Agenda item

(To receive a report by Fiona Thompson (Service Manager - People) which provides and update on the actions being taken to address and rectify the issues identified in both the Payroll and Pensions Audits)

Consideration was given to a report which provided an update on the actions being taken to address and rectify the issues identified in both the Payroll and Pensions Audits.  Both the Service Manger – People Management (LCC) and Delivery Director (Serco) were in attendance to discuss the findings of the audit.

It was reported that a very detailed action plan had been put together, and a number of actions had been implemented, including the appointment of two experienced and skilled payroll managers.  A much more robust checklist for the running of payroll had been implemented along with improved error and warning reporting.

In terms of the Serco and LCC actions which had been identified for completion by the end of September 2016, they had were all either complete or partially complete (the latter the case where further work had been identified during the completion of the action).

Members of the Committee were provided with the opportunity to ask questions to the officers present in relation to the information contained within the report, and some of the points raised during discussion included the following:

·         It was queried how the Corporate Management Board and Executive were being kept informed of progress, and members were advised that Debbie Barnes, as the Executive Director responsible for People Management was accountable at senior manager level, and Councillor Young, as Portfolio Holder for Community Safety and People Management received updates on a monthly basis.  There had also been reporting through the Recovery Board, of which Councillor Young was also a member.

·         It was also queried how much additional time was being put into managing this contract, and what the costs of managing this contract were.  In terms of pensions deductions, it was clarified that the outsourcing of Pensions had worked well, however the issues related to the information being used to inform the deductions from payroll, which was undertaken by Serco payroll.

·         It was acknowledged that there were some gaps in the transfer of information held between SAP and Agresso.  It was also noted that Pension Schemes had become more complicated in the past 10 years.

·         The action plan detailed those issues which were still outstanding, and officers were still working through the remaining actions, and the action plan would be revised regularly.  The Audit Committee's concern had been whether issues were being dealt with in a timely manner.

·         All actions which were due to be completed by the end of September had been completed.  All high priority actions had also been completed.

·         In terms of the mis-stating of national insurance numbers, assurance was requested that this would not impinge on the filing of RTI, and members were advised that Serco had been in close contract with HMRC throughout this process.

·         It was confirmed that the KPI data for the contract would be presented to the Value for Money Scrutiny Committee meeting the following day.

·         It was confirmed that Serco had previously been involved in the implementation of payroll systems, however, they had not previously implemented Agresso before.  It was queried whether this had been sufficiently taken into account when awarding the contract, and it was reported that this would be addressed by the review being carried out by KPMG.  It was expected that the report would be presented to the Audit Committee at its meeting in November 2016.

·         It was confirmed that additional costs from the managing of this contract were being tracked, and was being managed by the Commercial Team, and being monitored through the Recovery Board.  There was a need to see that systems were progressing in the right direction.

·         It was reported that the action was updated in real time, and any member was welcome to contact the Delivery Director if they would like to like to go through it at any point.

RESOLVED

1.    That the Committee note the approach and progress made with these audit actions.

2.    That continued concerns regarding the additional costs of managing the contract be noted.

3.    That an update on progress made with the action plan be provided at the meeting in November.