Wrthi'n llwytho
Y penderfyniadau fel y mae cofnodion y cyngor yn eu cofnodi. Bydd crynodeb mewn iaith glir yn dilyn pan fydd wedi'i ysgrifennu.
RESOLVED:- That the governance and Audit Committee Terms of Reference be noted.
RESOLVED:- That the Governance & Audit Committee considered the processes in place to support the effective management of risks, and the attached risk and control register extract for corporate risks.
RESOLVED:- That the Audit Wales work programme has been noted.
RESOLVED: That the Internal Audit Charter 2023-24 was approved.
There were no apologies for absence.
Matters Arising The following was discussed: · Councillor Jeremy Wellens had sent his apologies for the Governance and Audit Committee (GAC) meeting on 8th February 2024. · That the Group Leaders received development on Monday 12 February 2024 with the Local Government Association (LGA) and not the WLGA. · The Chief Officer for Governance and Customer was concerned that an issue was being raised during the meeting regarding matters of confidence and advised that if Members wished to discuss confidential items then Members should consider moving the meeting to part 2 rather than discuss it in the Public arena. · Interim Chair Councillor Dana Davies advised Members of the GAC that: a) There was no agenda item that would allow the issue regarding matters of confidence to be discussed; b) There was no provision in the constitution for considering the issue at this point. c) That motions would need to go to Full Council first. d) Support would be provided to Members regarding the procedures if required. · It was confirmed that one elected Member had attended the LGA development training. · The Chief Officer for Governance and Customer advised that issues regarding Member mandatory training was under the remit of the Democratic Services Committee and that at their recent meeting it was reported that there had been an increased uptake of Member modular training. · The Chair of the Democratic Services Committee will be invited to attend a future GAC meeting to discuss mandatory training with the GAC. · The date for the workshop to cover the objective of the GAC Committee and their relationship with Scrutiny Committees has yet to be confirmed. RESOLVED:- That the Minutes held on 23 November 2023 be signed as a correct record.
Members were reminded of their responsibility under Paragraph 11 of the Members’ Code of Conduct, to declare the existence and nature of any personal interest in respect of any of the business to be transacted at this meeting. The following declarations were made:- Item Number 6 Risk and Control Register Q3 2023/24 and Item 7 Audit Wales-Wrexham Work Programme and Timetable Q3. Independent Lay Member David Stewart – personal and non-prejudicial – The Independent Lay Member was in receipt of an occupational pension and was also a Member of the GAC in Denbighshire Council. The independent Lay Member remained in the meeting taking part in the discussion and voting thereon.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED:- That the governance and Audit Committee Terms of Reference be noted.
The following was discussed:- · The recommended revised updates to the GAC Terms of Reference will be reported to the Constitution Working Group in due course. · A Member highlighted that there were very few references to timelines and turnaround times. · The Chief Officer for Finance and ICT informed members regarding the current process of financial reporting to Scrutiny Committees and the Executive Board. · The effectiveness around the financial reporting process will be discussed at the GAC Call over. · Questions regarding staff and elected Member training will be discussed at a future meeting when the Chair of Democratic Services is in attendance to address them. RESOLVED:- That the governance and Audit Committee Terms of Reference be noted.
The Chair of the Governance and Audit Committee (GAC) introduced the Work Programme and the following was discussed: · Members were informed that a survey had been carried out for all GAC Members that focused on identifying their skills gap. · Consideration was given to extending the assessment for skills gap and training assessments requirements for lay members will be considered in the future. · Only four responses were received from GAC Members for the recent GAC skills gap survey. · Members discussed how to address and improve the Members skills gap. · The Draft Statement of Accounts 2023/24 will be reported in July 2024 and that the Audit of the Statement of Accounts 2023/24 will be reported in the autumn 2024. · A Member enquired about the frequency of reporting for the Annual Governance statement (AGS). · It was confirmed that the AGS was scheduled in the yearly Work Programme twice and that the most recent AGS had been scheduled for December 2024; however, the December GAC meeting had been changed to workshop. · The Leader of the Council made reference to page 13 of the report and identified that there was confusion regarding the GAC’s role where it drifted into the standards and discipline arena.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED:- That the Governance & Audit Committee considered the processes in place to support the effective management of risks, and the attached risk and control register extract for corporate risks.
