Venue: Civic Suite, Town Hall, Runcorn
Contact: Angela Scott on 0151 511 8670 or e-mail angela.scott@halton.gov.uk
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Minutes: The Minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2018 were taken as read and signed as a correct record. |
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External Audit Update Report PDF 53 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board received a
report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which
provided an update from Grant Thornton (External Auditors) regarding: · Progress made in delivering their responsibilities as the Council’s External
Auditors; and · A summary of emerging national issues and developments that could be
relevant to the work of the Board. It was reported
that the planning processes for the 2018/19 financial year audit had begun and
the detailed work and audit visits would begin later in the year. Regular
discussions would be held with management which would inform the risk
assessment for the 2018/19 financial statements and value for money audits. Helen Stevenson, Audit
Manager and Mark Heap, Engagement Lead, from Grant Thornton, attended the
meeting to present the report and then dealt with Members’ questions. RESOLVED: That the report be noted. |
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General Data Protection Regulation PDF 76 KB Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director,
Enterprise, Community and Resources, on the implementation of the General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation and an overall update on the Council’s
position regarding information governance. The Board was advised
that Information Governance meant the effective management of information in
all forms and locations; it included electronic and paper based information,
how it was held, used and shared. It was also concerned with keeping
information safe and secure, ensuring it was shared appropriately when
necessary to do so. It was reported that the
introduction of the GDPR strengthened and unified data protection for individuals.
It heightened the standards required and imposed new obligations. Details and
examples of such requirements and how they had been applied were set out in the
report. It was noted that a
mandatory training requirement had been extended to include GDPR and all
Officers were required to undertake the training. Members further noted and
considered the view of the Monitoring Officer that consideration should be
given to Members being required to complete the training, which was available
as an online, interactive course via the Council’s Intranet. The report also detailed
the ongoing work requirements in connection with the full review of the
Council’s Information Governance practices for Members’ information. RESOLVED: That the
contents of the report be noted. |
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Corporate Risk Register biannual update 2018/19 PDF 71 KB Additional documents: Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which
provided an update on the Corporate Risk Register for 2018/19. The report contained a progress
commentary on the management and mitigation of the corporate risk register for
the year. The Board
reviewed the robustness of the Corporate Risk Register and the adequacy of the
associated risk management arrangements. It was reported that at Directorate
level, arrangements were in place for the high-risk mitigation measures on the
Directorate Risk Registers to be reviewed and updated at mid-year. Progress on
these was reported to Management Team and to relevant Policy and Performance
Boards. RESOLVED: That
the report be noted. |
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SCHEDULE 12A OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 AND THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT 1985 PART II In
this case the Board has a discretion to exclude the press and public and, in
view of the nature of the business to be transacted, it is RECOMMENDED
that under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, having been
satisfied that in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in
maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the
information, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the
following item of business on the grounds that it involves the likely
disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 of Part 1 of
Schedule 12A to the Act. Minutes: The Board considered: 1)
whether
Members of the press and public should be excluded from the meeting of the
Board during consideration of the following item of business in accordance with
Section 100A (4) of the Local Government Act 1972 because it was likely that,
in view of the nature of the business to be considered, exempt information
would be disclosed, being information defined in Section 100 (1) and paragraph
3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972; and 2)
whether the
disclosure of information was in the public interest, whether any relevant
exemptions were applicable and whether, when applying the public interest test
and exemptions, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed
that in disclosing the information. RESOLVED: That as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public
interest in maintaining the exemption outweighed that in disclosing the
information, members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting
during consideration of the following item of business in accordance with
Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 because it was likely that, in
view of the nature of the business, exempt information would be disclosed,
being information defined in Section 100 (1) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of
the Local Government Act 1972. |
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(N.B. Councillor Wall
declared a Disclosable Other Interest in the following item of business as she
was a Governor of St Bede’s Catholic Infant School and her son also attended
the St Bedes Catholic Junior School) |
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Internal Audit Progress Report Minutes: The Board considered a
report of the Divisional Manager, Audit, Procurement and Operational Finance,
which provided Members with a summary of internal audit work completed since
the last progress report in July 2018. The report also highlighted matters
relevant to the Board’s responsibilities as the Council’s Audit Committee. It was noted that a
total of 18 Internal Audit reports had been finalised since the last progress
report. An overall assurance opinion was provided for each audit engagement. It
was reported that at the end of Quarter 2, 44.8% of the total planned audit
work had been completed, and that whilst the situation was being managed,
progress against the audit plan would be closely monitored for the remainder of
the financial year. It was reported that the
Public Sector Internal Audit Standards required the establishment of a follow
up process, to monitor and ensure that management actions had been effectively
implemented or that the risk of not taking action had been accepted by senior
management. Details of the follow-up work were detailed in the report and
relevant appendix. However, it was noted that management had responded
positively to all the issues identified in the audits and there were no outstanding
matters that had implications for the annual internal audit opinion. RESOLVED: That
the update on progress against the 2018/19 Internal Audit Progress Report be
received. |
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Future Training Sessions Prior to Board meetings The Chair confirmed that training on Risk Factors would take place prior to the next meeting of the Board, starting at 5.30pm in the Civic Suite, Runcorn Town Hall. |