Venue: Civic Suite, Town Hall, Runcorn
Contact: Lynn Derbyshire on 0151 511 7975 or e-mail lynn.derbyshire@halton.gov.uk
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MINUTES Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2014 were taken as read and signed as a correct record. |
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External Audit Letter to Those Charged with Governance PDF 33 KB Minutes: The Board
considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and Resources, which
informed Members of the response provided to the annual letter from Grant
Thornton, the Council’s external auditors, as part of their year-end audit of
accounts work. The Board was advised that International Auditing Standards required
that the Council’s external auditors, Grant Thornton, raise
with those charged with governance (i.e. the Business Efficiency Board) matters
that may affect the Council’s financial statements and to document the Board’s
response. It was reported
that Appendix 1 attached to the report, presented a response to a number of
questions contained in a letter from Grant Thornton to the Chair of the Board.
Grant Thornton attended the meeting to discuss the questions further with the
Board. RESOLVED: That the response shown in Appendix 1 which has been
provided to the Council’s external auditors on behalf of the Board, be noted. |
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2013/14 Statement of Accounts, Audit Findings Report and Letter of Representation PDF 37 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and
Resources, which sought approval for the
Council’s 2013/14 Statement of Accounts (the latest version of which was
enclosed on the Agenda), to consider the report of the External Auditor (Grant
Thornton) on the 2013/14 financial statements (The Audit Findings Report). The report also sought approval of the
Council’s Letter of Representation. Members were informed of the Statement of Accounts, which detailed the Council’s financial performance for the year in terms of revenue and capital spending and presented the year-end financial position as reflected in the balance sheet. It was reported that the Statement for 2013/14 had been prepared in full compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and as a result there had been relatively few changes in the format from last year. The report set out key sections within the Statement and it was noted that in overall net terms the Council had underspent its 2013/14 revenue budget by £579,000. The overall outturn report was presented to Executive Board and departmental outturn reports were available on the Council’s Intranet. The Board was advised that as a result, the Council’s General Fund Balance would increase by £579,000 to £8,646,000. With regard to capital expenditure, this was £38.5m compared with planned expenditure of £48.3m. This represented 80% delivery of the capital programme for which 20% slippage was anticipated throughout the year. The main areas of slippage were detailed in the report. It was further reported that School balances had increased by £0.3m to £6.6m. The External Auditor presented the Audit Findings Report which summarised the findings from the 2013/14 external audit. The Board wished
to place on record their thanks to Ed Dawson and the Finance Team for their
work in the preparation of the accounts, and to the External Auditors for their
work on the audit. RESOLVED:
That 1) the draft Letter of Representation in Appendix
1 be approved and any subsequent additions or amendments be approved by the
Chair of the Business Efficiency Board and the Operational Director, Finance; 2) the External Auditor’s draft 2013/14 Audit
Findings Report be received and any subsequent additions or amendments be
approved by the Chair of the Business Efficiency Board in conjunction with the
Operational Director, Finance; and 3) the Council’s draft 2013/14 Statement of
Accounts be approved and any subsequent additions or amendments be approved by
the Chair of the Business Efficiency Board and the Operational Director,
Finance. |
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Annual Governance Statement 2013/14 PDF 238 KB Minutes: At its meeting on 11 June 2014, the Board
considered the draft Annual
Governance Statement for 2013/14. It was reported that changes had subsequently
been made to the document and the report enabled Members to further review and
approve the updated Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for 2013/14. It was reported that under the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2011 the Council had to produce an Annual Governance Statement, in a format recommended by CIPFA/SOLACE, to accompany the Statement of Accounts. Appended to the report for
information was the updated 2013/14 draft AGS and a Development Plan that set
out the actions agreed to further develop the Council’s governance framework. RESOLVED: That the Board 1)
approve the updated Annual Governance Statement
(AGS) for 2013/14 and confirm that it accurately reflected the corporate
governance arrangements in place at the Council; and 2) endorse the proposed action plan. |
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Value for Money Conclusion PDF 26 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and
Resources, which sought approval for the report prepared by the Council’s external auditor (Grant Thornton)
to determine whether the Council had proper arrangements in place for securing value
for money and financial resilience. The Board was advised that the
report on value for money considered whether the Council had robust financial
systems and processes in place to manage its financial risks and opportunities,
and for challenging how it secured economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The
Board was further advised that the External Auditor had reviewed the financial
resilience of the Council by reviewing:- ·
Key
indicators of financial performance; ·
The
approach to strategic financial planning; ·
The
approach to financial governance; ·
The
approach to financial control; ·
The
approach to prioritising resources; and ·
The
approach to improving efficiency and productivity. It
was reported that the overall conclusion from the External Auditor was that
they were satisfied in all significant respects the Council had put in place
proper arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use
of resources for the year ending 31 March
2014. RESOLVED:
That the report titled Value for Money for Halton Borough Council for the year
ended 31 March 2014 be noted. |
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2013/14 Grant Certification Work Plan PDF 15 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and
Resources, which updated members on
the work the Council’s External Auditor (Grant Thornton) would undertake on
certification of claims for grant the Council had been
