Agenda item
Quarterly Assurance Report
- Meeting of Audit Committee, Thursday, 29th March, 2018 7.00 p.m. (Item 4.1)
- View the background to item 4.1
Minutes:
Minesh Jani, Service Head for Risk Management presented the Quarterly Internal Assurance report covering the period of January to February 2018.
The report set out the assurance rating for each audit finalised in the period and gave an overall assurance rating. He made reference to page 46 and the table which showed the total number of audit’s conducted and the assurance level they had achieved. He also referred Members to the table on page 47, 6.1 which showed how the internal audit service was performing against KPI indicators and the targets achieved.
Members of the Committee heard further from the Officers in the following services:
Leaving Care Service
Debbie Jones, Corporate Director for Children’s Services stated she welcomed the internal audit report and the recommendations made therein. She said a formal review of the leaving care service was underway and was due to complete by Mid-April 2018. She said the review would address the concerns raised by Audit and would be drawing on best practice to achieve a better standard of care for those leaving the care service.
Ms Jones said the review would make radical changes, such as the age at which transition begins and the role of the virtual school. Performance monitoring for the service had been strengthened, with performance issues being flagged at weekly meetings and monthly performance reports being reported to the Directorate Leadership Team.
Minesh Jani added that one of the areas of concern was in relation to processes which supported accommodation in terms of commissioning and monitoring this, so to ensure the client’s safety was maintained whilst achieving best value. Mr Jani said he hoped the recommendations identified would help to iron out any irregularities within the service.
Members made the following comments:
· Did not OfSted rate this aspect of Children’s Services as good?
We achieved a ‘requires improvement’ rating but they were impressed with our commitment to children in care.
· What are the issues facing the Leaving Care Service – are they financial or safeguarding issues?
School Governor and Clerking Services
Christine McInnes, Service Head for Education and Partnerships stated that the recommendations made by Internal Audit were welcomed and she had begun the process of implementing these. She said she had met with Finance Officers to review budgets and had agreed to set up a separate Trading account for the Statutory and non-statutory parts of the service.
Ms McInnes informed Members the service had been re-structured and the Clerking service was now a separate service, which was supported by a co-ordinator.
Members made the following comments:
· Why is the Council funding the clerking service? It should be self-sustaining.
· What are the statutory services that are provided?
· The Service appears to be very popular. Would there be the same demand for it, if the Council was not funding the service?
· With regard to the recommendation made on page 52, what type of monitoring systems, are in place to rectify the concerns raised?
Starters and Leavers – Tower Hamlets Homes
Paul Davey, from Tower Hamlets Homes addressed the Committee stating that Tower Hamlets Homes had been on a journey to improve its standing and service. The organisation had been re-structured and progress had been made in implementing the recommendations of Internal Audit.
He said a review of job roles had been undertaken to identify roles which specifically require DBS checks and new guidance had been drafted so leavers and Managers were clear on what was expected of them. The new guidance made it clear that all outstanding leave must be taken prior to members of staff leaving.
Members made the following comments:
· Are you confident you now have the right procedures and processes in place to ensure those leaving the employment of THH are doing so correctly?
· Why are the processes for THH different to the Council? As an Arms-Length Management Organisation should not the processes be the same?
Officers’ Expense Claims including Purchase Cards
Adam Coates from Tower Hamlets Homes stated the organisation had made good progress against the recommendations identified in the Internal Audit report. The processes and procedures for approving expense claims including purchase cards had been revised and distributed to all cardholders. The terms and conditions for use of Purchase cards had been updated and cardholders had signed a new agreement in relation to this. He said 23 out of 25 agreements had been signed and sent back and a transaction log had been set up to record all expenses.
The organisation had conducted a review of documents to ensure these were all compliant with processes and reports to the Executive Management team on a monthly basis.
Members made the following comments:
· Should not THH consider reducing the number of cardholders?
· The report states 10% of usage of purchase card were for restaurants. Have these been investigated?
Supporting documents: