Archived decisions


Audit Ref No	Recommendation	Priority 1=Low 2=Med 3=High	Post responsible	SMT	Response	Action Date	Chase up Memo(s)	Date Closed
BUSINESS EDUCATION 2008/2009
3.4	We recommend that the Business Education Manager is involved with the budget setting process and liaises with the Finance section to ensure it is set in line with how the section is operating.	2	Business Education Unit Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Community Safety	The Business Education Manager is now consulted in the budget setting for 2009/10.	N/A	N/A	N/A
3.12	We recommend that a 2009/10 departmental plan, which links to the overall Service plan, is produced.	2	Business Education Unit Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Community Safety	Departmental plan currently being produced.	31/03/2009	20/04/2009	27/04/2009
3.19	We recommend that vehicle checks include, insurance, MOT and driving licences are completed periodically, it has been suggested that this could be introduced as part of the individual's performance review.	3	Business Education Unit Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Community Safety	Document checks have now been completed and shortfalls amended. Annual review to take place at Personal Development Review meeting.	N/A Apr-Jun 2009	20/04/2009 N/A	27/04/2009 31/08/2009
3.25	We recommend that the inventory list includes fuller asset descriptions and is listed by location to make the review of the inventory clearer.	2	Business Education Unit Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Community Safety	Current inventory lists to be moved to service form and procedures followed as per service order.	31/05/2009	20/04/2009	27/04/2009
3.27	We recommend that the inventory list is fully updated to reflect actual locations of items. When items are off site or relocated, this should be reflected in the inventory list or within a separate register.	2	Business Education Unit Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Community Safety	Current inventory lists to be moved to service form and procedures followed as per service order.	31/05/2009	20/04/2009	27/04/2009
3.31	In order to enhance the audit trail we recommend that disposals and transfers are recorded in full on the inventory list.	2	Business Education Unit Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Community Safety	Current inventory lists to be moved to service form and procedures followed as per service order.	31/05/2009	20/04/2009	27/04/2009
3.17	We recommend that a review of essential car user allowances is completed to ensure that all staff within Business Education fulfil the minimum operational and mileage requirements.	2	Business Education Unit Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Community Safety	We will Investigate the use of Fire Service vehicles for Business Education Unit use and report findings, and then implement any recommendations.	31/05/2009	20/04/2009 30/06/2009	1/07/2009
3.29	We recommend that an independent officer checks the inventory annually. Items checked should show dates against them year by year to satisfy and complete the audit trail.	2	Business Education Unit Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Community Safety	Annual audit process to be implemented. Independent officer to audit sections across the function.	31/05/2009	20/04/2009 30/06/2009	1/07/2009
MOBILE TELEPHONES (follow-up) 2008/2009
3.8	We recommend that users of Service mobile telephones should be reminded of the importance of clearly highlighting personal use on telephone accounts. These should always be attached to the respective internal return forms, duly signed by claimants with a printed name to complete identification. In addition, where official receipts for paid private telephone calls are sent to claimants, details of the receipt should be annotated on the return form, to complete the audit information trail.	2	Development Manager (ICT Services)	Director of Corporate Services	Agreed. There is a section in the Mobile Device Policy describing how to manage personal usage. An additional reminder has also been added to the personal charges form and the email that goes out with the bills. The charges form has also been amended to include a space for receipt number.	31 03 2009	N/A	May 2009
3.9	We recommend that users of Service mobile phones should be encouraged to forward/ take payments for private telephone calls to the Finance section for receipting and banking purposes, following notification of telephone usage returns to the Information Services Section.	2	Development Manager (ICT Services)	Director of Corporate Services	Agreed. Arrangements have been made with Financial Services who will now receive payments directly from users. This arrangement will commence with then next billing - April 2009.	30/04/2009	N/A	May 2009
CORPORATE PROCUREMENT CARDS 2008/2009
3.11	There is a need to ensure that the individual's files are fully completed at all times and VAT invoices obtained to support expenditure, as appropriate. There is a need to rule-off receipts, once authorised.	2	Financial Services Officer	Head of Financial and Office Services	An e-mail will be sent to all cardholders/authorisers reminding them to obtain VAT receipts and have their files fully completed, and also encouraging them to rule-off receipts once authorised.	April 2009	20/04/2009	17/06/2009
3.20	We recommend that the bank should be requested to provide written confirmation that should second cards be issued, then original cards/accounts will be closed promptly.	2	Financial Services Officer	Head of Financial and Office Services	An e-mail will be sent to the bank to confirm that if second cards are issued, the originals will be closed.	April 2009	20/04/2009	17/06/2009
ST MARY'S WHOLETIME FIRE STATION 2008/2009
