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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 Governance and Audit Committee meeting held on 17th June 2025 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
RESOLVED: • 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; • To note the Council’s response to the recommendations reported by Audit Wales and seek clarity and further information, as required, from the Council; • 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 • To consider whether there are any matters of a performance nature that require referral to the Council’s Scrutiny Committees.
RESOLVED: • To review the content of the report and seek assurance that recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service are being implemented within agreed timescales.
RESOLVED: • To review the content of the report and the progress made against the Internal Audit Risk Based Plan 2025/26. • To consider what comments and / or recommendations, if any, they wish to make.
RESOLVED: • To scrutinise and comment on the information provided. • To consider whether they wish to receive further detail on any matters contained in the report.
RESOLVED: • To consider the Council’s certified draft Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2024/25; • To consider the Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund certified draft Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2024/25; • To consider the Llwydcoed Crematorium Joint Committee certified draft Annual Return for the financial year 2024/25; • To consider the impact, if any, upon the Statements of Account and Annual Return of issues and audit reports brought before the Committee during the year; and • To note the plans for production and audit of the Statements of Account and Annual Return for financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26.
RESOLVED: 1. To review the draft report presented at Appendix A to the report and determine whether it reflects an accurate position of the Council and its services and meets the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 - Part 6.; 2. To provide observations and / or recommendations for changes to the conclusions or to anything included in the draft report, as deemed appropriate, and for this information to be included in the update to full Council; and 3. To note that following approval of the Annual Self-Assessment for 2024/25 by full Council, the document will be published within four weeks of it being finalised.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the report.
Apologies for absence were received from the Chair of the Committee, Mr C Jones and County Borough Councillor A Ellis.
In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, Mr M Jehu declared the following personal interest in respect of Item 6 of the agenda (Progress against the Internal Audit Risk Based Plan): “I am a Governor at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydywaun, which is referenced in the report”.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee meeting held on 17th June 2025 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.
It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee meeting held on 17th June 2025 as an accurate reflection of the meeting.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Audit Wales provided the Committee with a six monthly update on the work programme, which covered the positions in respect of the 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 since June 2025 / work in progress / planned; and Good Practice Exchange events and resources. Members noted the change to the frequency of the Audit Wales Work Programme and Timetable updates, and were assured that regular meetings and communication is in place between Council officers and Audit Wales officers. Audit Wales also informed the Committee that there were issues with the electronic links contained within the report and that an updated report would be circulated to Members following the meeting. In terms of the ongoing financial audit work, it was reported that the audit of the Council’s 2024/25 Statement of Accounts would likely be completed in October 2025. Audit Wales commended the Council’s Finance officers for helping to progress the audit process in a timely manner. Audit Wales brought to the attention of the Committee two new audit risks which had been identified on receipt of the draft accounts. The first new risk was in relation to the Mutual Investment Model (MIM), this being a new funding model and relatively complex accounting arrangement, which the Council was required to include in its statement of accounts to reflect the delivery of a number of Sustainable Communities for Learning projects. It was explained that given its complexity and that the value was material to the Council, a risk had been highlighted to ensure the Council had accounted for this area of business correctly. Audit Wales noted that only minor disclosures had been identified as part of the audit process. The second new risk identified was in relation to the estimate of the valuation of the pension fund surplus. It was explained that under the new auditing standards, reliance is placed on Council estimates and that Audit Wales had raised a risk over the accuracy of the estimate due to its subjectivity and the potential impact of any movements on the assumptions. Audit Wales confirmed that the work on this area was now complete and that no errors had been identified. Audit Wales advised that both above-mentioned risks would be reported in full within the audit of accounts report to Council. In terms of the audit of the 2024/25 Pension Fund statement of accounts, Audit Wales fed back that work had commenced and there were no matters, to date, to be brought to the attention of the Committee. In terms of the audit of the 2024/25 Central South Consortium Joint Education Service Joint Committee statement of accounts, Audit Wales informed the Committee that work was now complete and had been signed off by the Auditor General. Members were advised that the audits of the 2024/25 Llwydcoed Crematorium annual return and the 2024/25 Welsh Church Act statement of accounts were due to commence in November 2025 and that the audits of grants and subsidy returns for 2024/25 are scheduled to be completed by February 2026. In respect of the ongoing performance audit work, Audit Wales reported that the Unscheduled Care draft report was due to be issued in the coming period. It was acknowledged that Governance and Audit Committee Members had previously raised questions on the content of the draft report and Audit Wales sought to assure the Committee that this was a priority area of work and an update would be provided to the Committee further to finalisation of the report. Audit Wales spoke of the thematic review into ‘recruitment and retention challenges’ and was pleased to advise that field work had taken place with the Council and that a draft report would likely be issued in November 2025. Audit Wales referred Members to the Children’s Services national study, which was referenced within the report. It was explained that a project brief had been issued