Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room One, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL

Contact: Cheryl Evans  Democratic Services Officer

Items
No. Item

41.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

There were no apologies for absence.

42.

Declarations of Members' Interests

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest at this stage in the meeting.

43.

Minutes of the meeting held on 18 November 2019 pdf icon PDF 335 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the minutes of the meeting of the Audit Committee held on 18 November 2019 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.  

44.

Combined Assurance Reports - 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 361 KB

(To receive a report which provides the Committee with insight on the assurances across all of the Council's critical services, key risk, partnerships and projects. The Corporate Leadership Team will be in attendance to update on their combined assurance reports for each directorate)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman congratulated Debbie Barnes OBE on her recent appointment as Chief Executive of Lincolnshire County Council.

 

The report provided an insight on the assurances across all the Council's critical services, key risks, partnerships and projects.  The Corporate Leadership Team was in attendance to present their respective area.

 

Chief Executive Summary

 

The Chief Executive's summary was set out on page 22 of the agenda pack.  The Chief Executive highlighted the substantial assurance for the Council and stated that over the last twelve months there had been a change in leadership with the appointment of a new Chief Executive; and three new Executive Directors.  It was also highlighted that interviews were scheduled to appoint to the post of Executive Director of Children's Services.

 

Strategic Risks

 

The Strategic Risks were set out on pages 23 – 24 of the agenda pack.  The Chief Executive highlighted there were four critical areas of risk.  The first was the uncertainty over the long-term funding for local government, in particular for adult social care; and the increase in demand for special educational needs and disabilities services remained a risk.  The Council continued to lobby for fairer funding, which aimed to improving the distribution of funding and address some of the challenges of delivering services in a rural county. 

 

The second area of risk related to the priority for an integrated health and care system, which was being mitigated by the appointment of a seconded senior manager to lead on the neighbourhood team initiative.  In response to a question, it was advised that the pace of change in this area was slow, which was due in part to the NHS needing to seek approval of any proposed changes at a national level.

 

The third area of risk was IMT.  The roll out of windows 10 machines had led to greater staff satisfaction and the implementation of Office 365 would further improve user experience.  The Committee was assured that this was an improving area and employees were advising that systems had become more reliable.

 

The fourth area of risk was workforce, where there was a challenge to recruit in certain areas, such as social work; legal services; and engineers.

 

In response to a question, it was hoped that the Lincoln Medical School would assist with recruitment of medical staff across the County. Particular reference was made to the retention and recruitment of staff for NHS roles, particularly in a rural county.

 

NOTE: Andrew Middleton (Independent Added Member) wished it to be noted that he was the lay Vice-Chairman of South West Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

 

Adult Care and Community Wellbeing (AC&CW)

 

The key messages of the Executive Director of Adult Care and Community Wellbeing were set out of pages 25 – 26 of the agenda pack.

 

The Executive Director highlighted that the Wellbeing Service, which was delivered in partnership with district councils, was working well.  Approximately 8,000 people benefited from this service each year.

 

Work was being undertaken on Team Around the Adult which would involve multi-agency  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44.

45.

External Audit Progress Report - February 2020 pdf icon PDF 225 KB

(To receive a report by Mike Norman (Senior Manager, Mazars), which set out the delivery of the Council's and Pension Fund External Audit for 2019/20)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report from Mark Surridge (Mazars), which set out progress on the delivery of the Council's and Pension Fund External Audit for 2019/20.

 

It was stated that the interim report had commenced in February 2020 and the external audit would be completed in July 2020.  It was noted that the Committee would receive an update at its meeting scheduled in March 2020 on any matters arising from the interim work.

 

The Value for Money risk assessment for the County Council audit was in progress and had been focused on the Council's arrangements for sustainable resource deployment and its medium term budget pressures.  At this stage, based on their findings to date, Mazars advised that they did not expect to flag these items as a significant risk area for the conclusion.

 

The Committee was informed that there had been a change in the Engagement Lead for the West Yorkshire Pension Fund. 

 

It was highlighted that it was likely there would be a national consultation on the level of external audit fees in the coming months, which would probably lead to an increase in these fees.

 

In response to a question, the Committee was assured that the County Council was in regular dialogue with Mazars, and lessons had been learned from previous years.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report be noted.

