Agenda and draft minutes

To confirm the minutes of 17 August 2020.

The minutes of the meeting of the 17 August 2020 were confirmed.

To consider the Audit Results Report (ISA260) from the Council's appointed independent external auditor - EY (Ernst and Young).

Members considered the Appointed Auditor-Audit Results Report presented by Mark Hodgson from Ernst &Young (EY).

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Booth referred to Page 22, where there is a recommendation relating to the review of land valuations, but there is no owner or target date for completion for that item. Peter Catchpole stated that there has been a delay regarding valuations, due to the Covid 19 pandemic but discussions will take place with EY to ensure that the Council carries out the correct actions. Many of the valuation problems have been caused by the pandemic and to conclude the action may be difficult during the current climate. Councillor Booth stated that the issue surrounding land valuations has been an issue for a few years due to changes of the methodology for the assessments a few years ago, however, he expressed the opinion that it is good practice to allocate an owner and a target date for completion and it should be added to the action log going forward.

·         Councillor Wicks expressed the view that he agrees with the point raised by Councillor Booth. He added that there is no indication when the Covid 19 restrictions will be lifted and the recommendation should be added to the action log or somebody should take ownership of the point. Peter Catchpole agreed to take ownership of the recommendation and stated that as Mark Hodgson from EY has indicated that it must be completed by 31 March 2021, he will ensure that the recommendation is met by the target date.

·         Councillor John Clark stated that although he agrees with Councillor Booth and Councillor Wicks comments concerning the valuations, the Council must remain realistic, due to the imminent second Covid 19 lockdown, and the fact that the target date of March may not be achievable. He added that it should be placed on the action log, with Peter Catchpole as the owner and the target date of 31 March 2021, but to also include a caveat to indicate if the date is feasible.

·         Councillor Mrs French expressed the view that she agrees with the comments and added that we do not know what the outcome of the second lockdown will be. She expressed the opinion that additional pressure must not be placed on officers.

Corporate Governance Committee noted the contents of the Appointed Auditor - Audit Results report.

The purpose of this report is for members to review and approve the final Statement of Accounts for 2019/20.

Members considered the Statement of Accounts 2019/20 report, presented by Mark Saunders.

Corporate Governance Committee AGREED:

·         To approve the Statement of Accounts and Annual Governance Statement for the financial year ended 31 March 2020.

·         To delegate authority to the Corporate Director and Chief Finance Officer to agree any further amendments to the Statement of Accounts which may arise prior to the final 'sign off' by the external auditors, in consultation with the Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee.

To agree the format and content of the Letter of Representation provided to the independent external auditor (EY) at the conclusion of the audit of the 2019/20 Statement of Accounts.

Members considered the Letter of Representation presented by Peter Catchpole.

Corporate Governance Committee APPROVED the content and form of the letter of representation to be signed by the Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee and the Council’s Chief Finance Officer.

To review the Council’s Treasury Management activity for the first six months of 2020/21 and to provide an update on matters pertinent to future updates to the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy.

Members considered the Treasury Management Mid-Year Review 2020/21, presented by Mark Saunders.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Booth asked for clarification regarding the Investment Portfolio and questioned whether the Council has any risk of concentration of investment, because of ratings that maybe applied to where the Council is investing? Mark Saunders stated that this is something that is monitored very closely, and the Treasury Advisers inform the Finance Department of any changes which happen to those type of institutions. He added that the Treasury Advisers are always consulted prior to the Council investing to ensure where we are investing meets the criteria that is required. Mark Saunders explained that there are not many changes to the short-term investments that the Council holds and if the situation becomes long term, then relevant advice will be sought.

·         Councillor Clark highlighted that no external borrowing is anticipated in 2021 and stated that officers have confirmed that this also includes the Investment Board. Mark Saunders explained that there is no anticipation for any external borrowing this year but work is underway to put schemes in place for the Commercial Investment Strategy and this borrowing strategy will be reviewed next year. Councillor Clark stated that he has noted in the press that property prices have seen a 5% increase due to the stamp duty holiday and there is forecast a 13.8% reduction in property for next year.

·         Councillor Booth stated that there have been a number of articles in the press with reference to potential abuses of drawing monies from the Public Works Loan Board, which Central Government have indicated that they will reviewing and he asked whether this would limit the opportunities of the Council to be able to borrow from the Government and mean that commercial loans would have to be used instead of the Public Works Loan Board? Mark Saunders explained that any monies borrowed in connection with the Commercial Investment Strategy would depend on the type of investment the Council is looking to do. He added that changes to the Public Works Board rules would not affect any of the schemes that the Council are looking at with the largest of those being considered being the Nene Waterfront scheme, which is a regeneration and housing scheme, which would not be impacted by any of the new regulations. He explained that those issues highlighted in the press are where authorities have borrowed money and then bought property for commercial gain.

