Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Cecil Street, Margate, Kent

Contact: James Clapson 

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Bambridge, Connor, Dennis and Evans.

2.

Declarations of Interest

'To receive any declarations of interest.  Members are advised to consider the advice contained within the Declaration of Interest Form attached at the back of this Agenda.  If a Member declares an interest, they should complete that form and hand it to the Officer clerking the meeting and then take the prescribed course of action.'

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

3.

Minutes of Previous Meeting pdf icon PDF 65 KB

To approve the Minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee meeting held on 5 December 2018, copy attached.

Minutes:

Councillor Larkins proposed, Councillor Messenger seconded and Members agreed the minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2018.

 

4.

External Audit Annual Certification Letter 2017/18 pdf icon PDF 92 KB

Minutes:

Mr Wells, Grant Thornton UK LLP (GT) introduced the item which advised of the certification of Thanet District Council’s Housing Benefit Subsidy claim. 

 

Members noted the certification letter.

 

5.

External Audit 2018/19 Audit Plan pdf icon PDF 430 KB

Minutes:

Mr Wells introduced the item which provided an overview of the scope and timing of the audit for the year ending 31 March 2019.

 

Members noted the report.

6.

Internal Audit Quarterly Update pdf icon PDF 97 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mr Webb, Deputy Head of East Kent Audit Partnership, introduced the report noting that there had been eight internal audit assignments and seven follow up reviews  completed since the last committee meeting.  EKAP’s performance was shown in annex 4 of the report.

 

During consideration of the item, it was noted that:

·  The assurance rating for performance management had increased to reasonable after the follow up review.

·  Mr Webb offered to provide Councillor Messenger with information about a parking permit scheme that would be implemented in April 2019.

·  It was agreed that complaint data from previous years would be included in the Complaints Monitoring audit report for comparison purposes.

 

Councillor Larkins proposed, Councillor Messenger seconded and Members agreed the recommendations in the report, namely:

·  That the report be received by Members.

·  That any changes to the agreed 2018-19 internal audit plan, resulting from changes in perceived risk, detailed at point 5.0 of Annex 1 of the attached report be approved.

7.

Internal Audit 2019-20 Audit Plan pdf icon PDF 109 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Ms Parker, Head of the East Kent Audit Partnership introduced the Internal Audit Plan 2019-20.

 

Councillor Campbell proposed, Councillor Larkins seconded and Members agreed that the 2019-20 Internal Audit Plan be approved.

8.

Corporate Risk Register Quarterly Update pdf icon PDF 225 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mr Willis, Deputy Chief Executive and S151 Officer introduced the report which provided the Committee with an update of corporate risk in accordance with the risk strategy.

 

During consideration of the item it was noted that:

·  The homelessness risk score had reduced to nine and should be shaded in yellow in the report.

·  The limited resources risk score had risen for 12 to 16, which was the maximum possible risk score.

 

Members noted the report.

 

9.

Risk Management Strategy pdf icon PDF 165 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mr Willis introduced the report which provided the Committee with an update to  the Risk Management Strategy that had been approved in 2015.

 

During consideration of the item it was noted that:

·  Councillor Ashbee was the Risk Management Champion.

·  It was often the case that opportunities came with an associated risk.

 

It was proposed by Councillor Campbell, seconded by Councillor Larkins and Members agreed to adopt the revised Risk Management Strategy.

10.

The Local Code of Corporate Governance Update pdf icon PDF 176 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Mr Howes, Director of Corporate Governance, introduced the report noting that the document would be subject to review and form the basis of the Annual Governance Statement.

 

It was proposed by Councillor Campbell, seconded by Councillor Larkins and Members agreed to adopt the revised Code of Corporate Governance.

11.

Chairman's Annual Report to Council pdf icon PDF 148 KB

  • View the background to item 11.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members noted the Chairman’s report.