and that Audit Wales were in the process of meeting with designated officers within each Local Authority. Audit Wales then drew Member’s attention to the national study which had since been published in relation to Temporary Accommodation and noted that the Council’s management response was in the process of being reviewed. Prior to concluding, Audit Wales referred to the Good Practice Exchange events and resources for Members information. In terms of the Unscheduled Care report, one Member fed back disappointment that it was yet to be published, given the winter period is fast approaching and the growing pressures within hospitals. The Chair noted the changes to the reporting cycle of the Audit Wales Work Programme and Timetable and asked that an update is provided to the Committee in respect of the Unscheduled Care report as early as possible. One Member sought further information on the timescales for the publication of the Capital Planning in Local Government audit. Audit Wales indicated that finalisation of the report was progressing and an update provided to the Members as soon as possible. One Member highlighted the Cyber Security local project, which had fieldwork planned for December 2025, and sought further information in respect of the scoping exercise. Audit Wales spoke of their designated cyber team, which had undertaken similar reviews across other Local Authorities. The review would focus on the robustness of cyber security within the Council and more detail would be provided to Members further to the project brief being finalised. The Vice-Chair thanked Audit Wales and Members for their questions. The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the update.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: • 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; • To note the Council’s response to the recommendations reported by Audit Wales and seek clarity and further information, as required, from the Council; • 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 • To consider whether there are any matters of a performance nature that require referral to the Council’s Scrutiny Committees.
The Audit Wales officer provided the Governance and Audit Committee with an overview of the finalised Audit Wales report issued to the Council on ‘Arrangements for Commissioning Services’ and the recommendations set out in the report for the Council to take forward (Appendix A). The Service Director – Finance and Improvement Services then went on to provide an overview of the Council’s response to the three recommendations reported by Audit Wales. The Service Director confirmed that the Council had accepted the recommendations that would contribute to further strengthening the arrangements in place. The Service Director provided assurance that there are designated resources in place within the Council to oversee its commissioning arrangements and that activity is recorded from the start to the end of the process. Members were requested to review the Council’s response and alongside their own lines of enquiry: • Consider whether there are any matters of a governance, internal control or risk management nature that require further action or attention; and • Consider whether there are any matters of a performance nature that require review by the Council’s Scrutiny Committees. The Vice-Chair referred to the report, which noted that ‘the Council has a generally clear and appropriate approach to commissioning, but there are weaknesses in its arrangements to ensure that value for money is consistently being achieved’, and sought clarity on what commissioning arrangements were in place for the three projects selected for testing by Audit Wales. Audit Wales informed the Committee that overarching corporate commissioning arrangements in place within the Council were considered and three service areas were selected to test how the corporate arrangements were being implemented across the Council. The Head of Procurement Delivery provided further information in respect of each of the projects. In terms of the Supported Living Contract, it was explained that prior to going to tender, a consultation process took place with service users, families, providers and health colleagues. The outcome of the consultation events then informed the specification tender. It was explained that the tender evaluation process consisted of a wide range of stakeholders, including social workers and service users to ensure their views were heard. In respect of the monitoring arrangements, the officer advised that this was undertaken on a quarterly basis for all contracts in place within adult services, to ensure that the providers were delivering outcomes and value for money. The Head of Procurement Delivery added that the financial aspects of the contract monitoring arrangements were complemented by oversight from Finance officers. In terms of the provision of independent school and community-based counselling services, the Head of Procurement Delivery advised that a wide range of stakeholders were engaged with as part of the consultation and tendering processes. It was explained that in respect of this particular contract, termly monitoring took place with the outcomes measured against targets and financial monitoring was overseen by Finance officers. Finally, in respect of the employment route training framework, the Head of Procurement Delivery assured the Committee that although this was a smaller-scale contract, the service area engaged with the local market to identify whether there were any gaps in services and that monthly monitoring and compliance checks were in place to ensure that the outcomes were being delivered. One Member sought clarity from Audit Wales on, if from experience, processes were any more or less robust when undertaking joint commissioning arrangements in comparison to commissioning by one local authority alone. The Member also sought clarity on whether the foundation of all commissioning, in terms of the needs assessment of the population, was considered robust. Audit Wales referred to the National Report on commissioning arrangements, which was due to be published, and noted that this will bring together key messages. The Head of Procurement Delivery added that from a Rhondda Cynon Taf perspective, the Council is proactive in terms of engaging and collaborating with other partners, to share best practice and gain a collective understanding in terms of need and outcomes. The Vice-Chair thanked officers and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: • 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; • To note the Council’s response to the recommendations reported by Audit Wales and seek clarity and further information, as required, from the Council; • 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 • To consider whether there are any matters of a performance nature that require referral to the Council’s Scrutiny Committees.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: • To review the content of the report and seek assurance that recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service are being implemented within agreed timescales.