3.18	All copies of completed Retained Duty System claim forms should be retained to complete the audit information trail.	1	Retained Duty System Watch Manager / Station Administrator	Director of Service Delivery	Agreed	30/04/2009	20/04/2009	16/06/2009
3.23	We recommend that access to the inventory records is restricted to designated staff and that the track changes facility is enabled.	2	Station Manager and Administrator	Director of Service Delivery	Station Administrator to enable track change facility. Station Manager and Administrator to review access rights to the inventory.	30/04/2009	20/04/2009	16/06/2009
3.24	Full details should be recorded for all inventory items e.g. full description of asset, serial numbers, date of receipt and disposal.	2	Station Administrator	Director of Service Delivery	Station Administrator to review and update inventory where details are available.	30/04/2009	20/04/2009	16/06/2009
INTERNET USAGE 2008/2009
3.6	We recommend that a further Routine Notice is produced highlighting the issues raised by the audit and making it clear that greater monitoring of staff's personal use of the internet will be undertaken and where this usage is considered excessive, individuals will be appropriately challenged.	3	Director of Corporate Services	Director of Corporate Services	Accepted. We will continue to regularly monitor staff use of social networking and other popular internet sites. Where excessive or inappropriate use is identified, line managers will be informed and required to challenge the use made by their staff. We will use the outcome of this audit review as a timely opportunity to repeat a previous message sent to all staff. We will repeat general cautionary reminders to staff at least once a year, but more frequently if our monitoring deems it to be necessary.	31/05/2009	N/A	31/05/2009
HIGHTOWN WHOLETIME FIRE STATION (2008/09)
3.11	All fire fighters should sign their overtime claim records in line with Service policy.	2	Watch Mangers as directed by Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	All watches have been instructed to ensure that all firefighters sign their individual claims.	Immediate	N/A	14/05/2009
3.15	All time off in lieu (TOIL) claims records should be signed by the fire fighter, to evidence the TOIL taken has been agreed by both the line Manager and claimant.	2	Watch Managers as directed by Station Manager.	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	All watches have been instructed to ensure all firefighters sign their individual claims.	Immediate	N/A	14/05/2009
3.17	TOIL (time off in lieu) balances should not exceed thirty hours.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	As explained at the audit by the Station Manager the only firefighters in excess of 30hrs were firefighters temporarily based at the station. Personnel at Hightown do not exceed 30 hours.	Immediate	N/A	14/05/2009
IT STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT 2008/2009
3.9	We recommend that it is formally minuted by the e-Focus Group that they have agreed the annual ICT Business Plan.	2	Information Services Manager	Director of Corporate Services	Agreed	May 2009	29/06/2009	30/06/2009
3.12	We recommend that staff are made aware that the ICT Business Plan is published on the intranet and when it is updated, through current communication channels.	1	Information Services Manager	Director of Corporate Services	Although the publication of the plan is communicated to the e-Focus Group which has representation from all functions, this appears to be inadequate. Further publication of the plan will be accompanied by a message and an entry in routine notice.	May 2009	29/06/2009	30/06/2009
REPLACEMENT FLEET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 2008/2009
3.8	We recommend that the project board identifies possible risks to the project, mitigates against them where possible and documents them.	2	Projects Assistant	Director of Corporate Services	Agree with recommendation. A risk log will be created.	Quarter 1 2009/10	N/A	24/08/2009
WINCHESTER FIRE STATION 2009/10
3.5	We recommend that care should be taken to ensure that the signatures of the firefighters support all carbon copies of retained payment claims.	1	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	No longer used as now raised on new electronic Retained Management system	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.10	We recommend that to provide an adequate separation of duties, the ordering of further stocks of blank indent pads should be initiated by the Station Administrator and authorised by the Station Manager.	2	Station Administrator	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Admin to action and ensure adequate separation of duties	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.11	We recommend that all indent forms should be fully completed to ensure an adequate audit trail and the receiving officer of goods should be independent of the authoriser, to ensure an adequate separation of duties.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	All station staff to be informed to ensure correct completion of indents	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.12	All indents should be authorised confirming expenditure to be incurred, in accordance with Financial Regulations.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	All station staff to be informed to ensure correct completion of indents	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.13	We recommend that all indents should be ruled-off following the last entry to avoid additions to the indent following authorisation.	1	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	All station staff to be informed to ensure correct completion of indents	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.22	Track changes facility should be switched on for the current inventory record, in order that all changes to the inventory may be identified.	2	Station Support	Assistant Chief Officer - Service Delivery Response	New Inventory has been drawn up and Station Administrator to track changes	August 2009	10/09/2009	10/09/2009
