Agenda item

Click here to view the recording of this item on YouTube.

The Corporate Performance Officer presented the report.

The Chair invited questions and comments from the Committee.

Councillor Long commented on the high scoring of Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution risks and questioned what steps were being taken to reduce the scoring of the risk.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer advised the scoring was based prior to the agreement of the proposal at full Council on the 18^th September. She commented whilst waiting for Central Government to make a decision, resources and capacity were being considered whilst business continued as usual.

Councillor Long commented on the importance on continuing service delivery whilst waiting on the decision from Central Government.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer agreed the focus was ensuring service delivery continued with whichever decision was made by the Secretary of State and there was work which could be done in preparation.

The Vice-Chair, Councillor de Winton referred to R12, paragraph 2.4, page 15 of the report and questioned if the company secretary was internal  or external and it was explained that the company secretary sat within the legal and governance team however there were functions within finance and other departments which were overseen by the company secretary. 

The Vice-Chair, Councillor de Winton referred to R17 and position of assets and sought further context and was advised that the team had been working with an external company on fire risk assessment to form a programme to identify and address issues with properties owned by the Council.

The Vice-Chair, Councillor de Winton commented a level of service needed to be maintained and a time limit needed to be set and the Interim Property and Projects Advisor provided assurance this was being considered as a matter of urgency.

Councillor Long referred to R17 and PAT testing. He questioned if it had been carried out and recorded.

The Interim Property and Projects Advisor confirmed PAT Testing was currently being done. He confirmed there were asbestos risk registers in place and the data was being collected.

Councillor Devulapalli raised the unknown concerns of economic pressures from devolution and asked for further details and the

Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer advised it was difficult to comment on the financial position without a decision being made by Central Government and consultation was ongoing.

In response to a question from Councillor Jones, the Interim Property and Projects Advisor confirmed there was currently a good system in place which produced flow diagrams for tracking in relation to PAT testing..

In response to a question from Councillor Moore the Interim Property and Projects Advisor explained the software currently used could be rolled out across the organisation to ensure integration.

Councillor Long highlighted to the Committee a letter outlining finances, had been received by Norfolk County Council from Jim McMahon before resigning.

The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Morley commented from a Cabinet perspective, there was a shortage in expertise therefore a structure analysis was needed for Borough Council assets.

The Chair, Councillor Ryves, commented a report from the Shareholder Committee was scheduled to be considered at the next meeting and requested further details on Lyon House in Norwich be included. He referred to page 23 and asked if regular reports were going to be received on areas with significant risk and it was confirmed reports would be presented to the Audit Committee on a quarterly basis.

The Vice-Chair, Councillor de Winton referred to R1, page 24 of the report and questioned if the target was realistic and the Corporate Performance Officer confirmed the targets were out of date and would be reviewed.

The Portfolio Holder, Councillor Morley explained consultants reviewed the finances as part of Local Government Reorganisation and endorsed the authority as being financially stable as the position had changed over recent years.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer provided context on R1 of the report. She commented if certainty was received on funding then a negative impact was expected. She added further there was going to be certainty over funding due to multiyear settlement and a balanced budget with flexibility could be set.

Councillor Devulapalli referred to page 24 and questioned if the risk should be higher and sought clarification on how the scoring was decided.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer explained there was no influence on the decision made on devolution however the implications and impact on services would continue to be monitored. She commented further implications would be addressed as information emerged.

Councillor Moore questioned the scoring, impact and the consequences, in particular the Hunstanton Sea Defences.

The Deputy Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer explained the matrix and the difference in scoring by different departments.

The Assistant Director for Planning and Environment explained there was a debate on the scoring of this risk and the decision was made for possible and major on the impact matrix.

The Vice-Chair, Councillor de Winton questioned if work had started on the project and if an action plan had been put in place which was reflected in the scoring.

The Assistant Director for Planning and Environment agreed the scoring was reflective on the project being started.

The Chair summarised the effectiveness of the report as it highlighted the responsible officer.

RESOLVED: The Audit Committee noted the report.