Agenda item

The IAM introduced the report and informed Members that it included the number of outstanding audit recommendations for each audit year. She added that there were thirty outstanding recommendations, and whilst a number were low priority, it remained important that these were completed as soon as possible. The IAM noted that existing suggestions to create greater accountability and input the recommendations into InPhase were a positive step that should help to facilitate implementation of the recommendations. It was noted that all outstanding recommendations were listed in appendix 1 on page 58, and those that were greyed-out had since been completed with evidence provided. From page 59 the outstanding recommendations were listed on a yearly basis with details including the officer responsible, due dates, revised due dates and latest responses. The IAM suggested that given the number of outstanding recommendations, it could be beneficial to increase the frequency of follow-up reports to quarterly until the backlog was resolved.

Questions and Discussion

       i.          The Chairman referred to outstanding section 106 agreements and asked whether this was normal, or whether there had been delays in the process. The IAM replied that it was specific recommendations that had caused delays, and whilst good progress had been made, there was still work to do.

      ii.          Cllr E Seward stated that as a North Walsham Member he had been alerted that there was section 106 money available for the town that remained unspent dating back to 2010, though this was now beginning to be used. He added that whilst there had been resourcing issues in Planning that had delayed some section 106 agreements, these issues had now been resolved. It was noted that North Walsham Town Council had also developed their own system to monitor agreements. Cllr E Seward stated that proposing projects for section 106 funding was often more complicated than expected, and suggested that the sooner an IT monitoring system could be implemented, the better.

     iii.          The Chairman asked whether the Council maintained a section 106 register, and it was confirmed that this was held on a spreadsheet that was adequate for information purposes, but could be improved upon. It was confirmed that the list was substantial and contained links to the details of agreements with planning reference numbers. It was noted that local Members didn’t have personal access to the list without making a request via officers. The CE noted that the recommendation to implement an automated monitoring system was a longstanding action that came as a separate module of the Uniform planning system. He added that section 106 agreements were often related to complex developments with specific requirements that could take months or years to fulfill. It was noted that the weakness of the current system was the risk of loss around the maintenance of the monitoring spreadsheet, as well as there not being any automated flagging system to alert officers to trigger payments on outstanding agreements. The CE stated that the five recommendations provided should help to development a more robust system to address the issues raised.

    iv.          Cllr C Cushing asked whether there was a risk that some section 106 payments may have been missed in the past. The IAM replied that this risk had been reviewed as part of the audit, and noted that the recommendations included measures to ensure that important dates for existing section 106 agreements were not missed. She added that until an automated system was in place, some risk remained. Cllr V Gay noted that she had previously been contacted by outgoing Councillors to ensure that section 106 agreements were not forgotten, and suggested that in many cases, agreements were upheld by the lobbying efforts of the ward Member. Cllr C Cushing asked whether there was any process available to review historic agreements, to ensure that nothing had been missed. The IAM replied that there would be cross-checking undertaken by the Planning Department when adding items to the section 106 register, and noted that historical checks had been made when the register was established.

      v.          The Chairman asked whether there was a delay to the implementation of the Uniform system. The CE replied that the system had gone live, but the section 106 monitoring was a further module yet to be activated. He added that he would check with the relevant officer to confirm when the automated system would be activated. Cllr L Withington stated that as a Town Councillor she had not been aware of section 106 agreements, and asked whether access could be built in for Town Councils.

    vi.          It was proposed by Cllr J Rest and seconded by Cllr H Blathwayt to increase the frequency of Internal Audit Follow-up report to quarterly, to help resolve the backlog of outstanding audit recommendations.

RESOLVED

1.     It is recommended that the Committee notes management action taken to date regarding the delivery of audit recommendations.

2.     To request that the frequency of Internal Audit Follow-up reports be increased to quarterly to help resolve the backlog of outstanding audit recommendations.

ACTIONS

CE to provide a response on when the Section 106 Monitoring module of the Uniform system will be activated.