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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED That the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Update report and the Internal Audit plan to 31 December 2022 be noted.
RESOLVED That the report be accepted; subject to a review taking place in the way the Risk Register was presented; and that there was consistency in approach from the various directorates.
RESOLVED That the report be accepted; subject to the extra information requested in relation to the ICT Capacity and Catering Risk be included in subsequent reports.
RESOLVED That the report be noted.
RESOLVED That the progress on the actions within the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan 2022-24 be noted.
RESOLVED That the progress update in respect of the Statement of Accounts for 2021-22 and Annual Governance Statement for 2021-22 be noted.
RESOLVED 1. That the report be accepted. 2. That a full report on the cost of the liquidation of the contractor WRW on the contracts Johnston, Charles Street Milford Haven and Tiers Cross be brought to the next meeting. 3. That the report shall include an account of the arrangements that were now in place, to ensure existing or future performance bonds, were of a nature that protect the Council in the event of future failures.
RESOLVED That the update of the Audit Wales Work Programme and Timetablebe noted.
RESOLVED That the report be noted.
RESOLVED That the Audit Wales Assurance and Risk Assessment progress update be noted.
RESOLVED That the Audit Wales National Report titled ‘The New Curriculum for Wales’ be noted.
RESOLVED That the Direct Payments for Adult Social Care Action Plan be noted
No declarations of interest were received.
In considering the minutes the following comments were made: · Dr Norma Barry highlighted that within the minutes there were eight identified actions and queried how these would be monitored and taken forward. She suggested that there could be a schedule of actions. · In relation to item 12 of the minutes, Dr Norma Barry queried where it stated she was ‘suggesting that to assist with the financial challenges an increase in Council Tax should be considered’. She questioned if that was accurate because her recollection of what she said was that the Council faced tough decisions noting that Pembrokeshire had the lowest Band D Council Tax in Wales. The Director of Resources agreed to look back at the webcast and amend the minutes accordingly. · The Director of Resources in response to the suggestion of a schedule of actions highlighted that there was a corporate style of minutes; however, that did not prevent the Committee having an action plan to keep track of actions if the Committee were minded to take that approach. · Councillor Michael Stoddart drew attention to the last bullet point of Item 13 of the minutes where he had asked for an update on an amendment he had made during a Council debate. It was noted it had been actioned; however, it had not been in relation to the relevant Council Meeting and should have been the July Council Meeting in 2019. He commented that it would be helpful to have action points like this added to the minutes for future minutes as a more efficient way to follow up actions. · The Chair stated that he concurred with the suggestion of adding action points to the minutes of future meetings while accepting that there was a corporate template for minutes, with Dr Norma Barry advising she would send Officers the actions she had noted following the meeting. · The Director of Resources requested that the Committee make it explicit in any resolution what actions were required to be included in the action plan. He suggested there may have been some confusion at the last Meeting due to actions being raised which were not formally included in a resolution. · The Head of Law and Governance agreed the importance of the Committee being clear on what was expected in the resolution to ensure Democratic Services could reflect that in the minutes. She reminded the Committee that the item was to deal with the accuracy of the minutes and that she had taken on board what had the Committee had said in terms of forming an action plan and would liaise with Democratic Services on that matter. · The Chair advised that he would request that Democratic Services would record some of the points raised by the members at the previous meeting and consider that going forward the resolutions were more explicit in respect of actions required for the follow-up meetings. · Councillor Michael Stoddart requested that a new response was circulated in relation to the amendment he raised in the Council debate in July 2019. He also queried if the Committee were going to go ahead with an action plan would an extra item need to be created to discuss the action points. · Dr Norma Barry referred to her previous experience that actions have been clearly stated in the body of the minutes and then a schedule listing actions from previous meetings outlining outcomes of the actions. · The Director of Resources suggested that an item could be added after the minutes for matters arising to consider the actions for future meetings. The Committee agreed with an extra agenda item to be added. The Committee then considered the accuracy of the minutes. Moved by Councillor Michael Stoddart; Seconded by Dr Norma Barry The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Minutes of the Meeting held on 12 July 2022 be approved as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Update report and the Internal Audit plan to 31 December 2022 be noted.
