Agenda and draft minutes

To receive any apologies for absence

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Stewart, Reynolds and Douris.

Councillor Freedman substituted for Councillor Stewart.

Councillor England substituted for Councillor Reynolds.

Councillor Wyatt-Lowe substituted for Councillor Douris.

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]

Councillor England advised he was the former Portfolio Holder for Climate & Ecological Emergency.

To confirm the minutes of the previous meeting and consider the actions

The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed by the members present and then signed by the Chair.

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.

Please refer to the video minutes for full discussion.

Outcome

1.   That the Committee reviewed the final financial outturn for 2023-24 (Appendices A and B) and noted the final financial outturn position for 2023-24.

2.   That the Committee reviewed the Capital Programme Outturn for 2023-24 (Appendix C).

3.   That the Committee reviewed the balances on earmarked reserves as at 31st March 2024 (Appendix D).

Please refer to the video minutes for full discussion.

Outcome

1. The committee reviewed the Statement of Accounts 2023/24 (Appendix A) and raised any matters on which assurance is sought in order to approve the Statements on behalf of the Council;

2. Subject to consideration of the External Auditor’s Audit Findings Report, approved the Letter of Representation (Appendix B) in the capacity of those charged with Governance and;

3. Approved the Statement of Accounts for 2023/24.

4. Delegated to the Chair or Vice Chair of the Audit Committee to sign the final accounts upon receiving the final audit opinion and approve any further changes the statement of accounts agreed with the Council’s auditors prior to the receipt of that opinion.

Please refer to the video minutes for full discussion.

Outcome

The committee noted the contents of the External Auditor’s Year End Report for 2023-24.

Please refer to the video minutes for full discussion.

Outcome

The regulator of social housing inspection & regulatory judgement were acknowledged and signed off by Audit Committee.

Action

H Peacock to advise how many tenants were spoken to as part of the survey.

Please refer to the video minutes for full discussion.

Outcome

1.   The committee noted the final internal audit reports issued for following Council activities:

• Leisure Contract - Reasonable Assurance

• Climate Change – Limited Assurance

• Performance Management – Reasonable Assurance

• Housing Allocations and Homelessness - Reasonable Assurance

• Housing Regulatory Compliance and Building Safety- Reasonable Assurance

2. The committee noted the content of the SICA and progress against the annual internal audit plan.

Please refer to the video minutes for full discussion.

Outcome

The committee noted the contents of the report on Treasury Management performance and the Prudential Indicators for 2023/24.

Please refer to the video minutes for full discussion.

Outcome

The committee noted the report.