3.23	We recommend that only Service equipment should be recorded on the inventory.	1	Station Administrator	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	New procedures now in place at Winchester	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.24	Serial numbers and the date of acquisition should be recorded on the inventory.	2	Station Administrator	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	All serial numbers, where available have been added to inventory	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.29	Care should be taken to ensure all overtime forms are securely held in confirmation of claims. A copy of the claim form missing at the time of audit should be forwarded to Internal Audit when found.	2	Station Manager and Station Administrator	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Inform all station staff and ensure archival of completed records to ensure no repeat loss of paperwork occurs	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.30	We recommend that all overtime claims should be certified by claimants prior to authorisation and in accordance with financial regulations.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Inform all station staff and complete	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.31	We recommend that all TOIL (time off in lieu) should be certified by claimants as having been taken prior to authorisation, in accordance with financial regulations.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Inform all station staff and complete	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.32	We recommend that care should be taken to ensure that all transfers of time within TOIL records are accurate.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Inform all station staff and complete	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.33	We recommend that accumulated hours for TOIL do not exceed 30 hours in order to comply with current procedures.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Agreed	July 2009	N/A	July 2009
3.39	We recommend that the bank account should be changed to a dual signatory account, to comply with Service Order requirements.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Not accepted Dual signatory already set on account, two from Treasurer, Secretary or Chairperson	N/A	N/A	N/A
3.40	A record should be kept detailing all individual amounts of income so that it can be established if all income due is collected.	1	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Not accepted All membership and payments shown in spreadsheet.	N/A	N/A	N/A
3.42	We recommend that as the social club accounts are maintained in the Treasurer's home on a personal computer, a separate spreadsheet of the accounts should be held in the Station Administrator's office as a back-up in case of loss of the originals.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Not accepted Spreadsheets are kept on hantsfirenet account and not personal computer. Back up completed centrally	N/A	N/A	N/A
3.44	We recommend that a record is maintained, which lists the names of the members, the income due and the income collected to ensure that all income due is collected.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Not accepted All membership and payments shown in spreadsheet.	N/A	N/A	N/A
HUMAN RESOURCES 2008/2009
3.13	We recommend that checks should be made to ensure that the information retained on personal files is sufficient to complete the audit information trail.	2	Human Resources Officer (Workforce Planning)	Director of Human Resources	This procedure is to be amended shortly, which will provide additional electronic information and evidence for the audit trail.	Review June 2009	29/06/2009	21/08/2009
3.23	We recommend that the record of personal files removed from the filing room should be reinstated in order to provide an audit trail of file movements out of the filing room and subsequently returned or archived.	2	All Human Resources Managers	Director of Human Resources	Arrangements to be made to reintroduce this procedure.	Review June 2009	29/06/2009	21/08/2009
INSURANCE 2008/2009
3.14	We recommend that staff are reminded to submit details of any "potential" claim to the insurer as soon as any incident comes to light.	2	Performance Review Manager	Director of Corporate Services	Agreed	31/05/2009	N/A	31/05/2009
3.18	Staff to be reminded that service orders must be complied within in all instances.	1	Performance Review Manager in conjunction with Fleet Manager	Director of Corporate Services	Agreed	Quarter 2 2009/10	31/07/2009	31/07/2009
3.29	We recommend that advice is sought from the Service solicitor regarding the length of time files should be retained.	1	Performance Review Manager	Director of Corporate Services	Agreed	Quarter 2 2009/10	31/07/2009	31/07/2009
PROCUREMENT 2008/09
3.3	We recommend that to clarify the role of the Purchasing department within the Authority, an overall organisational chart for the department should be compiled once current re-structuring has been finalised.	1	Procurement Manager	Head of Financial and Office Services	An organisational chart does exist for Supplies and Stores but was not supplied as the operational and workshop stores are to be combined. One will be provided to all employees when the new posts and restructuring is complete.	June 2009	29/06/2009	30/06/2009
ST MARYS FIRE STATION 2008-09
3.18	All copies of completed Retained Duty System claim forms should be retained to complete the audit information trail.	1	Retained Duty System Watch Manager and Administrator	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Retained Duty System, Watch Manager, and Station Administrator to introduce a procedure which will ensure all copies of claims are retained.	February 2009	5/03/2009 28/05/2009	15/06/2009
