a better understanding into hospital admissions and the potential medium to long-term solutions. The Member, who had been requesting updates for some time, sought further details from Audit Wales. Audit Wales fed back that the report has been drafted and is progressing through the clearance process, and Members were assured that updates are being requested at appropriate intervals to enable Governance and Audit Committee to be kept up-to-date with the latest position. One Member noted that the completion date for the Welsh Church Act Fund financial statements 2025/26 was November 2026 - January 2027 and requested an interim update from Audit Wales. Audit Wales advised that a verbal update would be brought back to the next appropriate meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee. The Director - Financial Services and Transformation added that Audit Wales officers are in the process of liaising with the Council’s finance officers in terms of the planning arrangements for the external audit of the Welsh Church Act Fund financial statements, with the audit on schedule to be completed in line with the timescale included in the report. The Vice-Chair referred to the 2025/26 performance audit work and the 3 areas included in the programme in respect of Recruitment and Retention, Cyber Security and Housing Adaptations and sought clarity on the timescales for publication of the reports. Audit Wales stated that due to the clearance process and the Welsh Government election period, the reports would likely be published in June 2026. The Chair thanked Audit Wales for the report and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the national report published by Audit Wales and seek clarity and further information, as required, from Audit Wales on the content of the report; 2. To note the Council’s response to the recommendation reported by Audit Wales that relates to Councils across Wales, and seek clarity and further information, as required, from the Council; 3. To consider whether there are any matters of a governance, internal control or risk management nature that require further action or attention by the Governance and Audit Committee; and 4. To consider whether there are any matters of a performance nature that require referral to the Council’s Scrutiny Committees.
Audit Wales provided the Governance and Audit Committee with information on its national report ‘The Building Blocks? Capital Planning in Councils in Wales’, which had been published in January 2026 and set out the Local Authority related recommendations. Audit Wales emphasised that the findings were broad and in relation to all Councils across Wales and advised Members of the following areas identified to improve the way in which Councils plan their capital spending: - grant funding processes do not always help councils to plan for the longer term or provide value for money (VFM); - the intended outcomes of capital plans are generally not clearly set out by councils; - the reasons for the need for capital spending are not always clearly set out by councils; and - reports on capital spending do not usually focus on the VFM achieved from that spending. It was therefore recommended that Councils review their capital planning against the checklist compiled by Audit Wales, which sets out key aspects of sound capital planning, informed by audit criteria. As part of this, it was recommended that Councils focus on training for Elected Members on capital planning; ensuring that asset condition survey information is up to date; and routinely assess the effectiveness of capital projects. Furthermore, it was also recommended that the Welsh Government review its processes around the award of restricted grant funding and where practical new capital grant funding schemes via Welsh Government help councils to plan over the longer term. The Director - Financial Services and Transformation then provided an overview of the actions to be taken by the Council to address the local authority related recommendations included within the report, with the detail attached at Appendix A for the Committee’s consideration. The Director went on to relay that the Council will have regard to the Audit Wales checklist as part of producing its Capital Strategy for 2027/28. In respect of the recommendation to ensure capital plans and financial statements are informed by recent, accurate and comprehensive knowledge of the condition of assets, the Director fed back that inspection arrangements were firmly established within the Council for highways infrastructure, including roads, bridges, culverts, retaining walls, and disused coal tips, along with a rolling programme of condition surveys in place for schools. It was explained that these inspection and survey programmes would continue to inform future investment priorities and the allocation of capital resources to individual schemes and that other schemes within the capital programme would continue to be assessed in line with the development of business cases and supporting evidence such as condition surveys and feasibility studies. In terms of the recommendation to routinely evaluate capital projects to assess if they have achieved their intended outcomes, the Director advised that the Council uses a range of evaluation processes reflecting the nature of individual schemes and external funding requirements, with specific arrangements in place for, for example, school and regeneration projects. The Director