Agenda item

The Statement of Accounts is attached to the back of your agenda as a Supplementary agenda.

Sarah Martin, Financial Services Manager introduced the report which asks for Members to approve the audited Statement of Accounts for 2013/13.

Sarah Martin advised Members of the Governance and Audit Committee of the adjustments that had been made to the accounts following the audit. These adjustments are movements between lines on the Balance Sheet and have no impact on the overall financial position of the Council.

·  A short term grant of £3,070k was incorrectly included as a long term grant. This has now been moved to ‘current liabilities’ within the Balance Sheet from ‘long term liabilities’.

·  Both ‘short term debtors’ and short term creditors’ were incorrectly overstated by £614k. The Balance Sheet has been adjusted accordingly.

The auditors identified a further adjustment during the audit but this adjustment has not been reflected in the accounts. The CIPFA code requires the disclosure of the expected rate of return for each of the different asset classes used by the Pension Fund within the Defined Benefit Pension Scheme note to the accounts (note 39). The actuary report does not include this information and as this split is no longer required under the CIPFA code from 2013/14, management propose to only show the total Expected Rate of Return. It is considered that this does not have any impact on the reader of the accounts, but Members are asked to approve management’s proposed treatment.

Members asked for clarification as to why the decriminalisation reserve was named as such. Sarah Martin explained that this reserve was held in respect of on street car parking. The Council administers on street parking but this is on behalf of KCC. This reserve holds any unutilised revenues from parking charges and can be used to fund future parking, transport or environmental improvement related schemes’. Sarah Martin advised Members that she would find out the reason why it was called the decriminalisation reserve.

A further query raised by Members was regarding the VAT Reserve which has been set up to hold funds reimbursed in relation to our Fleming claim and will be used to cover any one off cost deemed appropriate. Members asked what this was. Sarah Martin explained that it was a sum paid to a number of local authorities where some years ago overpayment of VAT in respect of leisure and other services had been made and that this was the VAT reclaim.

In referring to the Museum Artefacts and Art Collections section in the Statement of Accounts, Members asked for an explanation regarding the museums’ curators as no curator was appointed. Sarah Martin said that although no curator was appointed, specific members of staff were responsible for those areas.

Members asked how the overpayment of £1.5 million in housing benefit had arisen. Sarah Martin advised that she would get back to Members with a response to this query. A further query was raised regarding whether a process and/or protocol was in place for dealing with the sensitive issue of reclaiming overpayments. Sarah Martin advised that processes were in place and that some of the repayments in respect of HB overpayments are made over a long period of time.

Moved by Councillor Campbell and seconded by Councillor W Scobie that:

“5.1 Governance and Audit Committee approve the Statement of Accounts for 2012/13, including the proposed non full disclosure as highlighted in paragraph 2.3 of the report”

AGREED.