Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: The John Meikle Room - The Deane House. View directions

Contact: Clare Rendell Email: c.rendell@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk 

Webcast: View the webcast

Items
No. Item

24.

Apologies

25.

Minutes of the previous meeting of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee pdf icon PDF 247 KB

    To approve the minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    (Minutes of the meeting of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee held on 8 June 2020 circulated with the agenda)

     

    Resolved that the minutes of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee held on 8 June 2020 be confirmed as a correct record.

26.

Declarations of Interest

    To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial or personal interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.

     

    (The personal interests of Councillors and Clerks of Somerset County Council, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.)

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Members present at the meeting declared the following personal interests in their capacity as a Councillor or Clerk of a County, Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-

     

    Name

    Minute No.

    Description of Interest

    Reason

    Action Taken

    Cllr L Baker

    All Items

    Cheddon Fitzpaine & Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr C Booth

    All Items

    Wellington and Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr S Coles

    All Items

    SCC & Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr C Ellis

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr L Lisgo

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr D Mansell

    All Items

    Wiveliscombe

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr D Perry

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr F Smith

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr T Venner

    All Items

    Minehead

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

    Cllr A Wedderkopp

    All Items

    SCC & Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr B Weston

    All Items

    Taunton Charter Trustee

    Personal

    Spoke

    Cllr L Whetlor

    All Items

    Watchet

    Personal

    Spoke and Voted

     

27.

Public Participation

    The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.

     

    For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue.

     

    Temporary measures during the Coronavirus Pandemic

    Due to the Government guidance on measures to reduce the transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), we will holding meetings in a virtual manner which will be live webcast on our website. Members of the public will still be able to register to speak and ask questions, which will then be read out by the Governance and Democracy Case Manager during Public Question Time and will either be answered by the Chair of the Committee, or the relevant Portfolio Holder, or be followed up with a written response.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    Susan Glenn, founder and representative of the Facebook Taunton Disability Action Group, spoke on agenda item 11, Equalities and Diversity Update Report:-

    Whilst we believed it important for all involved with the delivery of public services to be trained in the requirements of the Equality Act 2010, and other such laws and regulations that existed or came into existence, now or in the future. We also believed it imperative to have a top level with responsibility for providing joined up thinking, ensuring that the needs of the protected groups were understood, that any proposed changes which could affect those groups were put to wide consultation, enabling reasonable adjustments to be made, avoiding problems before they arose, protecting the council from adverse publicity and possible legal challenges if found wanting, whilst also ensuring the protected groups were indeed protected. This would ensure that any changes introduced were life enhancing, not life limiting by council putting barriers in the way of the protected groups, people who were already struggling with huge issues in just coping with day to day life. Our choices and joy of visiting the places we chose offered a means of distraction from our illness but was gradually being eroded, not by the illness/disease itself but by the choices made by the, mainly able bodied, council.  The creation of a joint officer and member equalities group, as a mechanism for providing addition focus on equality matters, was very much welcomed, providing those responsible have a background or experience in disability issues so that we did not see a repeat of the barriers, now placed before disabled and older people, with the closure of East Street, resulting in the exclusion and the removal of equality of opportunity of many in the protected groups. Had such a top level been in place these barriers could have been avoided. This was an opportunity for SWT to be held up as an Equality positive Council, recognised by the various disability and older people agencies and positively promoted as an accessible place to visit, currently the reverse view was being promulgated.

    Questions:

    1. What assurance could we have that there would be early involvement of disability and other protected groups in new policies and initiatives, in particular those around active travel and pedestrianisation?

    2. What mechanisms would put in place to bring our voices directly into decision making?

    Thank you, Susan Glenn

     

    Response from the Portfolio Holder for Community:-

    1. Not specific to just active travel and pedestrianisation , our absolute intention was to engage as early as possible with local or national groups representing people with Protected Characteristics around policy matters and proposed changes, in order to help shape change and enable reasonable adjustments to be made where necessary.

    One of the key purposes of the proposed equality group would be ensure this was done consistently, to share good practice and to provide challenge where required.

    We were also looking into the creation of member champions, including Equality and Disability, which would help  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

28.