3.23	Access to the inventory records should be restricted to designated staff and that the track changes facility is enabled.	2	Station Manager and Administrator	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Station Administrator to enable track change facility. Station Manager and Administrator to review access rights to the inventory.	March 2009	5/03/2009 28/05/2009	15/06/2009
3.24	Full details should be recorded for all inventory items, e.g. full description of asset, serial numbers, date of receipt and disposal.	2	Station Manager and Administrator	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Station Administrator to review and update inventory where details are available.	March 2009	5/03/2009 28/05/2009	15/06/2009
3.25	The whereabouts of the missing item should be investigated and the inventory amended to reflect any further information.	2	Station Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery Response	Station manager to investigate and report	March 2009	5/03/2009 28/05/2009	15/06/2009
STORES 2008/09
3.6	We recommend that appropriate stock levels should be recorded in the IT system for the majority of stock lines in the event of stores staff being employed where stock levels may not be known by experience. In addition, obsolete stock lines should be periodically cleared to avoid possible distortion of the stock record.	2	Procurement Manager	Head of Financial and Office Services	Not agreed, the system will not hold minimum and maximum stock levels and was never designed to. On important operational items a minimum re-order level is added to prompt order raising when stock is running low. This has been developed based on usage and with Service Delivery's input. It was agreed that to have minimums on all items would be impractical and impact on cash flow spend and increase stock holding of rarely used items. The comments on obsolete stock lines are incorrect as all stock lines are marked as such on the system and therefore do not form part of any stock value. In future all obsolete figures will be transferred to the stock valuation report on a monthly basis.	N/A	N/A	N/A
3.7	We recommend that for any revision of the IT system or its subsequent replacement, consideration should be given to the use of minimum stock levels being recorded to facilitate sound stock control.	2	Procurement Manager	Head of Financial and Office Services	Partially agreed, any stock system that replaces the current one will be reviewed for suitability. But minimum stock levels should be specific and controlled rather than carte blanche and for every item.	N/A.	N/A.	N/A.
3.13	We recommend that all indents drawn by stations on the stores should be ruled off following the last item, to ensure that additional items may not be added to the indent following authorisation.	2	Community Response Support Logistics Manager	Assistant Chief Officer Service Delivery - Response	Response Support Assistants have been reminded to ensure station indents are correctly filled out before accepting from station.	July-2009.	26/08/2009	28/08/2009
3.5	The value of all obsolete stock should be recorded in the monthly/annual stock evaluation statements, to accurately account for stock held.	2	Procurement Manager.	Head of Financial and Office Services	Agreed	August 2009.	26/08/2009	28/08/2009
3.10	We recommend that to ensure an adequate management information trail is maintained, depositors of goods into the archive stores should sign to absolve the Authority from any loss of property held on their behalf. Also, all loans must be recorded in the stores office record.	2	Procurement Manager	Head of Financial and Office Services	Partially agreed, The items deposited within the archive store do not belong and are not recorded on the stock management system The Stores department act as the key holder and have control over access but do not have visibility or control over what is removed or deposited by other departments within this area. A form of disclaimer will be drafted to the users of the archive store to absolve Stores and Supplies of any loss that may take place and to absolve this responsibility back to the users of this store. All personnel will be reminded that they must follow the written procedures and complete the loan forms paperwork, as well as to complete the loan board for all loaned issues.	September 2009. July-2009	26/08/2009	28/08/2009
3.11	Evidence should always be provided that stock received is being checked against the original order, to ensure an adequate audit information trail and that the correct items are being received into store.	2	Procurement Manager	Head of Financial and Office Services	Agreed	August 2009	26/08/2009	28/08/2009
3.12	Indents should be separately authorised and the receipt of goods recorded to provide segregation of duties. In addition, all indents should be ruled off after the last entry to avoid additions being made following authorisation.	2	Procurement Manager	Head of Financial and Officer Services	Guidance Notes for the completion of white service notes have been available since December 2006 and are on the supplies intranet system as Guidance Note /4/9/2. These guidance notes cover all the issues identified within the body text and will be re-inserted in the routine notice to remind users of their existence and use. Response Support Assistants have been reminded of the importance to separately authorise when goods are requested and when goods are received. Also to ensure that indents are ruled off following the last entry. Response Support Assistants have been reminded of the importance to separately authorise when goods are requested and when goods are received. Also to ensure that indents are ruled off following the last entry	Aug-2009.	26/08/2009	28/08/2009

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