Agenda item
Quarterly Assurance Report
To consider the assurance reports of each audit finalised in the period and the ratings assigned.
Minutes:
Minesh Yani, Head of Audit and Risk Management presented the report. He informed the Committee:
- that 26 audits had been finalised in the period December 2015 to February 2016. Of these five had received limited assurance.
- that auditors were close to delivering 100% of the planned audits in the current schedule of audits.
- that 95% of the priority one recommendations had been implemented at the time of follow-up audits and 80% of priority two recommendations had been implemented.
- that where necessary, escalation actions to the relevant Service Head and Corporate Director had been undertaken.
The following limited assurances were reported:
Framework I
Minesh Yani, Head of Audit and Risk Management reported that this audit concerned a database operated by Social Care which interfaces with TRIM. The audit revealed that over all systems of control were good, but there were issues around:
- The timely review of Care Plus
- Delays in payments to adults with care plans
- Some functions had not been reviewed
- Some KPI had not been set
Because of these, a limited assurance had been returned
Karen Sugars, Interim Service Head, Commissioning and Health, informed the committee that:
- the software in use dealt with up to 6000 cases at any one time and all of these concerned vulnerable people
- there had been changes in the way that Social Care was delivered and now the responsibility to take control of cases lay with the social worker
- new quality standards that have been implemented
- in November 2015 a new quality assurance process had been put in place and audited
- a new case management system had been implemented
- responsibility for the management of cases occurred through the service levels
- delays in payment of invoices were caused by invoices in dispute. The system was largely manual and needed monitoring, however new software for home care invoices was expected soon
- although the software was the same, the system and work differently in children social services than adult social services
- Much work was being done to embed the process and learning to use the software appropriately.
The Head of Audit and Risk Management confirmed that the findings revealed that assurance was limited as the operation of I Framework is considered a key risk area. A follow-up audit would be undertaken six months hence to verify that issues had been addressed. The Chair requested that a report back be made after the follow-up audit had been completed.
Youth Offending Team
Minesh Yani, Head of Audit and Risk Management introduced the item informing the Committee that a limited assurance had been returned because one in 10 DBS checks were not current.
Kate Bingham, Service Head, Children's and Adults Resources responded to Members questions and provided the following information
- the audit had returned a limited assurance because it was difficult to distinguish between historic and current information was current
- further to the audit, management had now indicated that the issues had been addressed and could be tested through the follow-up audits
- as at 26 February 2016, all non-compliances revealed by the audit had been remedied.
Contracts
Minesh Yani, Head of Audit and Risk Management introduced the item informing the Committee that a limited assurance had been returned as the processes for signing and sealing contracts were insufficient and there was no method to identifying sources or causes of delay in signing contracts.
Kathryn Robinson, Head of Legal Operations, responded to questions from the Committee and provided the following information:
- the Authority had a contracts forward plan which provides the Council has a plan of the forthcoming contract processes
- the Authority also has a Competition Board which assesses the performance of contracts and whether they are likely to be reviewed
- there had been an excess of contracts for renewal which needed a political decision/procurement and therefore it had been necessary to extend these temporarily pending a decision
- work was being carried out to ensure that legal and financial mechanisms were joined-up to produce a more efficient contracts management process.
The Chair recommended that there should be a function at Member level which monitors the management of contracts. The Head of Audit and Risk Management acknowledged the request and advised that officers were working to develop a scheme to improve contracts. Financial levels had been altered to ensure that governance arrangements were improved.
Schools Audits
Minesh Yani, Head of Audit and Risk Management informed the Committee that two limited assurances had been returned for the following reasons:
· minutes of meetings did not capture decision-making or issues discussed
· there were issues relating to purchase orders
· documents to support the procedures needed for recruitment
· documents were not kept up-to-date
Kate Bingham, Service Head, Children's and Adults Resources responded to Members questions and provided the following information
- support had been given to the schools in question according to the needs identified by the audits
- Kobe School had returned a limited assurance as it had significant HR issues, shortened IEB and had come out of special measures. A new headteacher and Governors could now focus on governance of the school.
- Bonner School had previously been rated outstanding for many years and the causes of the limited assurance were currently being investigated by the Council. There was confidence that the limited assurance was not caused by a systemic issue and can be rectified
The Chair requested that the Council’s clerking services should be provided to the schools, where a lack of appropriate skills was revealed.
The Chair, asked:
· that details of audits returning a limited assurance should not only be reported in the appendices but bed incorporated into the main report
· that a summary of the headlines concerning the audits undertaken in the period be incorporated into the main report
RESOLVED
- That the quarterly insurance report be noted
- That the actions requested by the Committee be implemented and outcomes reported back to the Committee
Supporting documents: