Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Councillor Mclean, Councillor Elliot and Amber Banister.

To receive any declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered -

(i)            must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent

and, if the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, or a personal interest which is also prejudicial

(ii)        may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter (and must withdraw to the public seating area) unless they have been granted a dispensation.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests, or is not the subject of a pending notification, must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and prejudicial interests are defined in Part 2 of the Code of Conduct For Members

[If a member is in any doubt as to whether they have an interest which should be declared they should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before the start of the meeting]

No declarations of interest were received.

The minutes of the meeting held on 19 January 2019 were agreed by the members present and signed by the Chairman.

An opportunity for members of the public to make statements and ask questions in accordance with the rules as to Public Participation

There was no public participation.

Mark Towler presented an update regarding the Internal Audit Progress Report

Councillor Birnie would like to know if 22 recommendations is acceptable or out of the ordinary, M.Towler confirmed it was within normal range.

Mark Towler presented an update regarding the Internal Audit Progress Report

Councillor Birnie would like to know if 22 recommendations is acceptable or out of the ordinary, M.Towler confirmed it was within normal range.

The Internal Audit Service Reports were presented to the committee

Ben Hosier provided further explanation regarding the procurement strategy Report.

Regarding recommendation 2 Councillor Birnie enquires if choosing the wrong supplier for projects is a risk that solely sits with the procurement team, B.Hosier confirms this is the case and stresses the importance of ensuring transparency regarding requirements and having a robust tender process to ensure the correct suppliers are selected.

Councillor Douris and Councillor Taylor congratulated B.Hosier on his handling of the recommendations and thanked him and his team for their hard work and professionalism. 

J.Doe and S.Whelan provided an update on the Development Service Report.

Councillor Douris enquires if DBC use any kind of “handcuff agreement” if an employee leaves within a certain timeframe after receiving training. J.Doe confirms in some cases there is a payback period but this only applies to long term education rather than general training.

Councillor Douris would like to know if the number of staff in planning enforcement has increased, J.Doe confirms they have increased by 0.5 FTE, but that the productivity of the department has dramatically increased.

The new work plan will be completed after the May elections when the new Chair has been appointed.

Councillor Taylor has made the decision to stand down at the next elections, therefore this was his final Audit meeting, and The Committee thanked Councillor Taylor for his contribution to the Audit Committee over the past 12 years and wished his well for the future.