Archived decisions

At a meeting of the GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE of HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 28 June 2007.

PRESENT:

Councillors:

90. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Collett.

91. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

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.

92. MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 5 April 2007 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

93. AUDIT COMMISSION:(a) AUDIT AND INSPECTION PLAN 2007/08 AND

(b) ANNUAL AUDIT AND INSPECTION LETTER

Mr. S. Goodyear, representing the Audit Commission, presented the Commission's Audit and Inspection Plan 2007/08 and its Annual Audit and Inspection Letter (Items 5(a) and 5(b) in the Minute Book).

The Audit and Inspection Plan set out the audit and inspection work that the Audit Commission proposed to undertake for the financial year 2007/08. It was based on the Audit Commission's risk-based approach to audit planning and the requirements of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment. It reflected audit and inspection work specified by the Audit Commission for 2007/08, current national risks relevant to the County Council's local circumstances and the County Council's local risks and improvement priorities.

Mr. Goodyear explained that, as the Audit Commission had not yet completed its audit for 2006/07, the audit planning process for 2007/08 (including the risk assessment) would continue as the year progressed and that the information and fees in the plan would be kept under review and updated as necessary.

The Committee noted that the level of risk might change according to the outcome of the Corporate Performance Assessment and the Joint Area Review.

In relation to the Annual Audit and Inspection Letter, the County Council had achieved four star status and was improving well. The Committee noted the particular actions which had been identified by the Audit Commission arising from the Commission's work leading to that award. In response to questions concerning criteria with regard to "performing well" and the extent to which subjectivity played a part, Mr. Goodyear confirmed that there was no formulaic approach to corporate assessment, judgements being made by the Commission after taking into account a wide range of issues and moderation of the outcomes. He believed that a degree of subjectivity was unavoidable. Mr. Goodyear briefly outlined the process for challenge should an authority be dissatisfied with the Commission's performance award. The Committee noted Mr. Goodyear's comments and, in the context of the current performance regime, expressed disappointment at the continually changing information requirements and the consequential additional burden placed upon the County Council's limited resources.

94. ANNUAL INTERNAL AUDIT OPINION 2006/07

The Committee considered and approved the report of the County Treasurer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) recommending acceptance of the Internal Audit Assurance Statement for 2006/07. Progress on management actions contained in the report would be reported mid-year to the Committee. Having considered all the issues raised in the report the Committee asked that the Director of Adult Services and the Head of IT Services attend its next meeting on 20 September 2007 in order to report progress in response to the Annual Internal Audit Opinion 2006/07.

RESOLVED:

(a) That the Internal Audit Assurance Statement for 2006/07 set out in Appendix A to the report of the County Treasurer be accepted;

(b) That progress by way of management actions to resolve the issues set out in paragraphs 6.4 to 6.18 of the report be reported mid-year to the Governance Committee.

95. AUDIT COMMITTEES

The Committee considered and approved the report of the County Treasurer (Item 11 in the Minute Book) in response to the Audit Commission's recommendation in the Annual Audit and Inspection Letter 2006 that the County Council needed to demonstrate that it was satisfying the required role of an audit committee as defined by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) guidance published in October 2005. The issue was also expected to feature in the current Corporate Performance Assessment process relating to internal control.

A self-assessment had been carried out for that purpose to provide evidence of the position as at 31 March 2007. The Committee considered all the issues and concluded that there was an extensive body of evidence to demonstrate very clearly the Committee's effectiveness within the County Council's governance framework. The Committee accepted that its existing Terms of Reference should be reviewed in the context of the CIPFA guidance.

RESOLVED:

(a) That the review of the role of audit committees in the context of the CIPFA guidance be noted.

(b) That the Committee's Terms of Reference be revised to clarify and reconcile all its existing functions with those required for audit, regularity and accounts work, and that proposals be brought to the next meeting prior to consideration by the Cabinet and the County Council pursuant to Part I, Chapter 15.2(a) of the Constitution;

(c) That the Audit Commission be consulted on the outcome of these reviews.

