AUDIT COMMITTEE
6.00 P.M.
23RD APRIL 2008
PRESENT:-
Councillors Janice Hanson (Vice-Chairman in the Chair), Jon Barry,
Roger Dennison, Tony Johnson, Geoff Knight and Karen Leytham
Council Members attending for Minutes 35 and 36:-
Councillors Tina Clifford and Sarah Fishwick
Apologies for Absence:-
Malcolm
Thomas
Officers in attendance:-
Jane Allder
Head of Information and Customer Services (part)
Nadine Muschamp
Head of Financial Services and Section 151 Officer
Stephen Metcalfe
Principal Democratic Support Officer
Derek Whiteway
Internal Audit Manager
Also in attendance:-
Jerry White
Local Government Ombudsman (part)
Mike Thomas and Mike Audit Commission (part)
Tye
32 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 23rd January, 2008 were agreed and signed as a
correct record.
33
ITEMS OF URGENT BUSINESS AUTHORISED BY THE CHAIRMAN
There were no items of urgent business authorised by the Chairman.
34
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of interest.
35
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OMBUDSMAN ANNUAL LETTER
Mr. Jerry White, Local Government Ombudsman, was in attendance at the meeting and
gave an informative presentation on the work of the Ombudsman. He provided a brief
synopsis of the Ombudsman complaints that the authority had received in 2006/07,
including the outcome and learning points from these. The Ombudsman also
highlighted the 2007/08 provisional figures.
Members then considered the report of the Head of Information and Customer Services
that provided a detailed summary of those complaints for which the City Council
received a decision from the Local Government Ombudsman in 2006/07, as requested
by Members at their meeting held on 19th September 2007 (minute 13 refers).
AUDIT COMMITTEE
23RD APRIL 2008
Resolved:
(1) That Mr Jerry White, Local Government Ombudsman be thanked for his
attendance and informative presentation to the Committee.
(2)
That the details contained within the report be noted.
Note: All Members of Council had been invited to attend this item.
36
ANNUAL AUDIT AND INSPECTION LETTER
Mr. Mike Thomas and Mr. Mike Tye (Audit Commission) introduced the Annual Audit
and Inspection Letter. The report assessed the progress that the City Council had made
in the past 12 months.
It was reported that following a recent corporate assessment the Council had now been
assessed as ‘Good’. Members were advised that, overall, the majority of City Council
services were improving. Further work was still required in some areas including the
VFM improvement agenda, further development on equality and diversity and working
with partners to develop a strategic and operational approach to the reduction of health
inequalities in the Lancaster area.
Resolved:
(1) That Mr. Mike Thomas and Mr. Mike Tye be thanked for their attendance at this
and previous meetings of the Committee.
(2)
That the report be noted.
Note: All Members of Council had been invited to attend this item.
37
INTERNAL AUDIT MONITORING
The Internal Audit Manager presented a report which advised Members of the latest
monitoring position regarding the 2007/08 Internal Audit Plan.
Resolved:
(1)
That the current monitoring position be noted.
38
RESULTS OF INTERNAL AUDIT WORK
The Internal Audit Manager introduced a report that informed the Committee of the
results of Internal Audit work for the period.
It was noted that there was limited assurance with regard to Housing Advances and
VAT. Work was ongoing in these areas to improve the level of assurance.
AUDIT COMMITTEE
23RD APRIL 2008
At the meeting the issue of VAT fraud was raised and Members requested a report back
on this, particularly the possibility of VAT number checks and how this could be
integrated into the Council’s financial systems and procedures.
Resolved:
(1)
That the report be noted.
(2) That a report be submitted to the Committee upon VAT number checking and how
this could be integrated into the Council’s financial systems and procedures.
Chairman
(The meeting ended at 7.45 p.m.)
Any queries regarding these Minutes, please contact
Stephen Metcalfe, Democratic Services - telephone (01524) 582073 or email
[email address]
