Archived decisions
REPORT OF THE
CABINET/LEADER
PART II
ANNUAL AUDIT & INSPECTION LETTER 2008
At its meeting on 30 March 2009 Cabinet considered the District Auditor's Annual Audit & Inspection Letter for 2008 and what the appropriate response to it should be. Details may be accessed at /decisions/decisions-docs/090330-cabine-R0323152708
Each year the District Auditor compiles an Annual Audit and Inspection Letter to Members which summarises the conclusions and significant issues arising from the Audit Commission's audit and inspection of the Council. The 2008 letter is extremely positive and reaffirms Hampshire County Council's Four Star (highest possible) rating. The letter includes within it the Audit Commission's Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) judgements and the County Council has been rated at the highest possible CPA rating of Four Star and with an `Improving Strongly' direction of travel. The letter also highlights a number of strengths and specifically concludes that the Council's use of resources is now four out of four. The Council's record on value for money is specifically recognised with the letter stating that the Council currently "achieves very good value for money".
With `Driving Success' (approved by Cabinet on 24/11/08) the County Council has significantly strengthened its corporate improvement infrastructure. Driving Success and the Corporate Improvement Plan sets out an ambitious programme to ensure the continued delivery of value for money and the further improvement of Council services. Cabinet has also recently approved the Corporate Services Review which is aimed at improving performance of corporate services and their deployment in the most economic and effective way. A platform is therefore in place for the County Council to be able to further stretch its value for money achievements over the next three years.
The 2008 Annual Audit and Inspection Letter was the last to be received in the current format and from April 2009, the Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA), formed by an Area Assessment and an Organisational Assessment, will replace CPA. This marks a significant change to the current assessment regime and whereas CPA focused on services provided by local authorities, CAA will look at the public services in an area delivered by councils and their partners including the private and voluntary sectors. While CAA is still intended to provide assurance about how well-run local public services are and how effectively they use taxpayers' money, it will also aim to be more relevant to local people by focusing on issues that are important to their community.
The new CAA framework represents a different challenge and opportunity and Cabinet indicated that it would wish to monitor the Council's contribution to the CAA throughout the year, consistent with maintaining the highest performance outcome for key services and local political priorities.
As Hampshire is rated as `Improving Strongly' and ranked amongst the highest-performing authorities with Four Stars, there were no specific formal recommendations from the District Auditor. In terms of the general observations made, these have been communicated to the relevant officers but they are already familiar issues with activity already in place. The further embedding of Driving Success will ensure that improvement priorities are robustly managed and taken forward.
Whilst noting that the District Auditor recognised that the current Governance Committee has been acting effectively, Cabinet accepted the principle of splitting the governance and audit functions in order to strengthen further the independence of the audit function. Cabinet therefore agreed proposals to establish a separate Audit Committee and requested that a report on the necessary constitutional changes be prepared and presented to full Council on 15 June 2009.
Overall, the 2008 Annual Audit and Inspection Letter was extremely positive. The achievement of Four Stars and an Improving Strongly direction of travel is an accolade and places the County Council as one of the top performing authorities in the country. The Council is committed to continuing to improve and will carefully review the 2008 letter to take action, as appropriate, to maintain the strong progress being made in terms of service delivery and performance.
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