Agenda, Penderfyniadau a Chofnodion drafft

The Chair welcomed attendees to the meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee and apologies for absence were received from County Borough Councillors L Tomkinson and A Ellis.

Derbyn datganiadau o fuddiannau personol gan Aelodau, yn unol â'r Cod Ymddygiad.

Nodwch:

1.     Mae gofyn i Aelodau ddatgan rhif a phwnc yr agendwm y mae eu buddiant yn ymwneud ag ef a mynegi natur y buddiant personol hwnnw; a

2.   Lle bo Aelodau'n ymneilltuo o'r cyfarfod o ganlyniad i ddatgelu buddiant sy'n rhagfarnu, rhaid iddyn nhw roi gwybod i'r Cadeirydd pan fyddan nhw'n gadael.

In accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct, there were no declarations made pertaining to the agenda.

Derbyn cofnodion o gyfarfod blaenorol y Pwyllgor Llywodraethu ac Archwilio a gafodd ei gynnal ar 12 Hydref 2023.

It was RESOLVED to approve the minutes of the XXXX as an accurate reflection of the meeting.

The Service Director of Finance and Improvement Services provided the Governance and Audit Committee with an update on the status of the recommendations included within the 2022/23 Annual Governance Statement.

The Service Director informed the Committee that all Local Authorities have a legal requirement to conduct a review, at least once per year, of the effectiveness of its system of internal control and must include a statement reporting on the review in the statement of accounts. It was explained that Rhondda Cynon Taf Council discharges this responsibility by producing an Annual Governance Statement.

The Service Director drew Members’ attention to Appendix 1 of the report, which outlined 5 recommendations for the period, which would further support improvement to the Council’s governance arrangements.

Members were informed that of the recommendations contained within Appendix 1, two had been implemented, one was on target, one had a revised completion date of March 2024 and one was ongoing. The Service Director fed back that the position statement demonstrated the progress being made to implement the recommendations reported within the Annual Governance Statement to further strengthen the current sound governance arrangements in place within the Local Authority.

Referring to the recommendation in respect of the Council’s Participation Strategy and setting out how local people are encouraged to participate in decision-making by the Council, the Vice-Chair requested clarification. The Service Director advised that the Council had developed a Public Participation Strategy, which had been endorsed by Full Council and the document sets out the approach to ensure all voices and feedback is heard as part of decision making and future delivery of council services.

The Chair thanked the Service Director for the report and the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED:

1.  To seek clarity and explanation where there are areas of concern; and

2.  To form an opinion in respect of whether they are satisfied with the progress made to date to implement the recommendations.

The Council’s Performance Manager presented the report, which provided the Committee with the opportunity to consider the Council’s Self-Assessment for 2022/23 in advance of consideration by Council in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, which requires the Self-Assessment to be considered by Governance and Audit Committee in advance of consideration by Council.

The Performance Manager stated that the Council has a strong track record of self-awareness and self-reflection processes and a culture of continuous improvement, irrespective of the various statutory requirements in place at any time. It was explained that there was no nationally prescribed model of annual self-assessment and therefore, the aim when undertaking the self-assessment was to continue to do so with minimal additional process or burden on the organisation and its managers. The intention was to make maximum use of the huge volume of information already in place across the Council, including reports, policies, strategies, plans and stakeholder feedback, which Elected Members would have had the opportunity to review and challenge, as part of the Council’s existing governance arrangements.

It was explained that the 2022/23 Self-Assessment focused on the Council’s progress in responding to the Improvement Themes emerging from the stock take in 2021/22 as well as consideration of the robustness of the management and monitoring arrangements in place as evidence the Council is delivering its priorities and be assured that:

·      it is exercising its functions effectively;

·      it is using its resources economically, efficiently and effectively; and

·      its governance is effective for securing the above.

The officer drew Members’ attention to section 5.3 of the report and explained that the Council’s Self-Assessment had been integrated with the annual Corporate Performance Report and comprised of the following six sections:

1.  The progress we have made against the nine themes for improvement which were identified in the 2021/2022 Self-Assessment;

2.  How we have delivered on our Corporate Plan since 2020 as we prepare our new Plan from 2024;

3.  How we have delivered the priorities of our Corporate Plan in 2022/23;

4.  Assessment of our corporate functions;

5.  The Self Evaluation (SSE) of our services; and

6.  Well-being of Future Generations - Sustainable Development principle.  

The Chief Executive thanked the Performance Manager for informing Members of the robust processes in place to comprise the self-assessment and took the opportunity to provide observations. The Chief Executive noted that the self-assessment was representative of a huge amount of data and evidence from across the Local Authority, which had been hyperlinked throughout the document. The document sought to demonstrate the range and diversity of the Council’s functions and the scale of the services delivered, along with the progress on delivering the commitments throughout the year.

