Agenda

To receive public questions, if any.

To determine any items of business which the Chairman decides should be considered as a matter of urgency pursuant to section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Members are asked at this stage to declare any interests that they may have in any of the following items on the agenda. The code of conduct for Members requires that declarations include the nature of the interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

To approve as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Governance, Risk & Audit Committee held on 5 December 2023.

To consider and approve the accounting policies that will be applied to the Statement of Accounts for 2023/24. It also informs the Committee of any Accounting Standards that have been issued but that are not yet adopted.

It also provides an update for the Committee on the proposed actions and process for catching up with the national backlog of local government audits.

To consider the Council’s Corporate Risk Register.

To consider an overview of the stages followed prior to the formulation of the Strategic Internal Audit Plan for 2024/25 to 2026/27 and the Annual Internal Audit Plan for 2024/25.

To consider the results of the self-assessment questionnaires returned and completed by Members of the Governance, Risk and Audit Committee.

To consider the Council’s Anti Money Laundering Policy.

To consider the Council’s updated Counter Fraud, Corruption and Bribery Strategy.

To consider the Procurement Exemptions register.

To consider the Council’s Updated Whisteblowing Policy.

To consider the Council’s Asset Register.

To monitor progress on items requiring action from the previous meeting, including progress on implementation of audit recommendations.

To review the Governance, Risk & Audit Committee Work Programme.

To pass the following resolution:

“That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of Part I of Schedule 12A (as amended) to the Act.”

Information relating to the appendix to the report [Agenda item 15] involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3, Part 1 of schedule 12A (as amended) to the Local Government Act 1972.

This paragraph relates to:

Para 3.  Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

The public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure for the following reasons:

The information is commercially sensitive, relating to values. Releasing this information would be likely to prejudice the Council in obtaining best value, in the interests of Council Tax payers, in the event of any future negotiations or disposal.