The Internal Audit Manager provided the Governance and Audit Committee with an overview of the Internal Audit Recommendation Monitoring Report, that set out a position statement in respect of the status of the recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service. Members were referred to table 2 at section 4.3 of the report, which summarised the status of the recommendations reported by Internal Audit and the Internal Audit Manager noted that of the 5 outstanding recommendations, all had been fully implemented since the time of writing the report. One Member noted that, during the previous year, the Committee received an update which categorised the recommendations into key themes and this information was used to inform the Audit Plan for the following financial year. The Member questioned if a similar update would be presented to the Governance and Audit Committee during the coming year. The Internal Audit Manager confirmed that the same approach would be taken this year, spoke of its benefits in informing the Internal Audit Plan for the following financial year and noted the four thematic reviews that had been included in the Audit Plan for 2025/26 as a result of this approach. The Vice-Chair sought clarity on the arrangements in place to enable the Governance and Audit Committee to receive assurance on the robustness of the arrangements in place to monitor the status of recommendations. The Internal Audit Manager noted that the Committee’s Work Plan for the current year included regular updates on the status of recommendations for transparency and completeness. Furthermore, a position statement on all recommendations reported is also provided to the Committee, along with updates in respect of those recommendations with future target dates or those that are overdue. From an operational level, the Internal Audit Manager spoke of the system used to track the status of each recommendation and explained that auditors then liaise with management to receive feedback on the status of the recommendations before feeding the information into the regular progress reports for the Committee’s consideration. The Vice-Chair thanked the Internal Audit Manager for providing assurance to the Committee in respect of the status of the recommendations and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: • To review the content of the report and seek assurance that recommendations made by the Internal Audit Service are being implemented within agreed timescales.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: • To review the content of the report and the progress made against the Internal Audit Risk Based Plan 2025/26. • To consider what comments and / or recommendations, if any, they wish to make.
The Internal Audit Manager provided Members with an overview of the report covering progress against the Internal Audit Risk Based Plan for 2025/26. Members were informed that as at 4th September 2025, 30% of the audit plan had been completed to report stage and that 25 individual audits, representing 41% of the plan, had either been completed to report stage or were underway with a further 12 audits being scoped to commence before the end of quarter 2. One Member sought clarity on the arrangements for undertaking follow-up reviews and whether they would be reported back to the Committee before the end of the financial year. In terms of the audit assignments with a limited assurance opinion, the Internal Audit Manager advised that they would be followed up in accordance with the Internal Audit Service’s agreed procedure and with regard to the timing of the follow-up reviews, management had been given the opportunity to provide a target date for the implementation of recommendations and once that date has passed, it was explained that Internal Audit allow sufficient time to ensure the updated operational processes have been embedded. The Internal Audit Manager added that further to this, Internal Audit test the arrangements in place via the follow-up review process, the results of which will be reported back to the Governance and Audit Committee. The Vice-Chair thanked the Internal Audit Manager for the update and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: • To review the content of the report and the progress made against the Internal Audit Risk Based Plan 2025/26. • To consider what comments and / or recommendations, if any, they wish to make.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: • To scrutinise and comment on the information provided. • To consider whether they wish to receive further detail on any matters contained in the report.