The Chief Executive referenced the nine themes identified in the Council’s previous self-assessment and acknowledged the good progress made against those themes. Examples provided were in respect of the effective response to the significant and unprecedented financial challenges faced during the year; the progress made in delivering the ambitions of  ...  view the full Cofnodion text for item 37.

The Service Director - Finance Services provided the Committee with the opportunity to scrutinise Treasury Management information presented to Council on 29th November 2023.  The Council report was attached at Appendix 1 and detailed the Council’s Treasury Management activity during the first six months of 2023/24 and prudential and treasury Indicators for the same period.

The Service Director confirmed that Rhondda Cynon Taf had complied with all relevant Codes of Practice with regards to Treasury Management, this being CIPFA’s Code of Practice on Treasury Management and the Prudential Code.

Members’ attention was drawn to section 5 of the report, which outlined the economic background for the first half of the financial year. The Service Director noted that UK inflation remained high over much of the period, keeping expectations elevated of how much further the Bank of England would increase rates. However, inflation data published in the latter part of the period was lower than expected, causing financial markets to reassess the peak in the Base Rate. This was followed very soon after by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintaining the Base Rate at 5.25% in September and it was explained that it had remained at this level up to and including the recent decision on 13^th December where MPC members voted again to maintain the rate at 5.25%.

The Service Director drew Members’ attention to section 6 of the report, which outlined the borrowing activity. Members were informed that the Local Authority had continued to maintain its low-risk strategy, using “internal borrowing” with no new external borrowing undertaken during the year and operating within budget.

Members were informed that sections 8,9 & 10 contain a suite of Treasury Management and Prudential indicators and are compliant with limits set by full Council on 29th March earlier this year.

Members were also informed of details within sections 11 and 12 demonstrating the low-risk strategy associated with the approach to investments with an investment return just slightly lower than the benchmark rate.

The Service Director updated the Committee in respect of the contractual arrangements in place with the current Treasury Management advisors, Arlingclose. It was explained that the contract had been extended until March 2024 and that the procurement process had begun for a new contract beginning April 2024.

The Chair thanked the Service Director for the informative update and was pleased with the Council’s approach.

The Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED:

1.    To scrutinise and comment on the information provided; and

2.    To consider whether they wish to receive further detail on any matters contained in the report.

“Bod y cyfarfod hwn yn cadw aelodau o'r wasg ac aelodau o'r cyhoedd allan o ystafell y cyfarfod, dan Adran 100A(4) o Ddeddf Llywodraeth Leol 1972 (fel y'i diwygiwyd), yn ystod trafod yr eitemau nesaf, ar y sail y byddai'n debygol o olygu datgelu gwybodaeth eithriedig yn ôl diffiniad paragraff 14 o Ran 4 o Atodlen 12A i'r Ddeddf.”

It was RESOLVED: “That the press and public be excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act”.

Derbyn cyflwyniad gan Gyfarwyddwr y Gwasanethau Digidol a TGCh.

With the aid of a PowerPoint presentation, the Service Director of Digital and ICT provided the Governance and Audit Committee with information in respect of cyber security resilience and its importance within the Local Authority.

Following consideration of the PowerPoint presentation containing exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act, 1972 (as amended), namely information relating to the financial affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information), the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED:

1.    To note the information provided.

The Service Director of Pensions, Procurement and Transactional Services and the Operational Manager for Revenues and Corporate Fraud provided the Governance and Audit Committee with the progress made to date against the Anti-Fraud, Bribery & Corruption work programme for 2023/24.

Following consideration of the report containing exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act, 1972 (as amended), namely information relating to the financial affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information), the Governance and Audit Committee RESOLVED:

1.  To note and review the outcomes of the anti-fraud work progress during 2023/24; and

1.     To provide direction and guidance where necessary within the Terms of Reference of the Committee.

(Note: Lay Member, Mr M Jehu left the meeting during discussions.)

Trafod unrhyw faterion sydd, yn ôl doethineb y Cadeirydd, yn faterion brys yng ngoleuni amgylchiadau arbennig.

The Director of Legal and Democratic Services advised that the following item of urgent business would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information and recommended that the meeting remain exempt from the press and public.

The Governance and Audit Committee therefore RESOLVED: “That the press and public remain excluded from the meeting under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act (as amended) for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of the exempt information as defined in paragraph 14 of Part 4 of the Schedule 12A of the Act”.

(Note: At this point in proceedings, officers from the Regional Internal Audit Service left the meeting, following advice from the Director of Legal and Democratic Services that there was a risk that the discussions to follow will result in a conflict of interest).

With the Chair’s permission, the Deputy Chief Executive and Group Director for Finance, Digital and Frontline Services provided the Governance and Audit Committee with an update on the Internal Audit Service report containing exempt information as defined in Paragraph 14 of Part 4 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act, 1972 (as amended), which had been considered and agreed by Cabinet on 18^th December 2023.

Following discussion, the Committee RESOLVED to note the update.