To receive the report of the Corporate Director, Resources on the Council’s intended response to the recommendations made by KPMG under S11 of the Audit Commission Act 1998. The report is attached.

The Council considered the report of the Corporate Director of Resources on the Council’s intended response to the recommendations made by KPMG under S11 (3) of the Audit Commission Act 1998.

The recommendations set out in the report were put to the vote and were agreed.

DECISION:

1.    That the recommendations made by KPMG under Section 11 (3) of the Audit Commission Act 1998 be accepted;

2.    That the actions already put in place by the Corporate Director of Resources in response to the recommendations made under Section 11 (3) of the Audit Commission Act 1998 be noted and endorsed;

3.    That the issues identified by KPMG under Section 11 (3) of the Audit Commission Act 1998 and the commitment of Members and officers to resolve these be noted;

4.    That progress against the recommendations be monitored by the General Purposes Committee, alongside the other monitoring arrangements put in place.

(Action by:  Zena Cooke, Corporate Director, Resources)

The Council considered the report of the Corporate Director of Resources on the Council’s intended response to the recommendations made by KPMG under S11 (3) of the Audit Commission Act 1998.

Councillor David Edgar, Cabinet Member for Resources highlighted the key points in the report. He explained that, due to the intervention of the DCLG and the subsequent best value investigation carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG carried out additional work in the areas of concern. This meant that they were not in a position to issue an opinion on the 2013/14 accounts until September 2015.

Despite the unqualified audit opinion, KPMG raised some concerns with the best value review and therefore issued an adverse conclusion on the arrangements to secure Value for Money for 2013/14. In the Section 11 Recommendation subsequently issued, the Council’s Auditor’s state that whilst they were satisfied that the Authority was taking sufficient steps to address the specific matters identified to date, that a wider governance review should be undertaken.  Councillor Edgar considered that considerable progress had been made in addressing the issues identified. The Mayor had introduced a transparency protocol and also the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee had established a transparency commission. Significant progress had also been made against the Best Value Action Plan and the updated version was included in the Council papers.  However it was recognised that further work needed to be carried out.

The Mayor endorsed Councillor Edgar’s comments. He considered that whilst the recommendations mainly related to the actions of the previous administration, it also raised systemic and structural issues regarding the way the Council behaves and manages it business which were being taken account of substantially in the Best Value process. He stated that the Council were taking the issues raised very seriously and were grateful for the work that was happening in this area.

The recommendations set out in the report were put to the vote and were agreed. Accordingly it was:

RESOLVED:

1.    That the recommendations made by KPMG under Section 11 (3) of the Audit Commission Act 1998 be accepted;

2.    That the actions already put in place by the Corporate Director of Resources in response to the recommendations made under Section 11 (3) of the Audit Commission Act 1998 be noted and endorsed;

3.    That the issues identified by KPMG under Section 11 (3) of the Audit Commission Act 1998 and the commitment of Members and officers to resolve these be noted;

4.    That progress against the recommendations be monitored by the General Purposes Committee, alongside the other monitoring arrangements put in place.