Audit, Governance and Standards Committee Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 58 KB

    To receive items and review the Forward Plan.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    (Copy of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee Forward Plan, circulated with the agenda).

     

    Councillors were reminded that if they had an item they wanted to add to the agenda, that they should send their requests to the Governance Team.

     

    Resolved that the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee Forward Plan be noted.

29.

Equalities and Diversity Update Report pdf icon PDF 257 KB

    This report provides an update against the Corporate Equalities Action Plan and also proposes the creation of a joint officer and member equalities group as a mechanism for providing additional focus on equalities matters.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

    ·       The Portfolio Holder for Community was very supportive of the report and thanked fellow Councillors and officers for their work in raising the concept to be adopted.

    ·       Councillors requested clarification on the current position with the Taunton Deane Disability Discussion Group and whether they were still holding meetings.  They also congratulated the public speaker for her work on the action group.

    The Strategy Specialist advised that the group still met twice a year and had met since the creation of Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) but he was not sure if they had met during lockdown.  He also advised they were still funded by the Council.  A review was being carried out on funding for voluntary groups, which meant that the funding for groups such as Compass would be reviewed.

    ·       Councillors queried the items marked as ‘not yet progressed’ and whether those items would be picked up by the Working Group once it was formed.

    The Strategy Specialist advised that the action plan was a ‘living’ document and subject to change, the deadlines on each item were flexible and had been impacted by the Covid Pandemic.  The Working Group would assist on some of the items but there were some challenging pieces of work to be carried out which would take time.

    ·       Councillors queried whether the officer role would be a full time position or whether it would be filled by an existing member of staff.

    The Strategy Specialist advised that it would be filled by several existing officers as part of their job roles, who would work with Councillors on the Working Group.

    ·       Concern was raised on the work to be carried out to identify a location for a pitch/provision for travellers and that no action had been taken yet and that Councillors wanted to see results.

    The Strategy Specialist advised that there had been some longstanding issues on some of the sites that had been identified and that once the Working Group had been formed, they could investigate those issues in more detail.

    ·       Councillors requested clarification on the items that were showing as cancelled.

    The Strategy Specialist advised that those items were being led by other organisations, who had advised they were no longer going ahead.  SWT were only assisting with the publicity of those items, so were not aware of the reasons.

    ·       Councillors queried whether the Working Group would be held in public session to allow for greater inclusion and feedback from the many different action groups and organisations.

    The Strategy Specialist advised that because the Working Group was not a decision making body and could only make recommendations to Council, they had planned to hold the meetings internally, however, he welcomed the inclusion of any of the action groups and organisations to assist with the work to be carried out.

    ·       Concern was raised that extra resource had not been given and that it was a legal requirement but it was expected to be added on to an  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

30.

Grant Thornton - External Audit - Progress Report and Sector Update pdf icon PDF 211 KB

    The attached report provides the Committee with a progress update regarding the work of the external auditors, Grant Thornton, to review the 2019/20 financial accounts and the Council’s arrangements to deliver value for money, together with information relating to emerging issues which may be relevant to the Council.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

    ·         Councillors queried whether the delays were caused by the Covid Pandemic or whether there were other factors that had not been mentioned.

    The External Auditor advised that the delay was caused by the Covid Pandemic and the extra work lockdown had caused for the Finance Team.  The Section 151 Officer gave clarification on the extra workload placed on the Team.

    ·         Concern was raised on the delays that were highlighted prior to the Covid Pandemic and whether lockdown was being used to mask the real reasons for the delays.

    The External Auditor gave information on the previous delays which had been caused by the predecessor councils and the creation of the New Council.  There had also been a change in the national deadlines for the submission of the accounts which had led to nationwide delays.  The Covid Pandemic had caused unprecedented delays and had impacted on the whole sector.

     

    Resolved that the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee noted the report.

31.

SWAP Internal Audit – Progress Report 2020-21 pdf icon PDF 302 KB

    The 2020-21 Annual Internal Audit Plan is to provide independent and objective assurance on SWT Internal Control Environment.  This work will support the Annual Governance Statement.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

    ·         Concern was raised that the Covid Pandemic had made processes more difficult to carry out.  Councillors queried whether there were enough reserve days held for the Internal Auditors to carry out their work within the given timeframes.

