Agenda and draft minutes

To appoint a Vice – Chair for the Municipal Year

RESOLVED: Councillor Bearshaw was appointed Vice – Chair for the Municipal Year 2026/2027.

To receive any apologies of absence.

Apologies were received from Councillors Anota and Barclay.

To approve the minutes from the Audit Committee held on 15^th June 2026.

RESOLVED: The minutes from the meeting held on the 15^th June 2026 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

Please indicate if there are any interests which should be declared.  A declaration of an interest should indicate the nature of the interest (if not already declared on the Register of Interests) and the agenda item to which it relates.  If a disclosable pecuniary interest is declared, the Member should withdraw from the room whilst the matter is discussed.

These declarations apply to all Members present, whether the Member is part of the meeting, attending to speak as a local Member on any item or simply observing the meeting from the public seating area.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider any business which, by reason of special circumstances, the Chairman proposed to accept as urgent under Section 100(b)(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

There was no urgent business.

Members wishing to speak pursuant to Standing Order 34 should inform the Chairman of their intention to do so and on what items they wish to be heard before the meeting commences.  Any Member attending the meeting under Standing Order 34 will only be permitted to speak on those items which have been previously notified to the Chairman

There was none.

There was none.

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The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer presented the 2025–2026 Treasury Outturn, explaining the Council’s capital financing, borrowing limits, interest costs and cash position.

Independent Member, Michael Laird, questioned the position on the £10 million long-term loan from Barclays. In response to a question, the Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer confirmed that the opportunity had been identified with the Council’s Treasury advisers, who had then liaised with Barclays. The loan had been refinanced at £8 million, producing a discount of slightly more than £2 million. Accounting rules required the benefit to be spread over ten years, reducing annual borrowing costs by just over £200,000.

In response to Independent Member, Sean Beckett, the Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer explained that capital expenditure in 2025–2026 was £39.561 million. Of this, £20.92 million was funded during the year through £6.7 million of capital receipts, £11.2 million of grants and £3.79 million from reserves and revenue. The remaining £18.6 million was financed through working capital and added to the Capital Financing Requirement (CFR).

The Vice-Chair questioned whether the rising CFR created a significant risk and when the authorised limit might be reached. The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer advised that the current capital programme was not expected to create material additional pressure, although new schemes would require Cabinet-approved business cases.

The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer explained that the CFR represented unfinanced capital expenditure, including spending on vehicles, equipment, buildings and housing. It was reduced progressively through the Minimum Revenue Provision, approximately £2 million annually, and could also be reduced through capital receipts. Capital receipts used directly for new capital expenditure did not reduce the CFR.

The Chair, Councillor de Winton, highlighted the role of the housing companies, West Norfolk Housing Company and West Norfolk Property Limited. He provided useful context to the Independent Members regarding the housing companies.

The Council paid £1.5 million in external interest during 2025–2026, around £955,000 more than budgeted because slower housing sales required additional borrowing. External borrowing was approximately £40 million, compared with an operational boundary of £84 million and an authorised limit of £94 million, leaving approximately £59.9 million of headroom against the CFR. The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer confirmed that borrowing remained within the approved limits and was being used to fund capital rather than revenue expenditure.

In response to the Vice-Chair, Councillor Bearshaw, the Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer confirmed that forecasts were regularly reviewed using Bank of England and Office for Budget Responsibility information, together with benchmark rates from MUFG, the Council’s Treasury advisers. Because rates had been volatile, the Council had deliberately kept borrowing and investments relatively short term so that it could respond to rate changes and refinance for longer periods when appropriate.

Councillor Morley explained that the Council’s housing companies faced higher  ...  view the full minutes text for item A26

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The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer presented a refreshed anti-fraud and corruption framework responding mainly to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. The framework was refreshed following the introduction of the failure-to-prevent-fraud offence under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which came into force in September 2025. The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer explained the Council already had prevention, detection, investigation and risk-management arrangements, so the update was intended to strengthen rather than fundamentally redesign the existing framework.

Independent Member, Michael Laird asked whether employees signed declarations covering the use of Council assets such as laptops and mobile devices. The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer confirmed that employees received and signed an employee code of conduct, while technology assets were covered by acceptable-use policies and related declarations.

The Vice – Chair, Councillor Bearshaw asked whether anti-fraud training was compulsory. The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer confirmed that the e-learning module was expected to be completed annually but was not currently mandatory, and that take-up data was not available at the meeting.

He agreed to review participation, consider whether stronger enforcement was required, update the module if necessary, and provide future assurance on coverage. Staff without suitable technology access can receive equivalent information through team meetings.

Members raised the risk that changes to procedures could weaken controls if fraud implications were not considered. The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer agreed to ensure that fraud risk is explicitly considered when processes and systems change, and to examine whether individual policies should contain a prompt or recommendation requiring that assessment.

The Vice – Chair, Councillor Bearshaw asked when the fraud risk assessment dated 2024 would next be refreshed. The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 officer commented there was no planned assessment during the current year but agreed that a regular, non-annual cycle should be established. He also agreed to link the assessment to service risk registers, assurance statements, the annual governance statement and other relevant processes.

Councillor Jones sought an update on the new software for risk registers which had previously been presented to the Committee. The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer explained the Council’s third-party Corporate Management System had recently gone live and was being rolled out across the organisation. It is intended to combine performance information, service risks and internal audit recommendations, reducing duplication and helping the Audit Committee identify assurance gaps and track actions.

Members identified inconsistent version control, missing or unclear change histories, review dates and a possible incorrect March 2025 date on the anti-bribery policy. The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer agreed to consider standardising version-control information so that documents show what changed, why it changed and when the next review was due.

Councillor Morley described controls being strengthened around supplier evaluation,  ...  view the full minutes text for item A27

To note the Committee’s Work Programme for 2026/2027 and the Cabinet’s Forward Decision List.

The Assistant Director for Finance and Deputy Section 151 Officer reminded the Committee of the upcoming training sessions. Members were encouraged to attend and use the sessions to identify matters requiring further examination through the committee’s work programme.

RESOLVED: The Audit Committee noted the Work Programme and the Forward Decisions List.

To note that the date of the next meeting of the Audit Committee will take place on 16^th November 2026 at 4:30pm.

The next meeting of the Audit Committee was scheduled to take place on the 16^th November 2026 at 4:30pm in the Council Chamber, Town Hall, Saturday Market Place, King’s Lynn.