Agenda item

Before the discussion commenced, the Chairman welcomed Andrew Brittain, the new external auditor. He explained that the audit committee was made up of four groups; members, officers, Internal audit and external audit, and each group was an important part of the process.

Councillor Elliot highlighted that so far we were doing well considering the recent market bank turmoil but it was likely there would have to be a few changes and these would be highlighted as soon as possible.

J Deane highlighted one change to the C5 risk relating to the number of hand arm vibration at Cupid Green; the Health and Safety Executive is undertaking a review and the increased risk would be reflected.

J Deane explained that the risk register was produced prior to the ‘Leave’ result and they would put in place any changes as soon as possible.

Councillor Douris said he had awareness of hand arm vibration and queried if the opportunity had not been taken to monitor individuals’ usage of the equipment as the condition was a result of it. J Deane advised that since 2014 the council had strengthened the monitoring in place and Dacorum were ahead of most of councils in doing this. He said that the symptoms of hand arm vibration were not immediately obvious and progressed over time.

M Gaynor then delivered a detailed overview of I3 Investment in Infrastructure to the

Committee. 

Councillor W Wyatt-Lowe referred to Dacorum’s ICT Policies for training new employees and queried how long it took to get individuals trained and if there was a policy on having refresher training sessions. J Deane advised that there was a set of compulsory training courses for new staff members. He was unsure of refresher courses, and how soon the courses needed to be carried out initially so he would investigate and come back to the committee.

Councillor W Wyatt-Lowe drew attention to page 19. He referred to ‘Street Life’ which is a social media site and asked if it was monitored as he had looked through the site and was concerned at the content relating to the council. J Deane suggested that Robert Smyth attended the next meeting as he was responsible for this risk and he could be available for members to answer any queries they may have. The committee agreed this would be helpful.

Councillor Douris asked how long CIL was set for and how easily it could be changed. M Gaynor explained it could be changed as often as they wanted but it would have to be justified by evidence and consultation and then go through a process of re-examination. He said you wouldn’t want to do it more than every 2-3 years due to viability and you’d have to persuade an inspector, however you could change the 123 list fairly easily every year if required.

Councillor Douris suggested that as Dacorum was one of the earlier adopters of CIL, the charges may be slightly lighter. M Gaynor said he could circulate a document containing a comparison of CIL levels being proposed and implemented. He said we were probably lighter than areas such as London and some boroughs in the South East and explained that the levels were reflected on the area and developer but he will look in to evidence to indicate whether our levels are still suitable. Councillor Douris recalled professional advice that the levels set were broadly recommended.

Councillor Tindall asked if there was any update on the new homes bonus. J Deane

explained they were still awaiting an outcome on the consultation but he expected

that from the redistribution and 50% reduction we would take a hit considering we’ve done well from it so far. He said that they assumed the reduction could be from

£3million down to £1million in the capital programme but could potentially be lower; however they could look at options for tailoring the current fully funded capital

programme if that does happen.

Councillor Tindall queried the distribution of percentage of CIL that comes back to

the community. M Gaynor said there wasn’t a lot to spend at the moment but when

there is a significant amount of money they would look at the priorities of each area.

Councillor Wyatt-Lowe asked if the Aviva site was not included in Enterprise. M Gaynor confirmed it was but was paying CIL.

Actions:

·         J Deane to advise the committee about employee refresher courses for

compulsory training sessions and how long into their employment would they be expected to have carried out all courses.

·         Invite Robert Smyth to attend the next meeting.

Outcome:

That the content of the report was noted and the committee seek further assurance where required.

M Gaynor left the meeting at 8.25 pm.