The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager introduced the Internal Audit & Counter Fraud Quarter 2 Update for 2022-23 report, outlined the key points and welcomed questions from Members. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · In response to Dr Norma Barry, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager, provided further information on the secondment of the Chief Audit, Risk and Information Officer to the WLGA and the backfilling of the Principal Auditor Post. · Dr Norma Barry queried whether the Authority could come under criticism in relation to the court case from a fraud referral and whether lessons had been learned. It was noted that due to the case being ongoing no comment could be made at this stage. · In terms of the Counter Fraud Officer role, Dr Norma Barry queried whether it would be permanent. The Chief Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager highlighted that currently it was a fixed term contract; however, it was hoped that it would be able to show the benefits once the role was in place and the counter fraud work started to be implemented. · Councillor Jacob Williams raised concerns over the introduction of a new Finance System where payments made might have been unattributed causing residents to receive letters for payment or court action in error. The Director of Resources advised that a new system was implemented with a few teething problems and that during Covid there had been some challenges due to payments being made with insufficient references; however, he was not aware of those specific issues referred to. · The Chief Executive advised that if there was specific information in relation to these concerns then it would be helpful to have that information so that it can be followed up appropriately and determine what exactly has happened. Moved by Dr Norma Barry; Seconded by Councillor Michael James The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Update report and the Internal Audit plan to 31 December 2022 be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the report be accepted; subject to a review taking place in the way the Risk Register was presented; and that there was consistency in approach from the various directorates.
The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager presented the report which was an update on the risk management position of the Council at quarter 2 2022-23 and to highlight any changes from Quarter 1. Councillor Michael Stoddart referred to a scrutiny meeting where the Cabinet Member for Place, Region and Climate Change had commented that the current energy contract of the Authority ran out at the end of the financial year and that there could be a steep increase in these costs. In response, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager, highlighted that the increase in energy costs had been picked up as part of the financial resilience risk. He also outlined that it could also contribute to the cost of living crisis, which was also a risk in the report for consideration. Dr Norma Barry commented that she found the Risk Register difficult to follow and that there were inconsistencies in its presentation. She highlighted that the use of a tick or a cross did not give an indication of what progress had been made and there was also nothing to indicate the expected outcomes or impact. She then went onto highlight some specific comments in relation to the risk register as follows, with a request for the presentation of the Risk Register to be reviewed: · In Social Services all risk control measures plans were ongoing with no deadlines provided. · In Education there was no deadline for implementing the Audit and Estyn recommendations. · On the Local Economy there were no deadlines for some of the risk control measures planned including Freeport Status and Regional Food Park. · On Maintaining Safety of Staff Members there was no update on progress · On Safeguarding there were no risk control measures planned The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager provided assurance that the actions were on track; however, he was happy to review the presentation of the Risk Register and link up with Dr Norma Barry on the matter outside the Meeting. Councillor Michael James drew attention to the reduction in risk residual rating in Social Care Failure to deliver Statutory Duties and commented that it was still a serious situation. The Chair referred to the Acceleration of the Improvement Programme Opportunity and queried whether the risk control measures planned were on track for completion October 2022. The Chief Executive provided assurance that the measures were ongoing and that he was content in how they were progressing. Moved by Dr Norma Barry; Seconded by Councillor Jacob Williams. The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the report be accepted; subject to a review taking place in the way the Risk Register was presented; and that there was consistency in approach from the various directorates.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the report be accepted; subject to the extra information requested in relation to the ICT Capacity and Catering Risk be included in subsequent reports.
The Director of Resources presented the Combined Support Services Directorate Risk Register report, outlined the key points and welcomed questions from Members. Dr Norma Barry commented, that the ICT Capacity and Catering risks were shown as ongoing with no deadlines provided. Also that the risk control measures stated were statements and not actually measures, as they refer to the appointment of an accountant focused on the system development and a 7.5% pressure on budget. It was agreed that the Director of Resources would review those two risks and update the Committee via email before the next meeting. Moved by Dr Norma Barry; Seconded by Councillor Michael James The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the report be accepted; subject to the extra information requested in relation to the ICT Capacity and Catering Risk be included in subsequent reports.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the report be noted.
The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager presented the Quarterly Compliments, Concerns and Complaints Report for the consideration of the Committee. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · In response to a query by Dr Norma Barry, on the increase in complaints to 46% and 43% of Waste complaints being upheld, the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager advised that there was now a robust system in how complaints were measured and monitored to ensure a corresponding outcome for the complainant. In terms of Waste, it was noted that the majority of complaints recorded were due to missed collections and that Waste was the highest number of complaints across all Welsh Authorities. · The Chief Executive drew the Committee attention to the Ombusdman Annual Letter 2021/22 at Appendix A, where it stated that the average across all Welsh Authorities was an increase in 47%. · Councillor Michael Stoddart commented that the report does not give the true picture as it does not give weighting to the different complaints. The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager advised that he could look at the formatting of the report to bring in more information around the nature of the complaint; however, he stated that all complaints have to be treated in the same way. The Committee agreed that the Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager review the formatting of the report to provide more information relating to the nature of the complaints. Moved by Councillor Michael Stoddart; Seconded by Councillor Aled Thomas The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the progress on the actions within the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan 2022-24 be noted.