provided assurance to the Committee that as part of the implementation of the recommendation, the Council would build on its current arrangements and ensure that the impacts from major capital projects would be incorporated into quarterly performance reports, which are considered by both Cabinet and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Lastly, in respect of the Audit Wales recommendation to ensure appropriate training is provided to Councillors to enable them to take well-informed decisions on, and provide effective oversight and scrutiny of, capital plans and projects, the Director advised that the Council would extend the information it includes within its existing training material to provide further coverage on capital planning. The Vice-Chair noted that one of the recommendations encourages local authorities to take into account the checklist developed by Audit Wales as part of capital planning arrangements and sought clarity to what extent across Wales were Councils already applying the main areas within the checklist. The Councillor also posed the same question in respect of the checklist to Council officers, in terms of the extent to which the Council’s arrangements were already aligned with the checklist. Audit Wales advised that the team considered the 22 Welsh Local Authorities as part of the study and that the areas identified for improvement within the checklist represented those areas that would apply to most Councils. Audit Wales also noted that the report contains examples of notable practices that were identified across local authorities as part of the review. From an RCT perspective, the Director – Financial Services and Transformation fed back that the Council welcomed the detail set out within the checklist and noted that the Council’s current Capital Strategy and quarterly performance reporting arrangements provide information that aligns to the checklist. The Director reiterated that due regard would be given to the checklist as part of compiling the Council’s next Capital Strategy. One Member recognised that RCT had a Capital Programme to be proud of and that there was a need for robust governance arrangements. The Member referred to the recommendation around ensuring capital projects are evaluated to assess if they have achieved their intended outcomes and sought clarity from the Director in terms of how the evaluation process would be addressed to ensure it is manageable and coordinated. The Director spoke of the need for a pragmatic and proportionate approach given the significant capital programme referenced by the Member. The Director spoke of the sound project management and project board arrangements already in place, which were used to develop and deliver capital projects. The Director went on to relay that these arrangements are the primary means to evaluate impacts / outcomes and noted that updates in this regard for key strategic projects would be incorporated into quarterly performance reports. The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the national report published by Audit Wales and seek clarity and further information, as required, from Audit Wales on the content of the report; 2. To note the Council’s response to the recommendation reported by Audit Wales that relates to Councils across Wales, and seek clarity and further information, as required, from the Council; 3. To consider whether there are any matters of a governance, internal control or risk management nature that require further action or attention by the Governance and Audit Committee; and 4. To consider whether there are any matters of a performance nature that require referral to the Council’s Scrutiny Committees.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: 1. To review the draft report and consider what comments and / or recommendations, if any, they wish to make; and 2. To endorse the Head of Internal Audit’s Annual Report 2025/26.
The Service Director of Audit, Performance and Transformational Services provided the Governance and Audit Committee with a copy of the Head of Internal Audit’s Annual Report for 2025/26. The report provided information in respect of the performance of the Internal Audit Service, a summary of the work completed and concluded with an opinion on the Council’s overall governance, risk management and control activities for 2025/26. Based upon the work completed during 2025/26, the Head of Internal Audit’s opinion was that the Council’s overall governance, risk management and control activities operated effectively during 2025/26 with some areas identified for improvement. The Vice-Chair referred to the audit in respect of school procurement arrangements, which was not being carried forward into 2026/27, and sought clarity on the revised area to be reviewed and whether it links with the original procurement related focus that was the intention in the 2025/26 plan. The Service Director informed the Committee that the draft plan for 2026/27 included a procurement arrangements review, which would consider compliance with the Procurement Act, and as part of the scope a sample of schools would be included to provide assurance to Members. One Member praised the team for the year-on-year improvement in Audit Plan performance and questioned the adequacy of the allocated days to deliver unplanned work. The Member also noted that the return rate for the client questionnaires stood at 49% and suggested that upon issuing the questionnaires, a statement from the Governance and Audit Committee is included to emphasise the importance of returning a response. The Service Director thanked the Member for the suggestion and agreed to take it on board, with the anticipation of improving the return rate going forward. In terms of the question in respect of capacity to deliver unplanned work, the Service Director fed back that it was positive that Internal Audit were requested to undertake specific additional audit work during the year, where required, and indicated that close monitoring arrangements are in place to enable the Audit Plan to be delivered and unplanned work to be managed within available resources. The Chair acknowledged the broad scope of the service and asked which areas of education and training would be prioritised in the forthcoming year. The Service Director spoke of the new Global Internal Audit Standards, which came into effect during April 2025, and identified new responsibilities in terms of ensuring that audit teams have knowledge around ethics and professionalism, professional scepticism and root cause analysis. The Committee were provided with assurance that training in respect of these key areas had been delivered in collaboration with neighbouring Local Authorities and the Service Director was satisfied that this, along with other various Council led training in areas such as safeguarding, data protection and cyber security, had provided the team with a well-rounded knowledge base to carry out their roles effectively. Going forward, it was explained that an on-going programme of training would be available and provided to the Internal Audit team, informed by the Council’s individual performance review process, to ensure training aligns both to the needs of the service and team members. The Vice-Chair fed back that it would be beneficial for future Head of Internal Audit Annual Reports to also present completion of annual plan performance graphically to more clearly show the direction of travel over time. The Chair thanked the team for their work and recognised the 12% improvement in plan completion compared to the previous year. The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To review the draft report and consider what comments and / or recommendations, if any, they wish to make; and 2. To endorse the Head of Internal Audit’s Annual Report 2025/26.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: 1. To consider and approve the Internal Audit Charter 2026/27 as attached as Appendix A to the report, in accordance with the Committee’s Terms of Reference and the ‘Global Internal Audit Standards in the UK Public Sector’.
The Internal Audit Manager presented the Governance and Audit Committee with the Internal Audit Charter for 2026/27, in conformance with the Global Internal Audit Standards in the UK Public Sector. A copy of the 2026/27 Internal Audit Charter was provided at Appendix A to the report for Member’s consideration. It was noted there had been no further changes to the Internal Audit Charter for 2026/27, further to the 4th November 2025 update to the Governance and Audit Committee and, as such, Members had no further comments. The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To consider and approve the Internal Audit Charter 2026/27 as attached as Appendix A to the report, in accordance with the Committee’s Terms of Reference and the ‘Global Internal Audit Standards in the UK Public Sector’.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: 1. To review and approve the draft risk based Internal Audit Plan for 2026/27.
The Internal Audit Manager provided the Governance and Audit Committee with the draft risk based Internal Audit Plan for 2026/27. The Chair thanked the officer for the report and sought clarity on which audits had been included as a direct result of reviewing the Council’s Strategic Risk Register. Members were informed that the Strategic Risk Register was one of the key documents used to inform the Internal Audit Plan and the officer advised that several of the audits identified for the forthcoming year had a direct link to the register, including, cyber security; the feasibility of key energy projects; referrals to children’s social care; social housing letting agencies and temporary accommodation; additional learning needs; attendance and exclusions; and change control processes. One Member referred to the thematic reviews in respect of safeguarding, governance and school private fund that were undertaken in schools in 2025/26 and asked if the areas would be addressed in the Audit Plan for the forthcoming year. The Member spoke of concerns which had been heightened due to the outcome of the child practice review undertaken at a Council in Wales, following conclusion of the criminal court case. The officer stated that all school audits within the audit plan for 2026/27 would be subject to a set programme of tests, including the thematic themes of safeguarding, governance and school private fund. The officer added that the outcomes from the thematic reviews completed in 2025/26 had been shared with the Director of Education and Inclusion Services, schools and governors and awareness sessions had taken place regarding the findings and common themes. The Chair thanked the officer for the report and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To review and approve the draft risk based Internal Audit Plan for 2026/27.
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