in receipt of during 2013/14. The
Board was advised that various
grant paying bodies required external certification of claims for grant or
subsidy and returns of financial information. The Audit Commission made
certification with grant paying bodies, and Grant Thornton, acting as the
Council’s external auditor, undertook the grant certification work acting as an
agent for the Audit Commission. The
Board was further advised that the level of work required for certification was
dependent on the value of the grant claims. It was noted that the introduction
to the report gave a summary to the expected claims and returns for the year ending 31 March 2014 as identified by the
Council. It
was reported that the indicative fee for the cost of works for expected claims
and returns was £10,173, which was also subject to final confirmation. Where
claims required an amendment, were qualified, or staff resource and working
papers were not available to support the certification, the cost may be
increased. RESOLVED:
That the report titled Grant Claim and
Returns Certification Work Plan for Halton Borough Council be
approved. |
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External Audit - Update Report PDF 21 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board received a report of the Operational Director, Finance, which provided an update from Grant Thornton (External Auditors) regarding the following:
Arising
from the discussion of the update, the Board sought clarification on the single
fraud investigation service and the implications for Halton, and the proposals
for the streamlining of local government accounts. The Board was
advised that this was the final meeting which Mike Thomas, external auditor
from Grant Thornton, would attend, as audit regulations required a rotation of
external audit staff. The Board wished to place on record their thanks for his
work and support given to the Council and its Staff
and Members over the past seven years. RESOLVED: That
the report be noted. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and Resources, which outlined the 2013/14 Audit Plan prepared by the Council’s external auditor, Grant Thornton. The
Audit Plan set out details of:- ·
Grant
Thornton’s understanding of the challenges and opportunities that the Council
faced; ·
Developments
relevant to the Council’s business and the audit; ·
The
audit approach and how it complied with International Standards on Auditing; ·
Any
significant risks of material misstatement which Grant Thornton had identified
as a result of their audit planning; ·
Any
other risks of material misstatement which Grant Thornton had identified as a
result of their audit planning; ·
The
approach taken to obtain appropriate audit evidence to express an opinion on
whether the group financial statements were prepared in accordance with the
applicable financial reporting framework; ·
How
the conclusion would be reached on whether the Council had put in place proper
arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of
resources; ·
The
findings of the interim audit work, and the impact of the findings on the
accounts audit approach; ·
Key
dates in the audit cycle and fees for the audit; ·
Grant
Thornton’s independence and confirmation that they were able to express an
objective opinion on the financial statements; and ·
How
Grant Thornton would communicate with those charged with governance (the
Business Efficiency Board). RESOLVED: That the External Audit Plan be noted. |
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Whistle-Blowing Policy PDF 37 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and
Resources, which sought approval
for the roll out of the Council’s Whistle-blowing Policy. The report also sought approval for whistle-blowing
incidents to be reported as part of the annual report from Internal Audit on
Fraud and Anti-Corruption Strategy. The Policy had already been approved by
Council as part of the Constitution. The Board was
advised that changes to
the whistle-blowing regime had come into effect following the enactment of the
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (“ERRA 2013”) and ss.17 to 20 of the
Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 amended the relevant provisions of
the Employment Rights Act 1996. It was
reported that the ERRA had also introduced liability for employers for the
harassment or victimisation of employee whistle-blowers by their colleagues. An
employer would be vicariously liable for any such acts or omissions committed
by another worker or an agent. Employees who victimised whistle-blowers may
also be personally liable, which meant they may become parties to a claim along
with the employer and have tribunal awards made against them personally. It was
also reported that the amendment included a defence for employers in tribunal
proceedings if they were able to show they had taken “all reasonable steps” to
prevent the detrimental treatment. RESOLVED:
That 1) the Policy and attached documentation be
noted; 2) the proposed methods of raising awareness of
the Policy throughout the organisation be approved; and 3) an update report on Whistle-blowing activity as part of the annual report on the Fraud and Anti-Corruption Strategy be presented to a future meeting of the Board. |
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Board Training & Development PDF 28 KB Minutes: The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Policy and
Resources, which sought Members’ views on drawing up a programme of training and development events for Board
members. The Board was advised
of the range of responsibilities delegated to it and contained within the
Council’s Constitution. Its responsibilities could be broadly broken down into
the following five areas: −
Procurement; −
Efficiency; − Audit and
Fraud; −
Governance and Annual Statement of Accounts; and − Risk
Management. The Board was
further advised that over the last couple of years the Board had carried out a
significant amount of review/topic work around the Council’s procurement
processes. It also undertook an annual training event on the Annual Statement
of Accounts. It was therefore suggested that the first two training and
development events be focussed on Efficiency and Risk Management. It was also
suggested that two separate training events were arranged to cover both topics.
It was suggested that the training events followed the following format:- ·
An
outline of the Board’s responsibilities in that area; ·
An
explanation as to how that was discharged; and ·
An
outline of the current priorities and how they were being delivered. RESOLVED:
That the Board agree that 1)
two training and development events be arranged
before the end of the current calendar year commencing at 5.30 pm; and 2)
the topics for the events be the Efficiency
Programme and Risk Management. |