96. DRAFT STATEMENT OF INTERNAL CONTROL

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer and the County Treasurer (Item 7 in the Minute Book) and the appended draft Statement of Internal Control which was required to be approved by the Committee under the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 before the end of June. The format of the draft Statement was in accordance with CIPFA guidance and took into account observations made by the Audit Commission. The Committee approved the draft Statement noting areas for improvement during 2007/08 set out on page 11 of the draft Statement.

RESOLVED:

That the draft Statement of Internal Control be approved for signature by the Leader of the County Council and the Chief Executive.

97. DRAFT STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS 2006/07

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer (Item 8 in the Minute Book) presenting the draft Statement of Accounts 2006/07 pursuant to the requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003. A report on the Final Accounts for 2006/07 had been submitted to the Cabinet on 25 June. No further changes had been made. The draft Statement of Accounts 2006/07 was, therefore, consistent with the accounts reported to the Cabinet.

RESOLVED:

That the Statement of Accounts for 2006/07 be approved.

98. STRATEGIC RISK MANAGEMENT

The Committee received and noted the report of the Chief Executive (Item 13 in the Minute Book) updating members on the County Council's programme for the management of risk. The report provided further details on the specific risks requested by the Governance Committee at its previous meeting, outlined the details for the production of a register of cross-cutting risks and provided the outline of the arrangements for training and giving guidance to members in relation to the County Council's risk strategy.

99. COMPLAINTS, DATA PROTECTION AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 14 in the Minute Book) concerning changes that had recently taken place relating to the management of corporate complaints, and providing an update on compliance with the Data Protection, Freedom of Information and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Acts. The Committee noted the changes made which demonstrated improved service delivery. The Committee also endorsed the approach proposed for improving the handling of complaints.

100. REVISED MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS

The Committee considered and approved the report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer (Item 9 in the Minute Book) recommending the revised Model Code of Conduct for Members for approval by the County Council.

RESOLVED:

That it be a recommendation to the County Council:

That the revised Model Code of Conduct for Members attached as an appendix to the report of the Head of Corporate and Legal Services and Monitoring Officer be approved.

101. PARTNERSHIP FOR URBAN SOUTH HAMPSHIRE GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS

The Committee considered and approved the report of the Director of Environment and Chief Executive (Item 10 in the Minute Book) concerning the establishment of formal joint arrangements with Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils together with East Hampshire, Havant, Gosport, Fareham, Winchester, Eastleigh, Test Valley and New Forest District/Borough Councils to replace the existing informal arrangements of the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire.

RESOLVED:

That it be a recommendation to the County Council:

(i) To approve the joint arrangements referred to in paragraph 1.1 of the Officers' report and the establishment of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee as part of these arrangements, with authority to carry out overview and scrutiny functions in relation to the matters delegated to the Joint Committee.

(ii) To appoint a non-executive member as its representative on the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and a second non-executive member to serve as deputy member in their absence.

(iii) That authority is given to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader and Director of Environment, to finalise the detail of the joint arrangements in relation to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, on the basis set out in the Officers' report and appendices.

(iv) That the Chief Executive be authorised to amend Chapter 6 paragraph 6.3 and Chapter 11 paragraph 11.1 of Part 1 of the Council's Constitution to give effect to these decisions.

102. MANAGING THE RISK OF FRAUD

The Committee considered the report of the County Treasurer (Item 12 in the Minute Book) in the context of another emerging requirement of the Corporate Performance Assessment process, namely for the County Council to have undertaken an assessment of its ant-fraud and corruption arrangements against the recently issued CIPFA guidance document entitled "Managing the Risk of Fraud".

The Committee considered the outcome of the self-assessment set out in the report of the County Treasurer and, in particular, issues concerning the publication of statistics with regard to the incidence of fraud and publicity generally. In both instances the Committee considered that the current arrangements should continue.

RESOLVED:

That no change be made to County Council policy in relation to any element of the anti-fraud and corruption strategy at this stage.

103 "OPEN" INVITATIONS TO MEMBERS

The Committee considered and approved the report of the Chief Executive (Item 15 in the Minute Book) refining previous guidance as to the handling of "open" invitations to all members of the County Council.

RESOLVED:

That the approach set out in paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3 of the report be approved in the context of "open" invitations from chief officers to all members of the County Council and that the corporate protocol be revised accordingly; and that the resolution set out in the appendix to the report be added to the signed minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 25 January 2007.