The Director of Resources presented the report, which provided an update on progress against the actions of the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan for the period 2022-24. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Dr Norma Barry commented that it was a good document and easy to follow; however, she highlighted that there were some missing revised targets and intended outcomes in a number of places within the plan. · Concern was raised by Dr Norma Barry in relation to D1 of the plan and the importance of having a Corporate Strategy and queried whether there was a revised timetable for how this action would be taken forward. In response, the Chief Executive confirmed that full Council at its next meeting would be considering the Corporate Governance Action Plan. He highlighted that the action was red due to current financial challenges and alignment of resources rather than the actual progress of the strategy. · The Chair referred to the convergence of financial procedures with local authorities in Wales adopting the same financial standards and queried whether there had been consideration of collaboration with other authorities on back office functions within the strategic plan. The Director of Resources highlighted that some arrangements had been piloted in the past with Carmarthenshire in IT and procurement with limited success; however, would still consider those types of arrangements going forward. He also made reference to the collaborative work of Partneriaeth. · Attention was drawn by the Chair to action A4 and A8 of the plan, which was in relation to the role the Standards Committee and duty of Group Leaders. He asked if a representative of the unaffiliated members could be included in any Group Leader meeting. The Head of Law and Governance advised that she welcomed any representative that wanted to take on that role and it was noted that she would respond directly to Councillor Michael Stoddart on the matter. · In response to a query from the Chair on whether actions D3 and D4 should be amber and not green the Director of Resources advised that they were continued to be reviewed and that D3 had been completed. It was noted that the Director of Resources would review both actions with the Assistant Chief Executive. · The Director of Resources provided assurance on actions F9 – F12 that he was confident the dates could be achieved on current capacity subject to there not being any additional pressures. · The Head of Law and Governance sought clarity on recommendation b in the report, which was ‘for the Committee to agree any key observations and comments for inclusion in the progress report to Cabinet and Council’. The Committee agreed that there were no observations or comments to be included; however, Dr Norma Barry suggested that it would be good for Officers to review the comments she had made. Moved by Councillor Dr Norma Barry; Seconded by Councillor Michael James The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the progress on the actions within the Corporate Governance Improvement Plan 2022-24 be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the progress update in respect of the Statement of Accounts for 2021-22 and Annual Governance Statement for 2021-22 be noted.
The Director of Resources presented the Statement of Accounts/Annual Governance Statement Update, outlined the key points and welcomed questions from Members. The Chair commented that with the draft Statement of Accounts/Annual Governance Statement being presented to the Committee on the 27 November 2022, , it did not give the Committee a lot of time to absorb the information, prior to being submitted Council for approval on the 15 December 2022 Moved by Councillor Michael James; Seconded by Councillor Michael Stoddart The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the progress update in respect of the Statement of Accounts for 2021-22 and Annual Governance Statement for 2021-22 be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED 1. That the report be accepted. 2. That a full report on the cost of the liquidation of the contractor WRW on the contracts Johnston, Charles Street Milford Haven and Tiers Cross be brought to the next meeting. 3. That the report shall include an account of the arrangements that were now in place, to ensure existing or future performance bonds, were of a nature that protect the Council in the event of future failures.
