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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED (a) That the Governance and Audit Committee’s review of the Statement of Accounts for 2024-25 and the Tenby & Lower Fishguard Harbour’s Authority Annual Return for 2024-25, and its consideration of the Audit Wales Audit of Accounts Report and Audit Opinion, be noted. (b) That the Governance and Audit Committee’s determination that there were no comments or concerns arising from the financial statements or from the audit that needed to be brought to the attention of Council and included in the report to Council on 15 October 2026, be noted.
RESOLVED That the Governance and Audit Committee’s consideration of the Pembrokeshire County Council – Annual Audit Summary 2025 and the assurance provided by Audit Wales regarding the Council’s financial management, governance and risk management arrangements, be noted.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Aled Thomas.
No requests received.
There were no declarations of interest made.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED (a) That the Governance and Audit Committee’s review of the Statement of Accounts for 2024-25 and the Tenby & Lower Fishguard Harbour’s Authority Annual Return for 2024-25, and its consideration of the Audit Wales Audit of Accounts Report and Audit Opinion, be noted. (b) That the Governance and Audit Committee’s determination that there were no comments or concerns arising from the financial statements or from the audit that needed to be brought to the attention of Council and included in the report to Council on 15 October 2026, be noted.
The Committee considered a report by the Head of Finance & Revenue Services and the Head of Resources & Procurement which provided a review of the Statement of Account for 2024-25 (Including Tenby and Lower Fishguard Harbours' Authority). The Chair welcomed the Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies to introduce the report and he drew attention to key areas for review, including compliance with financial reporting standards, significant accounting judgements and estimation risks, the appropriateness of accounting policies, matters relating to internal control, and the findings of Audit Wales. The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Corporate Finance and Efficiencies then welcomed Kate Harvard from Audit Wales to discuss this report further. Ms Harvard advised that the audit work primarily involved reviewing the Council's working papers and confirming that the information presented was consistent with Audit Wales' understanding. She further confirmed that no issues of concern had been identified and that, subject to approval, the Annual Return would be certified following the Council's consideration of the accounts. The Committee then debated the contents of the report and the key points were noted as follows: • John Evans MBE referred to comments within the report regarding the increasing difficulty of identifying and implementing budget savings with a risk of delay in Member decision making to implement unpalatable cuts. He sought assurance that measures could be introduced to encourage timely decisions on budget savings and suggested the introduction of a mechanism to provide greater visibility of decision-making timescales. In response, the Chief Executive advised that the delivery of budget savings was influenced by a number of factors outside the Council’s control, particularly the timing and uncertainty of annual funding settlements from Welsh Government. He explained that this made long-term financial planning challenging and often delayed final budget decisions until late in the budget-setting process. The Chief Executive noted that, while officers sought to identify and develop efficiency savings at the earliest opportunity, some proposals required Member consideration and approval before implementation. He added that certain savings measures could take several months to implement, reducing the level of savings achievable within the financial year. Nevertheless, he emphasised that officers sought to present proposals to Members as early as possible and agreed that Mr Evans’ comments regarding timely decision-making were a valid consideration in the budget-setting process. • John Evans MBE sought further clarification of when IFRS 17 (International Financial Reporting Standards) will be adopted in the accounts going forward. In response, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services advised that it comes into effect for 2025-26 but that there would be no material impact likely to impact on the financial statements. Ms Harvard concurred with this and advised that they do not anticipate a significant impact of this standard. • John Evans MBE questioned the policy on termination benefits and redundancies. In response, the Chief Executive advised that redundancies were only implemented where a post was being permanently removed and not subsequently refilled. He explained that such reductions were typically linked to efficiency savings and that the Council's policy required redundancy costs to achieve a return on investment within two years. He noted that, in most cases, the cost of redundancy was significantly lower than the savings generated over a 24-month period and that the Council had consistently operated within this policy framework. • John Evans MBE sought clarification regarding the potential use of financial incentives for staff involved in the production of the accounts and on the capitalisation of staff exit costs associated with transformational programmes. In response, the Director of Resources advised that the Council's pay policy did not permit the use of staff bonuses or financial incentives. He further explained that staff exit costs arising from transformational restructuring programmes could be capitalised and funded from capital receipts, with the resultant savings reflected in future revenue budgets. The Head of Finance and Revenue Services clarified that redundancy, and severance costs were recognised as capital expenditure rather than revenue expenditure where a capitalisation direction applied, thereby reducing the charge to the revenue account. The Head of Resources and Procurement also advised that capitalised expenditure and corresponding use of capital receipts were reported within the Statement of Accounts, ensuring transparency