·         Councillor Benney stated that there appears to be reluctance in investing in property and land with anything that is bought like this being a long-term investment and he feels that if land values fall that would be an opportune time to buy and the value of land will increase over a ten-year period. He expressed the opinion that caution would be a word he would use, but along with caution comes opportunity and there are opportunities for the Council to investigate going forward. Mark Saunders reiterated  ...  view the full minutes text for item CGC16/20

To report the progress against the Internal Audit Plan 2020-21 for the period 1 April 20, including planned work until 30 September 20 and the resulting level of assurance and to provide an update to members on the resourcing issues of the Internal Audit Team

Members considered the Internal Audit Plan 2020 -21 Progress Report Q2, presented by Kathy Woodward.

Kathy Woodward confirmed that when the committee met in August 2020, they agreed to a shortened audit plan due to the Covid 19 pandemic and resourcing of the Internal Audit Team was discussed. She added that since that meeting a restructure proposal has been submitted and agreed by the Staff Committee, which included reinstating the Audit Manager to a full-time role and to also appoint a full-time Apprentice Auditor. Kathy Woodward explained that the restructure will provide a greater resilience to the team and the organisation. The Apprentice Auditor will gain a qualification and the post will last 2 years, but it is hoped that the post will be retained beyond that time. The staffing proposals will enable more days in the audit plan going forward and greater scope to support the Corporate Governance Committee    with its changing role in overseeing the Corporate Investment Strategy. Kathy Woodward explained that the current Section 113 sharing arrangements with the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk would also be terminated.

Kathy Woodward explained that work recommenced on the Audit Plan in September and highlighted the audits carried out since that time and those currently being undertaken. She explained that within the report she has

outlined the additional support that has been given during the first six months of the year considering the Covid 19 pandemic, which included work dealing with the discretionary grant scheme, small business grants and the test and trace isolation payments. Other work has been carried out regarding providing information for the Overview and Scrutiny ARP Review group, helping with the Care and Repair DFG grants scheme which was a request of the County Council as well as work in connection with the National Fraud Initiative

Kathy Woodward informed members that a positive audit report has been received from the DVLA regarding works carried out in conjunction with the councils abandoned vehicle process.

Members asked question, made comments and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Clark stated that he is very pleased that the Audit Team will be receiving an additional resource and it provides an excellent opportunity for somebody to undertake the role.

·         Councillor Booth congratulated Kathy Woodward for her work regarding the restructure of the Audit Team and added that it will be important to ensure the new starter once trained is retained in post going forward.

·         Councillor Booth referred to the report and highlighted the recommendations at Appendix A and stated that there are three reports with medium recommendations but there are no themes shown or any detail in the boxes. Kathy Woodward explained that the audits shown are those which are conducted by our partner authorities from ARP     and the reason there have been no themes added is because there are so many but she agreed to provide a summary of those recommendations and what they relate to, outside of this report due to the number. Councillor Booth stated that  ...  view the full minutes text for item CGC17/20

To note the Future Work Plan

Members considered the Corporate Governance Committee future work plan presented by Peter Catchpole.

He explained to members that following a discussion with Kathy Woodward, he felt that it would be helpful to provide to members with an outline of topics to be covered by the committee. He explained that the subjects have been spread out over the course of the next few Corporate Governance Committee meetings and it is also proposed that during those meetings there could be some training sessions included, if members felt that there would be any relevant areas on which they would like to receive training. Peter Catchpole explained that the Action Plan has also been included which contains actions from meetings as well.

Members asked questions, made comments and received responses as follows:

·         Councillor Booth asked whether the work plan could show a rolling year, rather than the municipal year. Peter Catchpole agreed to amend the work plan to reflect this.

·         Councillor John Clark highlighted that he would like to see a review of the Investment Board included within the work plan and asked whether it is prudent for the Committee to review the Board. Peter Catchpole added that the governance issues surrounding the Investment Board will be factored into part of Kathy Woodward’s audit work. Councillor John Clark asked where that work will be factored into the work plan and Peter Catchpole added that it will be included in 2020/21.

·         Councillor John Clark highlighted the issue of training and asked whether there could be a date set for training. Kathy Woodward agreed that it would be prudent for a date to be set and explained that relevant training sessions could be included to reflect the topics being covered in meetings. She added that members need to indicate the type of training they wish to receive and then the delivery of that training can be investigated.

·         Councillor Mrs French expressed the view that training would be beneficial and should be discussed outside of todays meeting, with suggestions brought back to the next meeting of Corporate Governance.

Corporate Governance Committee agreed to note the contents of the Future Work Plan.

There were no items of topical interest to discuss.