The Service Director - Finance Services provided Members with the opportunity to scrutinise the Annual Treasury Management Review presented to Council on 25th June 2025. The Service Director provided an overview of the key information set out in the report and also confirmed that the Council had complied with all relevant Codes of Practice, regulations and guidance, and that the Council continues to adopt a low-risk strategy in terms of investing and borrowing. One Member referred to paragraph 7.1 of the report and noted that the Council’s policy is to maximise internal borrowing, run down cash balances and forego interest earned. The Member acknowledged that this had been the Council’s policy for several years and questioned if the Council would have sufficient cash balances to continue with the strategy going forward. The Service Director confirmed the continuation of this strategy to maximise internal borrowing, which reduces the interest payable costs to the Council and reduces credit risk, and advised that the Council forecasted an external borrowing need on a short term basis for cashflow purposes in the last quarter of the current financial year and that this position would be kept under review. One Member sought clarity from the Service Director in respect of the extent in which changes to interest rates would impact the Council’s level of payments to repay its borrowing. The Service Director referred Members to the table at 8.1 of the report and stated that the majority of the Council’s borrowing was fixed and as such, changes in interest rates would have very little impact on borrowing repayments. As an example, the Service Director spoke of the impact if there was a 1% change in interest rates, which would amount to £167K, and was relatively small in comparison to the total capital charges budget of £21.7M. The Vice-Chair referred to section 12 of the report, which noted the funding for the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme. The Member acknowledged that the programme was a key part of the Council’s capital programme, with significant on-going investment in the school estate and an ambitious rolling programme being planned and delivered over the next 9 years or so. The Member sought clarity on arrangements for the Council to fund its share of the capital investment required for the programme. The Service Director advised that, as with any capital project, once approved by Members, it is incorporated into the three-year capital programme with the sources of funding identified. It was explained that any impact on resources would then be built into the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan, as required. The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: • To scrutinise and comment on the information provided. • To consider whether they wish to receive further detail on any matters contained in the report.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: • To consider the Council’s certified draft Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2024/25; • To consider the Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund certified draft Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2024/25; • To consider the Llwydcoed Crematorium Joint Committee certified draft Annual Return for the financial year 2024/25; • To consider the impact, if any, upon the Statements of Account and Annual Return of issues and audit reports brought before the Committee during the year; and • To note the plans for production and audit of the Statements of Account and Annual Return for financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26.
The Service Director - Finance Services provided the Governance and Audit Committee with the opportunity to consider the certified draft Statements of Account for the 2024/25 financial year in respect of the Council, Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund and the Annual Return for Llwydcoed Crematorium Joint Committee, and updated Members regarding planned timelines for the production and audit of the Statements of Account. As part of the update, with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, the Service Director provided the Governance and Audit Committee with an Overview of Accounting Policies and included: • Governance Framework. • What is an Accounting Policy? • Accounting Policies Disclosed. • Critical Judgements in applying Accounting Policies. • Assumptions about the future and other sources of estimation uncertainty. • Timescales for the Production and Publication of the Statement of Accounts. At this point, the Audit Wales Audit Manager provided an update on the progress of the audit of the Council’s 2024/25 Statement of Accounts, noting that positive progress had been made to date, the audit was on track to be completed in line with the laid down deadline and commended the Council’s Finance officers in supporting the timely progression of the audit process. One Member praised the comprehensive and complex report before the Committee and spoke of the significant amount of detail included. The Member stated that the report had provided him with assurance that the Council was moving forward in the right direction. The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: • To consider the Council’s certified draft Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2024/25; • To consider the Rhondda Cynon Taf Pension Fund certified draft Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2024/25; • To consider the Llwydcoed Crematorium Joint Committee certified draft Annual Return for the financial year 2024/25; • To consider the impact, if any, upon the Statements of Account and Annual Return of issues and audit reports brought before the Committee during the year; and • To note the plans for production and audit of the Statements of Account and Annual Return for financial years 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To review the draft report presented at Appendix A to the report and determine whether it reflects an accurate position of the Council and its services and meets the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 - Part 6.; 2. To provide observations and / or recommendations for changes to the conclusions or to anything included in the draft report, as deemed appropriate, and for this information to be included in the update to full Council; and 3. To note that following approval of the Annual Self-Assessment for 2024/25 by full Council, the document will be published within four weeks of it being finalised.
