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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 31st March 2025 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the finalised Audit Wales Report issued to the Council 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 recommendations reported by Audit 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 scrutinise and comment on the information provided within Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the report; and 2. To consider whether they wish to receive further detail on any matters contained within the appendices.
RESOLVED: 1. To review and endorse the Risk Management Strategy for 2025/26 (noting that there have been no material changes following a review during 2024/25); and 2. To consider the training resource that has been developed and provide any comments or observations, prior to the resource being rolled out across the Council.
The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting and noted that there had been no apologies for absence.
In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 31st March 2025 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 31st March 2025 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Audit Wales provided the Committee with a work programme update for the final quarter of the year, which covered the positions in respect of 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. The Chair thanked Audit Wales for the update and referenced the session Audit Wales had held with the Senior Leadership Team in March 2025 and questioned to what extent the discussions had informed the audit plan for 2025. Audit Wales advised that the workshop was an opportunity for the Senior Leadership Team to reflect and feedback on their position in terms of assurances and risks. It was explained that the session was a key part of the process and that Audit Wales were in the process of formulating the plan for the coming year. A number of Members spoke of increased social care pressures and sought further information on the timescales of the thematic review into Unscheduled Care. Audit Wales acknowledged that this had been an area raised by the Committee previously and informed Members that Health colleagues had been made aware of the Committee’s feedback and with the Chair’s permission, would attend a future meeting of the Committee to present the report to Members. Audit Wales advised that the thematic review was complex, with the need for clearance processes to be completed with partnership board partners, and provided assurance that Cwm Taf was the next report to be published. Members welcomed the opportunity to discuss and challenge the findings of the report with Health colleagues at a future meeting. One Member welcomed the planned Local Government/National study into temporary accommodation and spoke of the challenges experienced within Rhondda Cynon Taf. The Member sought further information on the timescales of the planned report, to which Audit Wales advised that the review was currently scheduled for summer 2025. One Member noted from the report that the audit of the Council’s 2024-2025 Statement of Accounts did not have a planned report date and sought an update on this. Audit Wales fed back that the statutory deadline for the Council to prepare draft accounts was the 30th June 2025 and that good progress was being made in this regard. Audit Wales indicated that they are committed to undertaking the audit from 1st July 2025 and would be run over a six-week period, with the intention for a report to be presented in the autumn. The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Audit Wales provided the Committee with the 2024 Annual Audit Summary and emphasised that the summary did not contain any new updates which the Council had not previously had sight of. The report included key facts about the Council and set out the Auditor General’s duties, which underpin the work of Audit Wales. The Chair thanked Audit Wales for the update and noted that the reports set out were summaries of updates previously reported to the Committee, in terms of the external audit of the Council’s statement of accounts and the actions being taken by the Council to address Audit Wales recommendations. The Chair added that the report provided assurance that the Council has appropriate arrangements in place to report the output of Audit Wales’ work and for the Committee to review and challenge the information with both Audit Wales and Council officers. The Vice-Chair noted from the key facts that the population of Rhondda Cynon Taf was projected to increase by 4% between 2024 and 2043 but that the birthrate was projected to decrease by 2% during that time. The Member questioned how the 4% increase had been calculated and Audit Wales explained that the figures were central data from Stats Wales Population Projections. The Chair added that the projections indicated an older population with an 18% increase in the number of people aged 65 and over. The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Audit Wales provided the Committee with the key elements of the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Audit Plan for 2025. Members were reminded that Audit Wales use the concept of materiality when undertaking financial audit work and were provided with the materiality levels set by Audit Wales for the audit of the 2024/25 financial statements together with areas of specific interest. Members were then provided with the significant financial statement risks, these being inherent risks that are closer to the upper end of the spectrum of inherent risk or which are to be treated as a significant risk in accordance with the requirements of other International Standards in Auditing. Alongside, the risk of management override had been identified as a significant risk for the Council, which was a risk for all organisations. There had been no changes to Audit Wales’ approach to this risk and the planned audit response was outlined for Members’ attention. Audit Wales drew Members’ attention to the other areas of focus, which included the valuation of pension fund net surplus, the valuation of land and buildings, the Implementation of International Accounting Standard (IFRS) 16 - Leases, South East Wales Corporate Joint Committee transactions and balances, Senior Officer Remuneration and related party disclosures, together with Audit Wales’ planned response to auditing these areas. The Financial statements audit timetable was also relayed to the Committee. In terms of the planned performance audit work for the Local Authority, Audit Wales advised that the Performance Audit Plan was made up of a combination of Local and National work and carried out in line with the requirements of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. Members were informed of three areas of planned performance audit work that were currently being considered and the likelihood that two of these areas will form part of the audit work during the year, and that the Committee would be kept up-to-date on