46.

Internal Audit Progress Report pdf icon PDF 133 KB

(To receive a report by Lucy Pledge (Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management), which provides details of the audit work completed to 13th January 2020; and advise on progress of the 2019/20 plan)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by Lucy Pledge (Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management), which provided detail of the audit work completed between 1 November 2019 and 13 January 2020; and advised on progress of the 2019/20 plan.

 

The outcome of the audit work had shown no significant governance issues, with most assurance opinions being high (4) or substantial (3) assurance.  There was only one area: settlement agreements, where limited assurance had been given. The Internal Audit Progress Report was attached at Appendix A to the report.

 

The Committee was advised that details on the audits with limited assurance were outlined in Appendix 4 to the report. It was advised that an internal audit on settlement agreements had been undertaken, as this had not been reviewed for circa five years. This had also been undertaken at the request of the Audit Committee during an informal session.

 

In response to a question, it was advised that details of any financial settlement agreements were included in the Council's annual budgetary information.

 

It was highlighted that there were some significant resource changes in progress in the Audit Team, which should have a positive impact on the completion of the audit plan.  It was highlighted that there had been an appointment made to the Audit Manager vacancy and to the post of senior auditor.  Two temporary senior auditors were scheduled to join the Team in February for six months, to assist support the delivery over the short term and provide capacity during the induction of new staff.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report be noted.

47.

Governance Review - Culture and Values pdf icon PDF 155 KB

(To receive a report by Fiona Thompson (Head of HR), which provides information on the progress made to date and the timescales for planned actions being taken by the Council in light of the 2019 Governance Review of Culture and Values)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by Fiona Thompson (Head of Human Resources), which provided information on the progress made to date and the timescales for planned actions being taken by the Council in the light of the 2019 Governance Review of Culture and Values. 

 

A copy of the Governance Review Action Plan was set out at Appendix A to the report, which set out the recommendations and associated actions and progress to date.  A range of action had been completed and timescales established for the remaining actions to be completed.  A summary of the key points of progress were detailed on pages 84 – 86 of the agenda pack.

 

During discussion of the report, the following points were noted:

 

  • The One Council approach was deemed positive.  The Corporate Leadership Team road shows were also welcomed by the Committee as a good opportunity for employees to meet the Chief Executive and Executive Directors.
  • It was advised that exit interviews were voluntary and when completed, the content was reviewed by the Head of Human Resources.  
  • It was suggested that further updates on the progress with the governance review of cultures and values could form part of the annual governance statement or, alternatively, the Committee could programme a future update under its work programme.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report be noted.

48.

Risk Management Progress Report - February 2020 pdf icon PDF 20 KB

(To receive a report by Debbie Bowring (Principal Risk Officer), which invites the Committee to note the current status of the strategic risks facing the Council and make recommendations on any further scrutiny required)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by Debbie Bowring (Principal Risk Officer), which invited the Committee to note the current status of the strategic risks facing the Council and to make recommendations on any further scrutiny required.

 

The strategic risks continued to be monitored with risk owners and assurances had been obtained that the strategic risks were being managed effectively.  All directorates, in line with the governance review, were reconfiguring and reconstructing the groups and therefore some had identified their risks and some were being worked through with the Team's support.  

 

The Risk Management Progress Report was detailed at Appendix A to the report, which provided updates on key messages relating to the governance review, strategic and operational risks since the last update to the Committee in September 2019.

 

It was advised that the current Strategic Risk Register contained ten risks, and a summary of those risks were detailed on page 127 of the Agenda Pack by way of a chart.  The chart detailed the likelihood and impact of the risk occurring and also its target score.  The direction of travel was shown by way of an arrow. 

 

In response to a question, it was advised that a summary of the direction of travel for each risk was set out in the full Strategic Risk Register, which was detailed on pages 129 – 132 of the Agenda pack. 

 

It was advised that following the Governance Review on Risk Management and Health and Safety arrangements, the overall message from the review and the suggested areas for improvement were outlined on page 99 of the Agenda pack. 