The Head of Procurement Delivery provided an overview of the Council’s draft Annual Corporate Performance Report and the Annual Self-Assessment for 2024/25 in advance of consideration by Full Council in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021. The Head of Procurement Delivery emphasised that the fundamental objective of the process was to produce an accurate and balanced position of the Council’s arrangements and to identify any areas of improvement to strengthen those arrangements. The annual self-assessment had identified areas for improvement, and Members were assured that these areas would be monitored throughout 2025/26 as part of the Council’s performance management arrangements. The Service Director of Finance and Improvement Services fed back that following the Committee’s observations and/or recommendations at today’s meeting, the draft report would be presented to full Council for consideration and if approved, would be published within four weeks of it being finalised. The Service Director went on to explain the approach to compiling the annual self-assessment alongside an overview of each section of the self-assessment document, and noted that the themes that had emerged from previous self-assessments, listed at section 2b of the draft report, were considered during 2024/25 and informed the Corporate Plan 2024 – 2030 ‘Working with our Communities’, alongside the Council’s additional 8 areas that it considers key to good governance. The Service Director concluded by feeding back that, based on the evidence presented, the self-assessment had demonstrated that the Council was well run but also self-aware of where improvements are to be made. It was concluded that, based on the review undertaken and the evidence in place, the Council’s arrangements have provided the basis to maintain the organisations’ financial stability and resilience, during a period of significant financial pressures and constrained funding, through robust planning, prioritisation and management of scarce resources. This position was underpinned by sound scrutiny and decision-making processes and well-established self-assessment arrangements, and supported Corporate Plan priority areas, wider service delivery and improved outcomes for service users. A small number of areas for improvement have been identified to further strengthen existing processes. Accordingly, based on the self-assessment process, the Council has demonstrated that it has exercised its functions effectively; used its resources economically, efficiently and effectively; and that governance arrangements were effective for securing the above. One Member questioned what review and quality assurance arrangements were in place to ensure the accuracy of the information included within the self-assessment to support the overall conclusion. The Service Director advised that the performance information contained within the assessment was produced by service areas and that there were service specific quality assurance arrangements in place to ensure the accuracy of the information. The Service Director added that the performance and outcome information had been considered by managers and the Senior Leadership Team and incorporated in the Council’s year-end Performance Report presented to Cabinet and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. One Member referred to the evaluations of progress included in section 2 of the self-assessment and sought clarity on what the Council considered to be the biggest risks to the achievement of its well-being objectives through to 2030 and the arrangements in place to manage these. The Service Director spoke of the risks contained within the Council’s Strategic Risk Register and emphasised the financial pressures facing the Council alongside high demand and complexity of service provision needed to be provided by frontline services, particularly social care services. The Service Director added that comprehensive service planning and management arrangements are in place, underpinned by robust medium term financial planning, that supports the Council in planning service delivery, mitigating risks and maximising opportunities. In response to the last point made by a Member, the Head of Procurement Delivery sought Members’ permission to add in reference and an electronic link to the Council’s Strategic Risk Register under section 2 of the Annual Performance Self-Assessment document, before the report is presented to full Council. Members supported the proposed update to the document. One Member took the opportunity to thank officers for the detailed update, which had provided her with assurance that the correct procedures were in place across the Local Authority to scrutinise the performance data. The Vice-Chair noted that several of the recommendations or areas for improvement included at section 3b of the report were similar to those reported in the previous year and sought further clarity in this respect. The Service Director stated that the self-assessment demonstrated that progress was being made across the areas for improvement and emphasised that the areas for improvement were long-term in nature with progress and impacts needing to be monitored and reviewed over this timescale. The Vice-Chair queried how the self-assessment would feed into the Panel Assessment process, which was the next agenda item of business for the Committee to consider. The Head of Procurement Delivery advised that the Council’s Annual Self-Assessment would form part of a wider range of documents requested for review by the Panel, to gain a better understanding of the Council prior to the Panel Performance Assessment process, which was due to take place in October 2025. Other key documents and sources of information requested included the Council’s Corporate Plan, Medium-Term Financial Plan and the Strategic Risk Register. (Note: At this point in proceedings, County Borough Councillor S Rees left the meeting) The Vice-Chair thanked the officers for the update on the Council’s position and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To review the draft report presented at Appendix A to the report and determine whether it reflects an accurate position of the Council and its services and meets the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 - Part 6.; 2. To provide observations and / or recommendations for changes to the conclusions or to anything included in the draft report, as deemed appropriate, and for this information to be included in the update to full Council; and 3. To note that following approval of the Annual Self-Assessment for 2024/25 by full Council, the document will be published within four weeks of it being finalised.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the report.
With the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, the Head of Procurement Delivery provided Members with an overview of the Panel Performance Assessment, which would take place between the 7th and 10th October 2025. The presentation included details such as its purpose, who would sit on the panel and who would be interviewed. Members were informed that, at a future meeting, the Governance and Audit Committee will be responsible for reviewing the Council’s response to any recommendations reported by the Panel. The Vice-Chair thanked the officer for the detailed presentation and queried whether the Panel wished to speak with Members of the Governance and Audit Committee. It was confirmed that the Panel had requested to speak with both the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Committee and that a calendar invitation would be circulated in due course. The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED: 1. To note the content of the report.
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