progress via future Audit Wales Work Programme updates. Audit Wales advised that the planned thematic review was in relation to responding to workforce pressures in Local Government. Referring to the significant financial statement risks, one Member questioned whether areas such as risk of management override and valuation of land and buildings were particularly high risk for Rhondda Cynon Taf in comparison to other local authorities. Although Audit Wales were unable to provide comparisons with other local authorities, Members were pleased to learn of Rhondda Cynon Taf’s positive track record in producing accurate statement of accounts and noting that there is inherent risk across these areas. One Member spoke of the Future Generation Commissioner’s recently published report, which commented on child poverty and sustainability, amongst other things. The Member questioned if this would have any impact on the work of Audit Wales going forward. Audit Wales advised that they would be reading the Commissioner’s report as part of preparing for and delivering their performance audit during the year. One Member noted the planned performance audit work contained within the report and had a particular interest in the potential cyber security project. The Member spoke of the importance of cyber security and welcomed its inclusion within the planned performance audit work and questioned if there was a period of notice given to the Local Authority and the timescales for completing this audit. Audit Wales informed the Committee that preparatory work was underway and that the usual process would be to arrange a meeting with the Local Authority to establish a start date, which would accommodate the capacity of both Council officers and Audit Wales. Audit Wales emphasised the importance of flexibility in terms of the reviews. The Chair thanked Audit Wales and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Audit Wales provided the Committee with the key elements of the Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund Audit Plan. Members were provided with financial statements materiality information in relation to the 2024/25 audit and areas of specific interest. Members were then provided with the significant financial statement risk and other areas of focus, along with the subsequent planned responses to be taken by Audit Wales when auditing these areas. The Chair noted the similar approach and principles set out in the Pension Fund Audit Plan to that presented for the Council Audit Plan, and therefore, Members raised no specific points, and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the finalised Audit Wales Report issued to the Council 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 recommendations reported by Audit 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 the finalised Audit Wales report issued to the Council on ‘Setting of Well-being Objectives’. The piece of work allowed Audit Wales to assess the extent to which public bodies have applied the sustainable development principle when setting their well-being objectives. It was determined that the Council had applied the sustainable development principle when setting its well-being objectives and that it had considered how it would be resourced over the medium term, but there was scope to improve monitoring of longer-term outcomes. Members’ attention was drawn to the two recommendations contained within appendix 1 of the report. The Service Director of Finance and Improvement Services informed the Committee that officers had engaged with Audit Wales in terms of the draft report, to ensure that the findings and recommendations were understood and that they would add value to the Council’s existing processes. Members’ attention was drawn to Appendix 2 of the report, which set out the Council’s response to each of the Audit Wales recommendations. In terms of the recommendation for the Council to build on the progress to date when monitoring well-being objectives, the Service Director informed the Committee that the Council would include a high-level statement evaluating the progress against each Well-being objective in the Annual Performance report and the Annual Self-Assessment. The Service Director added that the Council would continue to engage with the WLGA Community of Practice to further develop information that provides insight from the service user perspective and also more outcome data to evaluate progress. In terms of the recommendation for the Council to improve data and alignment of the Culture, Heritage and Welsh language well-being objective, the Service Director spoke of the Council’s extensive data review to support the development of this Corporate Plan well-being objective and recognised that in comparison with other Well-being objectives, there was limited published data available at a Rhondda Cynon Taf or Wales level related to Culture, Heritage and the Welsh Language. Assurance was given that the Council would continue to develop local level data relating to this well-being objective and would engage with partner organisations to ascertain any opportunities to share data or intelligence. One Member questioned whether the Health Determinants Research Collaboration (HDRC) would feed into development of the well-being objectives. The Service Director confirmed that the approach of the HDRC will support all four of the Council’s wellbeing objectives and would enable the Council to have access to, for example, more academic research, to help further evidence the impact of its work. One Member queried the timescales for progress reports to be presented to the Governance and Audit Committee. With regards to the Audit Wales finalised report and the Council’s response, the Service Director advised that a progress update will be reported to the Committee during the year. The Member noted that the Council had considered feedback from previous consultations in developing its new well-being objectives and thought that it would be beneficial to evidence this in future reports. The Service Director acknowledged the Member’s suggestion and explained that consultation feedback was one part of a wide suite of information collected and taken account of in forming a picture of impacts. The Service Director added that as part of the Council’s year-end reporting arrangements, consultation feedback is built into the overall evaluation process, alongside performance information and regulatory feedback. The Chair took the opportunity to thank Audit Wales and Council officers for the update and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the finalised Audit Wales Report issued to the Council 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 recommendations reported by Audit 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.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To scrutinise and comment on the information provided within Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the report; and 2. To consider whether they wish to receive further detail on any matters contained within the appendices.
