Mr Paul Rock, Head of Internal Audit, Fraud and Risk introduced this report stating that the report provided an update on the progress made against the delivery of the 2019/20 Annual Internal Audit Plan, as well as the current counter fraud performance and audits which have received limited assurance ratings.

Mr Rock said written responses had been obtained from Service Heads who had achieved limited assurances, due to the length of the agenda and these had been emailed to Members for information and perusal. Normally, Service Heads were required to attend the Audit Committee to answer questions relating to their audit and action plans.

Mr Rock referred Members to paragraph 3.8 of the report and said the Internal Audit team was stretched in delivering the internal audit plan, however work was underway to recruit to vacant posts and to identify an audit partner to provide specialist support. Mr Rock also referred Members to paragraph 3.12 and said he was working with HR to recruit an independent audit member for the committee in line with the recommendation made in the peer review.

In response to questions from Members the following was noted:

·         Internal Audit has a wider remit than the external auditors. Internal Audit provide financial stewardship, review plans and ensure there is value for money in the whole organisation whereas the purpose of external audit is to focus on the Council’s accounts.

·         In response to resources allocated to the Internal Audit function and the continuity of staff, Mr Rock said the Corporate Leadership Team had recognised the need to employ permanent staff over temporary staff and he hoped to recruit to the vacancies in his team shortly.

o   ACTION: In reference to paragraph 3.7 of the report, Mr Mehta Audit Manager said he would email details of the three deferred audits to Members via email.

·         In relation to the Markets Audit, Member asked what controls were in place to ensure the recommendations of Internal Audit were implemented. Mr Mehta explained a follow up audit is undertaken six months after the initial review to gauge if the recommendations and changes in process have been implemented.

·         With regard to the DOLs assurance, the Chair asked if the response received from the service was adequate. Mr Mehta said the service had made good progress against the recommendations and a follow up audit would be undertaken in due course.

·         Mr Rock clarified the Internal Audit Plan was agreed by the Audit Committee at is April 2019 meeting and was a risk based plan taking into account risk identified by various stakeholders including the Corporate Leadership Team. Mr Rock said the plan would remain under review and be amended to take into account emerging risks.

The Committee RESOLVED to:

1.    Note the contents of the report and the overall progress and assurance provided, as well as the findings/assurance of individual reports.