regarding the funding of redundancy costs. • Councillor Anji Tinley referred to the recommendations contained within Appendix 5 and requested a written update on progress made in implementing the outstanding recommendations (AP). Councillor Anji Tinley also sought clarification as to whether the delays and issues identified in relation to the accounts process had been anticipated. In response, the Chief Executive advised that whilst the full extent of the issues had not been anticipated, it had become increasingly apparent during the accounts process that key deadlines would be difficult to achieve. He explained that some of the delays experienced in preparing the 2025-26 accounts were linked to the reconciliation and resolution of issues arising from the 2024-25 accounts. It was agreed that a report be brought to the Committee with the timetable for the processing of the 2026-27 accounts and lessons learnt and actions (AP). · Councillor Steve Alderman sought clarification on whether the Council could reduce fluctuations in the annual asset valuation workload by spreading valuations more evenly across the five-year programme. In response, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services advised that a review of the valuation programme had previously been undertaken. She explained that the significant workload in 2024-25 arose from the requirement to value both the Housing Revenue Account stock and a large number of specialised assets. She added that the introduction of indexation arrangements from 2025-26 would reduce the need for full valuations and help manage future workloads. She also confirmed that the rolling valuation programme was kept under review to ensure workloads were distributed as evenly as possible whilst complying with valuation requirements. • Councillor Steve Alderman further enquired whether additional valuation capacity, such as a trainee valuer, could be considered to support the work. In response, the Director of Resources advised that the Council had previously sought to develop valuation capacity internally; however, trained staff had often moved on to other organisations. He noted that this was an option that could be considered again. • The Chair noted the Committee's concerns regarding the performance of the external company responsible for asset valuations and the Council's oversight arrangements in relation to that work. In response, the Director of Resources commented that improvements had been made over the previous year and that progress had been achieved in addressing issues identified in earlier accounts processes. • The Chair also sought clarification regarding the increase in Council Tax arrears and aged debt balances. In response, the Head of Finance and Revenue Services explained that some outstanding debts were subject to instalment arrangements, probate processes or other recovery actions. She advised that officers were reviewing debt levels and exploring alternative recovery methods to improve collection rates, noting that recovery could take time depending on the circumstances of individual cases. Following discussion, Members agreed that they had received satisfactory responses to the matters raised and confirmed that there were no comments or concerns arising from the financial statements or audit that they wished to bring to the attention of Council. Kate Havard from Audit Wales then introduced the Tenby and Lower Fishguard Harbour Authority Annual Return, explaining that it was subject to a limited assurance audit rather than a full audit due to the scale of expenditure. She confirmed that Audit Wales had identified no issues of concern and advised that, subject to Council approval, the Annual Return would be certified on 16 October 2026. There were no further comments or questions from the Committee regarding the Tenby and Lower Fishguard Harbour Authority Annual Return. Moved by John Evans MBE; Seconded by Councillor Michael James. The vote, undertaken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED (a) That the Governance and Audit Committee’s review of the Statement of Accounts for 2024-25 and the Tenby & Lower Fishguard Harbour’s Authority Annual Return for 2024-25, and its consideration of the Audit Wales Audit of Accounts Report and Audit Opinion, be noted. (b) That the Governance and Audit Committee’s determination that there were no comments or concerns arising from the financial statements or from the audit that needed to be brought to the attention of Council and included in the report to Council on 15 October 2026, be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED That the Governance and Audit Committee’s consideration of the Pembrokeshire County Council – Annual Audit Summary 2025 and the assurance provided by Audit Wales regarding the Council’s financial management, governance and risk management arrangements, be noted.
The Committee considered a report by the Chief Audit, Risk & Information Officer on the Pembrokeshire County Council Annual Audit Summary 2025. The Chair invited Kate Harvard from Audit Wales to present this report, and she advised that the report provided a summary of the audit and performance work completed during the year in accordance with the Audit Wales audit plan. She noted that the report reflected findings previously considered by the Committee, including the Risk Management Review and the Urgent and Emergency Care Review, and confirmed that Audit Wales would continue to monitor the implementation of recommendations through its ongoing engagement with officers. The Chief Audit, Risk and Information Officer noted that Audit Wales performance reports were routinely presented to the Committee and that any recommendations arising from those reviews were monitored and followed up where necessary. He also expressed his appreciation for the support provided by Audit Wales in assisting the Council's Internal Audit function. No further comments or questions were made in relation to this item of business. Moved by John Evans MBE; Seconded by Councillor Steve Alderman. The vote, taken by way of a show of hands, was carried. RESOLVED That the Governance and Audit Committee’s consideration of the Pembrokeshire County Council – Annual Audit Summary 2025 and the assurance provided by Audit Wales regarding the Council’s financial management, governance and risk management arrangements, be noted.
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