The Service Director – Finance Services provided the Governance and Audit Committee with the opportunity to scrutinise the 2025/26 Capital Strategy Report and 2025/26 Treasury Management Strategy Report, both of which were approved by Council on 5th March 2025. In terms of the Capital Strategy report, which was attached at Appendix 1, Members were reminded that the Council’s approved capital programme totalled over £225M investment over three years. The Service Director drew Members’ attention to the approved prudential indicators, which were monitored on a quarterly basis as part of performance reporting arrangements and in the mid-year and year-end treasury management reviews, which were considered by the Governance and Audit Committee. In terms of the Treasury Management Strategy for 2025/26, which was attached at Appendix 2, the Service Director reminded the Committee of the definition of Treasury Management, which is “The management of the organisation’s borrowing, investments and cash flows, including its banking, money market and capital market transactions, the effective control of the risks associated with those activities and the pursuit of optimum performance consistent with those risks.” Members were informed that the Council’s treasury portfolio position as at the end of December 2024 comprised of almost £277M of debt and that the estimated weighted average rate of borrowing was 3.30% and investments in public bodies totalled £99M at an average interest rate of 5.17%. In terms of prospects for interest rates, the Service Director informed the Committee that the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee met recently and agreed to retain the bank base rate at 4.5% with an expected gradual reduction to 3.75% by the end of the calendar year. One Member spoke of the current volatile market and the potential impact of the economic strategy and tariffs being implemented by the USA and sought clarity on the Council’s treasury management approach to uncertainties around interest rates. The Service Director emphasised that there was always a level of uncertainty around interest rates due to global events and as such, the Council retain a risk adverse approach. The Service Director also spoke of regular communication with the Council’s Treasury Management advisors regarding interest rates and explained that the Council take appropriate advice in terms of borrowing. The Chair thanked the Service Director for the report and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To scrutinise and comment on the information provided within Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the report; and 2. To consider whether they wish to receive further detail on any matters contained within the appendices.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To review and endorse the Risk Management Strategy for 2025/26 (noting that there have been no material changes following a review during 2024/25); and 2. To consider the training resource that has been developed and provide any comments or observations, prior to the resource being rolled out across the Council.
The Head of Procurement Delivery provided Committee Members with an overview of the Council’s risk management arrangements together with a copy of the Risk Management Strategy. The officer spoke of the purpose of the Council’s Risk Management Strategy and explained that it seeks to provide the structure upon which the Council’s risk management arrangements have been built. It was explained that the Strategy is reviewed at least annually and reported to the Governance and Audit Committee. The Strategy is underpinned by a Risk Management Toolkit, a document that provides detailed guidance to help services identify, assess, manage and monitor risks. Members viewed a risk management training video that had been created by Council officers, covering the Risk Management Strategy and Toolkit, and the intention for this to be made available to services across the Council. Following receipt of the training resource, Members were requested to provide feedback on whether they considered the training to be sufficient and to identify any areas where further information or clarity could be provided. Overall, Members were complimentary of the training resource, commenting that the language and definitions would provide a clear overview and explanation of risk management for officers across the Council. Several Members emphasised that the delivery of the training resource would be essential going forward. They felt that an open discussion alongside the presentation would bring it to life and allow officers to provide further explanation in respect of some of the more technical language included. One Member suggested the inclusion of example scenarios alongside the red, amber and green risks to further strengthen the video. The officer explained that examples were included alongside the risk categories within the Toolkit, which would be available to officers to complement the training resource. Members requested a copy of the video, to which officers agreed to provide an email copy following the meeting, along with a copy to be made available on the Member portal. Members also requested a future training session which the officer confirmed would be facilitated. The Chair thanked the officer and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To review and endorse the Risk Management Strategy for 2025/26 (noting that there have been no material changes following a review during 2024/25); and 2. To consider the training resource that has been developed and provide any comments or observations, prior to the resource being rolled out across the Council.
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