Agenda item

the Service Director ofFinance and Improvement Services presented the Governance and Audit Committee Annual Report 2022/23 together with a self-assessment against the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy publication ‘Audit Committees – Practical Guidance for Local Authorities and Police 2028 Edition’.

The Service Director provided an overview of the work delivered by the Governance and Audit Committee in 2022/23, in line with the agreed work programme, and concluded that based on the work undertaken, the Governance and Audit Committee has delivered the work plan and its responsibilities in line with the Terms of Reference.

The Service Director went on to provide an overview of the self-assessment against the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy publication ‘Audit Committees – Practical Guidance for Local Authorities and Police 2028 Edition’, and informed Members that good progress had been made to implement proposals for improvement reported in 2021/22. The Service Director added that the 2022/23 self-assessment process has identified 3 areas for improvement to further support and reinforce existing arrangements, these being, to set out the overall partnership landscape the Council operates within and the strategic approach to enable the Committee to determine whether it requires further information and / or assurance in this area; to create an online library of learning and development information; and to capture feedback from the Committee on areas for improvement and engage with other local authorities / bodies to identify good practice / approaches to evaluate the impact of the Governance and Audit Committee’s work.

The Head of the Regional Audit Service took the opportunity to provide assurance, from an internal audit perspective, that the Committee operates in line with its responsibilities.

The Chair was pleased to note that the outcome of the self-assessment process had demonstrated that the Council has sound arrangements in place in respect of its Governance and Audit Committee, subject to the three recommendations detailed, and was in support of further engagement with other bodies to share good practice.

One Member thanked the Service Director for the comprehensive report and commented that it included meaningful information, which provided assurance that the Committee were delivering its responsibilities.

Another Member supported the comments made and agreed that further work with other outside bodies would be of benefit. The Member referred to the information in the Audit Wales report in respect of Direct Payments and found it useful to compare Rhondda Cynon Taf figures with neighbouring Local Authorities.

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

1.      To review the Annual Report and self-assessment and determine whether the Annual Report forms a balanced summary of the work undertaken by the Governance and Audit Committee during 2022/23;

2.      To endorse the proposals for improvement to further support the Governance and Audit Committee in the effective discharge of its Terms of Reference and their incorporation into an action plan to enable on-going monitoring; and

To approve the Governance and Audit Committee Annual Report 2022/23 and its presentation to full Council.