Agenda and draft minutes

It was proposed by Councillor H Cox and seconded by Councillor Colclough that Cllr Morgan be elected Chair of Audit Scrutiny Committee 2022-23.

A vote was taken. The result was unanimously in favour.

It was proposed by Councillor Morgan and seconded by Councillor Goodman-Bradbury that Councillor Rollason be elected Deputy Chair.

A vote was taken.  The result was unanimously in favour.

None.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 21 October 2021.

It was proposed by Councillor Morgan and seconded by Councillor Rollason that the minutes of the previous meeting be agreed as a correct record.

Resolved

That the minutes of the previous meeting be approved as a correct record.

The External Auditor introduced the report. There were still ongoing discussions. The plan sets out the responsibilities for 2021-2022. More work is to be done in the areas of greater risk. There has been more work needed in this audit due to the increased time taken to ascertain asset figures. The pension fund was discussed including paying off the pension deficit. The committee were advised that the SANGs had been leased to the Land Trust for 999 years, so in effect they controlled it. The targeted sign off date was January 2023. The committee were advised that the external auditors are required to submit proof to explain their audit fee. The plan would include a detailed resilience report. The cost of infrastructure was increasing, and risk taking was discussed including the dangers. The committee also heard that a new financial system was being installed.

Resolved

That the report be noted

The Audit Manager introduced the report to the committee. There had been 2 complaints investigated by the ombudsman and one was upheld.  

Resolved

That the report be noted

The Audit Manager introduced the report to the committee. It was noted that some of the named responsible officers needed to be updated. The committee discussed the various ‘red’ risks including failure to abide by the code of conduct by Councillors. Election failure was in the red due to it not having been assessed with certain controls. It was suggested that a review into the cybersecurity risks be undertaken.

Resolved

That the report be noted.

The Audit Manager introduced the report to the committee. There were no instances of major fraud or weaknesses. The Devon Audit Partnership had been involved in auditing Strata and had aided the Audit Manager. It was discussed that there had been confusion from 2 departments regarding claiming money from tariffs, but this had been sorted. It was also discussed that there were plans to create a ‘members area’ for uploading documents to such as audit reports.

Resolved

That the report be noted

The Audit Manager introduced the report. The governance statement had included ‘comfort statements’ from managers and a cyber governance review. There was a good cyber security training program in place, and Strata upholds security practices in order to ensure Teignbridge remains on central governments network. The Strata security team also has CISSP qualifications to ensure the security of the organisation. The IRB receives a monthly report from Strata regarding security as well. Business continuity planning was in place for external systems such as Civica to ensure the continued operations of the Council. There were also plans to review the recruitment process.

Resolved

That the report be noted

The Audit Manager introduced the report to the committee. She informed them that the accounts had been published in July, and that Teignbridge had been part of 2/3rds of councils that has successfully stuck to this time frame. There were 2.106 million available in reserves, with the council looking to invest some of this. The treasury team would continue to provide day to day financing for the council and that the council had access to various sources of monies. The land trust and DCC had agreed on capital investments.

Resolved

That the report be noted.

The Audit Manger introduced the report to the committee. She informed them that some items from the plan had been carried over from the previous year, and that in the case of a failure to acknowledge issues when conducting an audit, the responsible manager may be called to speak to the Committee.

It was proposed by Councillor Morgan and seconded by Councillor Rollason that the Audit Plan be approved.

A vote was taken. The result was unanimously in favour. 

Resolved

That the Internal Audit Plan be recommended to Full Council.

The Audit Manager introduced the report to the Committee. She discussed various waivers including the purchase of chairs, and wavebuoy spares that would be needed for coastal monitoring.

Resolved

That the report be noted.