The Corporate Planning Manager presented the pre-consultation draft Annual Self-Assessment 2022 and sought comments from the Committee prior to a formal public and stakeholder consultation. The Committee debated the contents of the draft Annual Self-Assessment and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Dr Norma Barry queried why there was reference to the 2022-23 financial year when the Annual Self-Assessment was for the financial year 2021-22. She also commented, that there were some actions that did not have timeframes and unclear how actions would be measured. The Corporate Planning Manager advised that it was felt that it would be more meaningful where actions went beyond the financial year to provide comment in the Annual Self-Assessment. · Dr Norma Barry referred to action SA3.2 in relation to diversity under democratic participation. She highlighted, that there was only gender and age mentioned, with no reference to wider diversity or the effectiveness of actions. It was noted that the results of the Welsh Local Government Association diversity survey were not yet known. The Corporate Planning Manager also advised that there was a demographic section that provided further detail; however, he acknowledged that there were some gaps. · Councillor Jacob Williams referred to page 316 of the agenda and reiterated his point from a previous agenda item on his concerns around the introduction of the new finance system and payments made might have been unattributed causing residents to receive letters for payment or court action in error, and sought reassurance. In response, the Director of Resources clarified that the Northgate System and Financial system (FIMS) were two separate systems and provided further detail on the implementation of the systems. · Councillor Michael James requested an update on the plans in place for the Director of Social Care and Housing leaving the Authority. The Chair requested that the Democratic Services Officer follow that up with the Chief Executive for Councillor James outside the meeting, due to the Chief Executive having had to leave the meeting. · Councillor Michael Stoddart commented on a section in the report, which refers to affordable housing and highlighted that it was his understanding that not a single house had been built and requested a more detailed report relating to the liquidation of the housing contractor who was building houses for the Council. · The Cabinet Member for Corporate Finance responded to Councillor Williams on the concerns he raised about payment issues. He advised he was not aware of any complaints; however, he assured the Committee that if anyone required it to be escalated he would look into the issue. · In response to the Chair the Corporate Planning Manager advised that the new programme of administration was on track; and that there was ongoing work on Corporate Scorecard around the corrective work element. · The Chair commented that it was pleasing to see the development of an apprenticeship programme and social care work force planning. Moved by Councillor Michael Stoddart; Seconded by Councillor Michael James The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED 1. That the report be accepted. 2. That a full report on the cost of the liquidation of the contractor WRW on the contracts Johnston, Charles Street Milford Haven and Tiers Cross be brought to the next meeting. 3. That the report shall include an account of the arrangements that were now in place, to ensure existing or future performance bonds, were of a nature that protect the Council in the event of future failures.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the update of the Audit Wales Work Programme and Timetablebe noted.
The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager presented the update of the Audit Wales Work Programme and Timetable for the consideration of the Committee. The Committee made no comments and agreed to note the report. Moved by Councillor Michael James; Seconded by Councillor Jacob Williams The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the update of the Audit Wales Work Programme and Timetablebe noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the report be noted.
The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager introduced the report and advised the Committee that the Director of Community Services had provided his apologies and was unable to attend to present the report. The Committee debated the contents of the report and the key points were highlighted as follows: · The Chair asked Audit Wales what initiatives they were considering as far as innovations to the procedures and processes in becoming more efficient. The Performance Audit Lead from Audit Wales highlighted that Committee Members had received training on their approach and processes. She also outlined the benefits relating to remote working and the graduate trainee programme. · Dr Norma Barry asked where the Authority currently was in meeting the net zero target by 2030. The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager advised that he would get an update from the Director of Community Services for the Committee outside the Meeting. · Councillor Michael Stoddart commented on his concerns around the resources that might be required to meet the net zero target. Moved by Councillor Jacob Williams; Seconded by Dr Norma Barry The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the report be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Audit Wales Assurance and Risk Assessment progress update be noted.
The Audit, Risk and Counter Fraud Manager presented the Audit Wales Assurance and Risk Assessment Progress Update report for the consideration of the Committee. The Committee did not have any comments and agreed to note the report. Moved by Councillor Michael James; Seconded by Councillor Jacob Williams The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Audit Wales Assurance and Risk Assessment progress update be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Audit Wales National Report titled ‘The New Curriculum for Wales’ be noted.
The Senior Improvement Advisor presented the Audit Wales National Report – The New Curriculum for Wales for the consideration of the Committee. The Senior Improvement Advisor, in response to Dr Norma Barry, provided further detail on the implementation of the new curriculum for Wales in Pembrokeshire schools. She outlined that it was progressing well and that support sessions were being provided. Councillor Aled Thomas requested that he be emailed a Welsh version of the Audit Wales report. Moved by Councillor Michael James; Seconded by Dr Norma Barry The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Audit Wales National Report titled ‘The New Curriculum for Wales’ be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Direct Payments for Adult Social Care Action Plan be noted
The Service Manager for Performance and Business presented the Direct Payments for Adult Social Care Action Plan and progress to date for the consideration of the Committee. The Committee debated the contents of the action plan and the key points were highlighted as follows: · Councillor Aled Thomas referred to recommendation 6, which had the target date of January 2022. The Service Manager for Performance and Business outlined the ongoing work, with Councillor Thomas suggesting it might be useful to update the ongoing work on the action plan for clarity. · The Service Manager for Performance and Business provided further detail on the feedback mechanisms in place, in response to a query from the Chair. It was noted that this was done through the Independent Living Advisors who were the single point of contact for the service users. Moved by Councillor Michael Stoddart; Seconded by Councillor Michael James The vote, undertaken by way of show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Direct Payments for Adult Social Care Action Plan be noted
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