    The Internal Auditor advised that in any ‘normal’ year, the reserve days were often all used as part of their workload.  However, most of the work was normally carried out in quarter three and four, but nothing was certain as it was unknown if a second wave of Covid would impact on the sector further.  The Internal Auditors would deliver as much as they could in the time allocated. The Action Plans were also reviewed by the Senior Management Team, so they would be aware of any need for extra resource.

    ·         Concern was raised on the statement made on Asbestos Management in the report and whether the work to rectify the risk had been completed.

    The Internal Auditor advised that a partial opinion had been given and a follow-up audit had been carried out which addressed the controls and risks mentioned.

    ·         Councillors queried why the concern on Asbestos Management had not been picked up earlier.

    The Internal Auditor advised that there was a rolling programme of audits carried out on the housing stock and this was the first time they had carried out an investigation on Asbestos Management.  The Director for Housing advised that there were several controls in place for Asbestos Management and that officers knew which properties contained asbestos and what controls to take when work was carried out.  The officers had also introduced a review on the asbestos surveys.

     

    Resolved that the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee noted the progress made in delivery of the 2020/21 internal audit plan and significant findings since the previous update in June 2020. 

32.

Summary of Outstanding Level 1 and 2 Internal Audit Actions Report pdf icon PDF 222 KB

    The purpose of this report is to provide the Committee with information on the outstanding level 1 and 2 Internal Audit Actions.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

    ·       Concern was raised that the DLO were highlighted under the debtors section in the report again and further concern was raised on the figures quoted in the report.

    The Assistant Director for Customer had carried out a lot of work with the DLO to improve their processes for debtors.

    ·       Councillors wanted reassurance that action would be taken on the DLO debtors list and that the Committee would see an improvement at the next meeting.

    The Assistant Director for Customer advised that he was carrying out a separate piece of audit work on the DLO processes and that they needed to show improvement in their own billing processes.  The Section 151 Officer gave further details on how the internal billing processes were calculated, specifically for before and after Somerset West and Taunton Council was formed.

    ·       Councillors suggested that the DLO required further administrative support to ensure their processes were improved.

    ·       Concern was raised on the loss of income due to the school contracts being stopped and whether that had impacted on the DLO figures.

    The Assistant Director for Customer advised that the audit had picked up the amount lost on the school contracts and that work had been done to reconcile the gap on those figures.  He further advised that the change in resources due to Transformation had impacted on the service and that he wanted to ensure that moving forward, more robust processes were put in place to prevent this from happening again.

     

    Resolved that the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee reviewed the overdue actions contained in the report and noted progress to date.

33.

Treasury Management Outturn Report 2019-20 pdf icon PDF 333 KB

    To provide members with an update on the Treasury Management activity of Somerset West and Taunton Council and performance against the Prudential Indicators for 2019/20.

    Additional documents:

    Minutes:

    During the discussion, the following points were raised:-

    ·       Councillors queried whether any of Somerset West and Taunton Council’s investments were involved in any fossil fuel developments.

    The Section 151 Officer advised that he was not aware of any investments linked to fossil fuels, however, funds may change within the investments.

    ·       Concern was raised on the timespans used to pay back money that the Council had borrowed, £5,000,000 over 57 years was quoted.  Councillors requested further explanation and for examples to be given to the Committee to help better explain.

    The Section 151 Officer would send out information after the meeting.

     

    Resolved that the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee noted the Treasury Management activity for the 2019/20 financial year and compliance with the Prudential Indicators before recommendation to Full Council for information.

34.

Landlord Health and Safety Property Compliance Update Report pdf icon PDF 307 KB

35.

Local Government Ombudsman Summary of Complaints for 2019-20 pdf icon PDF 221 KB

36.

Monitoring Officer Update

    This report will be a verbal update on any items that the Monitoring Officer needs to make the Committee aware of.

    Minutes:

    The Monitoring Officer gave the Committee an update on her case load that related to complaints received on Local Councillors, which included one complaint that was being investigated and one that was being taken to a Standards Sub-Committee Hearing.