Agenda item

The IAM introduced the report and informed Members that the original Internal Audit Plan had been scheduled for approval at the March meeting, however due to Covid-19 the meeting was cancelled and the plans had required significant adjustment. It was noted that the time available to complete the year’s audit work was limited, hence the report included a revised plan to provide assurance of the governance, risk management and control framework of the Council. It was hoped that the revision would allow officers time to focus on recovery, whilst preparing the Council for a more thorough plan in 2021/22. The IAM stated that new risks had arisen as a result of the pandemic, such as working from home which placed increased pressure on HR, new business grants which would have to be closely monitored, and increased demand for IT. It was reported that the plan’s assurance had been split into five key themes, which included assurance mapping, key controls, response and recovery, partnerships and essential assurance. The full plan was listed in appendix 1, which included eleven reviews over 129 days, with a full description of each review in appendix 2. 

Questions and Discussion

Cllr C Cushing referred to appendix 1 and noted that the review of the project management framework had been moved to next year with reduced detail. He questioned why this was not being treated as a more urgent requirement for the current year, given the organisation’s inherent weakness in project management. The IAM replied that the following year was only a rough guide at present, and this could be bolstered if required.

The Chairman sought clarification on the furloughing of TIAA staff, and asked if they had now returned to work. The IAM replied that they had returned on July 1^st and were ready to start work as soon as possible. The Chairman referred to a questionnaire under the first assurance key theme, and asked who this would be completed by, to which the IAM replied that it would be undertaken by the auditor and would be sent to all service areas to address all key risks identified, with answers fed into key controls to ensure the correct risks were covered.

Cllr H Blathwayt referred to the £52m in business grants, and asked who was responsible for ensuring the advocacy and distribution. The IAM replied that this was still to be confirmed as the Government were yet to provide guidance on the matter, and added that auditors were currently looking to CIPFA for guidance. It was noted that there was an associated risk with the grants, and it was hoped that future guidance would resolve these issues. The CE stated that BASE had issued some guidance, and that the last date for grant approvals was the 28^th August, with any unpaid funds required to be returned to Central Government by 30^th September. He added that during this time there were a number of assurance statements that the Council was required to complete that would be subject to audit. The CTA stated that BASE had supplied a fraud risk assessment template for the discretionary grant funding scheme which aided the Council’s own risk assessment.

Cllr J Toye proposed to take the recommendations en bloc and Cllr S Penfold seconded the proposal.

RESOLVED

To note and approve:

1.    The approach to providing assurance for 2020/21 due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

2.    The revised Strategic Internal Audit plan 2020/21-2022/23.

3.    The revised Annual Internal Audit Plan 2020/21.