 

Reference was made by a member of the Committee to the Peer Review finding of a "risk averse culture and behaviours due to fear of failure and this is stifling innovation and creativity" and a recommendation that the Council "review and maintain a risk culture that enables risks to be taken – creating confidence in a just culture''.  The Committee was advised that the Peer Review Team had clarified that this related to management oversight, rather than employees feeling stifled by a tightly controlled financial environment.  Members of the Committee referred to the importance of empowering the workforce.  In response to a question, it was advised that some of the Council's policies and procedures were being reviewed as part of the process of addressing this. 

 

The Committee was assured that the Council's strategic risks continued to be managed pro-actively.  There was a good level of awareness of the current and emerging risks, with positive action being taken where appropriate.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the current status of the strategic risks facing the Council be noted. 

49.

Report on Corporate and Statutory Complaints - Quarters 1&2 2019/2020 pdf icon PDF 21 KB

(To receive a report by Shay Noreen (Complaints Resolution Manager), which provides an update on all corporate and statutory complaints, including performance data and actions taken based on this data)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report by Shay Noreen (Complaints Resolution Manager), which updated on all corporate and statutory complaints, including performance data for the first two quarters of the 2019-20 financial year and actions taken; and provided information since the team's 'insourcing' in April 2019.  A full data review of the first two quarters of the financial year 2019/2020 was set out in Appendix A to the report.

 

Following a review of the complaints function, an additional step had been introduced into the process, whereby customers were offered early resolution on contact before entering the formal process.  This new step had seen a significant reduction in the number of customers beginning the formal complaints process.  This was being achieved in areas where the Council was able to meeting the customers' desired outcome by liaising with the relevant service area.

 

The Committee was provided with an opportunity to ask questions, where the following points were noted:

 

·       In quarters one and two of 2019/2020, a total of 335 contacts had been received from the public, unhappy with services that had been provided.  Of the 335 contacts, 253 had proceeded to enter the formal complaints process with the remaining 82 being resolved.  It was confirmed that all cases, whether resolved informally or formally, were logged on the complaints management system.

·       There were certain areas of the Council, for example the highways and transport; and children services departments which were proactive in finding resolutions at an informal stage.  However, it was not always possible to achieve this.

 

(NOTE: At this stage in the meeting, Ian Haldenby (Independent Added Member) left for the remainder of proceedings.

 

·       Further training and support would be provided to service areas on the complaints process.

·       A lack of communication was the cause of over a third of all complaints, which were fully or partly substantiated.  It had been recommended that service areas develop clear guidelines for staff, as to how often it was expected that contact should be made with individuals receiving their services. 

·       There had been a limited number of complaints (approximately 1-2) relating to the time it had taken for a call to be answered and therefore that had not been deemed an area of concern.

·       It was advised that the Team would need to complete a piece of work to ascertain whether there was a correlation between the number of potholes reported with the number of complaints received.

·       The improvements in communication had been attributed to the 47% decline in complaints received by the highways and transport department received in quarter one, compared to the same period on 2018/19.

·       There was clear guidance provided to employees on how to deal with vexatious complainants.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the report be noted.

50.

Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 118 KB

(To receive a report by Lucy Pledge (Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management), which provides the Committee with information on the core assurance activities currently scheduled for the 2020 work plan)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

A report was considered which provided the Committee with information on the core assurance activities scheduled for 2020 forward plan.

 

It was agreed that the Audit Committee informal workshop on Corporate Plan and Assurance Framework would be rearranged from 18 March to the afternoon of 13 July 2020. 

 

It was suggested that the meeting of the Committee in March 2021, when the Chief Executive and the Executive Directors were scheduled to present the Combined Assurance Reports, would become a one-item agenda to enable the Committee sufficient time to consider the update.

 

RESOLVED

 

(1)  That the Audit Committee's informal workshop on Corporate Plan and Assurance Framework be rearranged from 18 March to the afternoon of 13 July 2020. 

 

(2)  That the meeting of the Committee scheduled for March 2021, when the Chief Executive and the Executive Directors were scheduled to present the Combined Assurance Reports, become a one-item agenda to enable the Committee sufficient time to consider the update.

 

REPORTS FOR INFORMATION

51.

LGA Corporate Peer Challenge - Lincolnshire County Council - Feedback Report pdf icon PDF 312 KB

Minutes:

A copy of the LGA Corporate Peer Challenge – Lincolnshire County Council – Feedback Report had been circulated with the agenda pack for information.

 

 
 
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