ITEM 2

AT A MEETING of the GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE of the HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 9 December 2004.

PRESENT:

Councillors T.K. Thornber (Chairman); A.P. Collett; C.R. Davidovitz; Jo Kelly;

J.W. Stocks

Also present: Councillor J.K. West

1 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

All Members declared a personal interest in Minute 7 (Independent Remuneration Panel) dealing with Members' allowances; the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer confirmed that there was a dispensation to enable them to discuss this item.

2 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS

The Chairman welcomed all present to the first meeting of the Governance Committee.

3 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations notified.

4 REPORT TO THOSE CHARGED WITH GOVERNANCE - SAS610

The Committee considered a report by the Audit Commission (Item 4 in the Minute Book) on salient issues which emerged from their Audit of the County Council's accounts for year 2003/04. Audit Commission representatives drew particular attention to the key messages set out on page 2 of the report and explained that there were no serious issues which demanded a formal response from Members of the County Council charged with Governance. However, Members and the County Treasurer acknowledged that there were still areas where there was scope for further improvement with financial procedures, for example, supporting records; and end-of-year reconciliations. In general terms, Members were pleased to note the large number of areas where the Audit Commission judged that the County Council's procedures were scored 4 out of a possible 4.

RESOLVED:

That the Audit Commission's report on the 2003/04 Audit of the County Council's accounts be noted and its conclusions endorsed.

5 INTERNAL AUDIT PROGRESS REPORT

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer (Item 5 in the Minute Book). The Committee highlighted particular concerns, previously expressed by the Standards Committee, on the risks associated with:

· delay in formulating a central approved supplier list for children's services


· prolonged approval procedures for placing children with Regulation 38 Foster Carers with particular reference to the time taken to obtain police and medical checks


· lack of any secondary power supply to the main computer centre


The Committee requested the County Treasurer to pursue these issues with the relevant Chief Officers and to report back jointly to them on progress, with particular reference to any non-compliance.

RESOLVED:


(i) That the Committee notes the progress of internal audit work during 2004/05 and notes the key issues arising from that work as summarised in the report;


(ii) That the Director of Social Services and County Treasurer be asked to report back to the next meeting of the Committee on progress with an approved supplier list for children's services and the quality of providers used in non-county placements;


(iii) That the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services and County Treasurer be requested to report to the next meeting of the Buildings, Land and Procurement Panel on the situation relating to the secondary power supply to the main computer suite.

6 AMENDMENT TO FINANCIAL REGULATIONS

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on proposed amendments to financial regulations.

RESOLVED:

That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the County Council

That approval be given to the adoption of revised Financial Regulations 4.13, 4.14, 4.15, 4.16 and 5.8 and the deletion of existing Financial Regulations 4.17 and 4.18, as set out below

FR 4.13. The County Council has adopted the key recommendations of CIPFA's Treasury Management in the Public Services: Code of Practice (the Code), as described in Section 4 of that Code.

FR 4.14. Accordingly, the County Council will create and maintain, as the cornerstones for effective treasury management:

· a treasury management policy statement, stating the policies and objectives of its treasury management activities


· suitable treasury management policies (TMPs) setting out the manner in which the organisation will seek to achieve those policies and objectives and prescribing how it will manage and control those activities.


FR 4.15. The County Council's Cabinet will receive reports on its treasury management policies, practices and activities, including an annual debt management and investment strategy and plan in advance of the year, and an annual report after its close, in the form prescribed in its TMPs. The annual investment strategy requires the approval of the full County Council.

FR 4.16. The County Council delegates responsibility for the implementation and monitoring of its treasury management policies and practices to the Cabinet, and for the execution and administration of treasury management decisions to the County Treasurer, who will act in accordance with the council's policy statement and TMPs and CIPFA's Standard of Professional Practice on Treasury Management.

FR 5.8 - addition


· in accordance with advice received from Customs and Excise, the County Council will not accept settlement in cash of any transaction above the value of 15,000 euros equivalent (approximately £10,000).

7 INDEPENDENT REMUNERATION PANEL

The Committee considered the Minutes of the meeting of the Independent Remuneration Panel held on 29 November 2004 (Item 7 in the Minute Book). It was noted that an in-depth review of all allowances was proposed by the Remuneration Panel in April 2005, and in the meantime all allowances would be uprated for inflation on the basis previously agreed, subject to the specific proposals contained in the Recommendation.

RESOLVED:

That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the County Council

(i) That the special responsibility allowance for the Chairman of the Health Review Committee be increased by £2,600 per annum and the special responsibility allowance for the Vice-Chairman of the Health Review Committee be increased by £650 per annum, both backdated to 1 April 2004;


(ii) That the childcare and dependants' carers' allowances be tied to the same rate as paid by Hampshire Social Services, namely:


- dependants' carers' allowance - £7.84 an hour

- childcare - £4.00.

8 OUTLINE WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE COMMITTEE

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) and it was

RESOLVED:

That the outline work programme for the Committee be noted on the basis set out in the report, and that the annual cycle of meetings be based on March, July and late October.

9 EXCLUSION OF THE PRESS AND PUBLIC

RESOLVED:

That by virtue of paragraph 14 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the confidential Appendix B to Item 6.

10 INTERNAL AUDIT PROGRESS REPORT

The Committee considered confidential Appendix B to item 6 (Item 9 in the Minute Book) and it was

RESOLVED:

That the County Treasurer and Director of Social Services be requested to submit a detailed report on financial controls at the home for older persons identified in the Appendix, to the Leader of the Council as soon as possible.

[SUMMARY OF MINUTE WHICH CONTAINS EXEMPT INFORMATION]

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