The Chief Executive submitted a report (CE/08/24) that highlighted the Council’s work in managing its Risk and Control register and how the Council’s corporate risks were being managed. The Chief Executive submitted a report (CE/08/24) that highlighted the Council’s work in managing its Risk and Control register and how the Council’s corporate risks were being managed. The Head of Service, Performance, Improvement, Partnerships and Scrutiny introduced the report and highlighted the main points within it. Members asked a number of questions which were responded to accordingly, and the following points were highlighted during the detailed debate:- · There were no trends listed in the corporate risk report because the documented risks were derived from a new performance, risk and project management system named ‘Insight’ and this was the first time this new system has been used to generate a report for the GAC Committee. This information would be available in the next report. · Members were assured that the regional plans mentioned during the meeting had been revised and were up to date. · The Head of Service, Performance, Improvement, Partnerships and Scrutiny could provide a training session that provided an overview of the new ‘Insight’ system for Members. · Insight ensured that actions to mitigate risks were assigned to named officers who were responsible for the action and updating the status in the system. The Risk Owner was responsible for monitoring the target and completion dates for their risks. · The process on how risks and RAG ratings were mitigated and managed was explained to Members. · A Member enquired about the definition of corporate risks and what made them strategic. · Members were assured that for every closed risk then there would be an explanation documented within the Insight system and that the same would apply to cross cutting risks. · The Head of Service, Performance, Improvement, Partnerships and Scrutiny informed Members that she will look into a method on how to efficiently extract a risk report from the new ‘Insight’ system that would detail closed off risks, but that this would be dependent on the associated costs. She noted that information about closed risks was not previously included in the reports provided to the committee. · Members were advised to email the Head of Service, Performance, Improvement, Partnerships and Scrutiny regarding any specific risk mitigation enquiries and she will forward them onto the relevant officers who will respond accordingly. · The new ‘Insight’ system was implemented half way through the financial year because officers wanted to make use of the new system as quickly as possible. · Members were assured that there was a cultural alarm system should there be a sudden increase in risk that would potentially effect the Council and that should there be a significant change regarding the risk ratings or if there was a situation causing a concern in the risk status then the Senior Leadership Team would be involved. · The Leader of the Council raised concern regarding SC024 on page 32 of the report where there was a risk that unregulated children’s placements made by the local authority to meet the needs of children and young people due to the national shortage of placements may result in prosecution of the local authority and the unmet needs of children and young people. · There needed to be a right level of assurance that the correct level of mitigation had been implemented whilst dealing with the council’s risks. · Members were assured that the risks associated with the statutory waste targets risk reflected the assessment at the end of quarter three and that there will be an update in quarter four. · Actions that were identified to be actioned by the 31st March 2024 were monitored and would be available to be reviewed and the relevant associated risks discussed at the next GAC meeting. RESOLVED:- That the Governance & Audit Committee considered the processes in place to support the effective management of risks, and the attached risk and control register extract for corporate risks.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED:- That the Audit Wales work programme has been noted.
The Audit Wales Lead for Performance and Audit presented the report and highlighted the main points within it. The following was discussed:- · A Member enquired about: a) Details regarding the good practice event that was scheduled for Spring 2024. b) Wrexham Member attendance numbers regarding the culture and behaviour training that took place during December 2023. · Members were assured that during the Statement of Accounts Audit 2022/23 that the technical issues associated to the valuation of assets had also been raised thematically with other local authorities too. · Members were informed that the treatment of asset valuations went back a decade. · Reference was made to the Child Inspectorate Wales planned work regarding joint inspection child protection arrangements (JICPA) and a Member enquired if Wrexham Council would be one of the two multi-agencies that would be selected for their planned inspection work. RESOLVED:- That the Audit Wales work programme has been noted.
Y penderfyniad fel y'i cofnodwyd
RESOLVED: That the Internal Audit Charter 2023-24 was approved.
Internal Audit Charter 2024-25 The Chief Officer for Finance and IT submitted report asking Members to approve the Wrexham Internal Audit Charter for 2024-25 (including the Internal Audit Plan 2024-25). The Head of Service and Technical introduced the report and highlighted the points within it. The following was discussed:- · An explanation was given around how the risk based audit plan 2024/25 was formulated. · A Member requested that the Head of Internal Audit and Technical kept the GAC Committee updated regarding any pressures effecting the risk audit plan going forward. · A Member enquired about how security was maintained when there was a whistle blowing investigation. · Members were assured that the Head of Internal Audit and Technical had direct access to the Senior Leadership Team, the Governance and Audit Committee and if required direct communication with free unaffected access to the Chief Executive and the Chair of the Governance and Audit Committee. · A Member made reference to the new Global Internal Audit Standards and enquired if Wrexham Internal Audit be impacted with these new standards. · A Member raised concerned that there had been an 8% increase in the number of planned audits in the 2024-25 audit plan. · The Head of Internal Audit and Technical assured Members that the 2024-25 Audit plan was flexible and that the planned days annotated within the audit plan had been based on an estimate. · A Member sought assurance regarding the NFI work, that was aimed at the prevention of fraud and error that was planned to be carried out across the key financial systems. RESOLVED: That the Internal Audit Charter 2023-24 was approved.
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.
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