Apologies were received Cllr Barrett with Cllr Morrisey substituting, Cllr Slade with Cllr Reed substituting and Cllr Hones with Cllr Wiles substituting.

The minutes of the Audit & Scrutiny Committee meeting held on 29^th June 2015  were approved  and signed  by the Chair as a correct record.

The report presented the Council’s 2014/15 Statement of Accounts for approval following external audit.

Cllr Kerslake MOVED that Items 3 and 4 would be discussed and a vote on those recommendations would take place at the same time. It was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY to combine the vote on these two items

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kerslake and SECONDED by Cllr Murphy to agree the recommendations set out in the reports for agenda items 3 and 4:

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.     That the Statement of Accounts for 2014/15 be approved

2.     That the letter of Representation (Appendix B) be approved

3.     That the Audit Results Report 2014/15 (Appendix A - page 141) be agreed.

REASON FOR DECISION

A system of sound financial control and governance arrangements

underpins all of the services and priorities of the Council

The report presented to the Committee with the findings of the External Auditors in respect of the audit of the Council’s Statement of Account for 2014/15

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.            That the Audit Results Report 2014/15 at appendix A be agreed.

Reasons for Recommendation

A system of sound financial control and governance arrangements underpins all of the services and priorities of the Council.

The meeting was adjourned for 5 mins for the Letter of Representation and  Statement of Accounts to be signed.

The report detailed the progress to date against the 2015/16 internal audit

plan that was agreed with in the Audit and Scrutiny Committee in March

2015.

The report also included an update on the progress of the implementation

of the recommendations raised in 2013/14 and 2014/15.

The reports received limited assurance and therefore were included as full reports as supplementary papers to the progress report:

·           Payroll (from 2014/15)

·           IT Transformation Programme (from 2014/15)

·           Accounts Payable

A Counter Fraud Risk Assessment had also been completed and the full

report had also been included as a supplementary paper for information.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kerslake and SECONDED by Cllr Murphy

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.     to receive and note the contents of the reports.

REASON FOR DECISION

To monitor the progress of work against the internal audit plan

The Insurance & Risk Management Strategy had been reviewed and was

submitted to the Committee for approval.

The report updated members of the Audit, Scrutiny and Transformation

Committee on new, closed or changes to strategic risks.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Wiles and was SECONDED by Cllr Murphy

A vote was taken by a show of hands and is was RESOLVED:

1.    To agree the revised Insurance & Risk Management Strategy

(Appendix A).

2.     To agree the updated Strategic Risk Register (Appendix B).

REASON FOR DECISION

Risk Management continued to be embedded quarterly within the Senior

Management Team reports, where Heads of Service discuss the top level

risks for their service areas to ensure that the risks were updated to reflect

the ongoing changes.

In addition, the Risk & Insurance Officer will work with managers to ensure

that any new or emerging risks are identified, assessed and managed

appropriately.

The work of the Audit, Scrutiny and Transformation Committee be delivered both by Members working in groups and through formal Committee reports.

The Audit, Scrutiny and Transformation Committee will make recommendations to decision making committees and Council

as necessary.

The Audit, Scrutiny and Transformation was invited to consider its 2015/16 work programme.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kerslake and SECONDED by Cllr Murphy

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED:

1.     That the Member/Officer Communications / Members Casework Task and Finish Group report back to the Committee in December 2015 as to the feasibility of achieving their objectives.

2.     That the Audit, Scrutiny and Transformation work programme 2015/16 at appendix A be approved.

REASON FOR DECISION

To enact the provisions of Part 4.4 of the Constitution that the Audit and Scrutiny Committee agreed its work programme at each meeting of the

Committee.

The Council has to transform the way that it conducts its business. Advances in technology, changes in legislation and financial and other pressures, requires an organisation that is flexible; one which meets the needs of its customers but also provides employees of the Council with the tools to perform.

Key to any transformation is ensuring that the Council can continued to make

the changes needed on an on-going basis. This implied an ability to adapt and be innovative.

Phase 1 of the Transformation agenda will focus on the delivery of the

Customer Access Strategy and New Ways of Working.

This is a vital piece of work and will support and make evident the change that is happening within the Council. This phase focuses on :

·           The progress and implementation of the New Ways of Working

programme, highlighting major milestones achieved and to follow.

·           Implementation of the Customer Access Strategy and current progress.

·           A review of the work programme that supports both of the above.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kerslake and SECONDED by Cllr Wiles

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.     To Agree the approach to Phase 1 of the Transformation and New Ways of Working Programme.

2.     To Agree that further progress reports are made to the Audit, Scrutiny and Transformation Committee which will update on future workstreams.

REASON FOR DECISION

To formalise and set out transformation phase 1 plan that identifies a clear

and structured approach.

The work programme to support IT Transformation and IT security fell

into two themes: “Building a solid foundation” and “My Desktop

Anywhere”.

The Council has a duty to protect its data. Further, we must do so in

order to continue to provide a high level of service to customers. To

allow this to happen, we needed to ensure the availability of ICT systems

and access to data in a secure and reliable manner. This is provided by

the IT infrastructure and can be thought of as the foundation to build

upon.

In addition, the Council faces challenges including a continued

increase in the amount of data being processed and stored, service

provision to customers outside normal operating times through online

services, and increasing costs and reduced resources.

New Ways of Working (NWoW) initiative outlined the need for officers

to access information in a variety of ways and time periods to support

changing customer requirements and working patterns. Using

technology to provide “My Desktop Anywhere” supports NWoW putting

the power into the department to design and provide their service.

To support this transformation IT needed to further transform! The

approach of “high availability by design” should be implemented. The

aim of high availability was to maximise access to systems and data for

officers and customers. IT Transformation is delivered through the

Modern Work Programme. Phase 1 improves current storage and links

this with Microsoft Azure cloud services to enable the Council to take

full advantage of the “cloud”.

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Kerslake and was SECONDED by Cllr Wiles

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.    That the details in this report are noted and the approach of high

availability by design to IT transformation and security is agreed.

2.    Schedule an information workshop to inform Members in more

detail.

REASON FOR DECISION

Provision of a robust computing service to support the changing needs of

the Council’s working practices to support the modern workforce.

Provision of  the ‘high availability’ by design to support the overall

transformation and NWoW as outlined in Audit Scrutiny & Transformation Agenda item 9 (29.09.2015).

Provision of  a cost effective and sustainable ICT service.

There were no items of urgent business.

The meeting concluded at 20.53.