Audit and Governance Committee

Membership

Members of the Executive shall not be eligible to be appointed to the Audit and Governance Committee and the Chair and Vice Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee shall not be eligible to be Chair or Vice Chair of the Audit and Governance Committee.

Audit Activity

To consider the Head of Internal Audit’s Annual Report and opinion, and a summary of internal audit activity (actual and proposed) and the level of assurance it can give over the Council’s corporate governance arrangements.

To consider summaries of specific internal audit reports as requested.

To consider reports dealing with the management and performance of the providers of internal audit services.

To consider a report from internal audit on agreed recommendations not implemented within a reasonable timescale.

To consider the external auditor’s annual audit letter, relevant reports and the report to those charged with governance.

To consider specific reports as agreed with the external auditor.

To comment on the scope and depth of external audit work and to ensure it gives value for money.

To liaise with the Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) over the appointment of the council’s external auditor.

To commission work from the internal and external audit.

Regulatory Framework

To maintain an overview of the Council’s constitution in respect of contract procedure rules, financial regulations and codes of conduct and behaviour.

To review any issue referred to it by the Chief Executive or a Director, or any council body.

To monitor the effective development and operation of risk management and corporate governance in the Council.

To monitor Council policies on ‘raising concerns at work’ and the anti-fraud and corruption strategy and the Council’s complaints process.

To oversee the production of the authority’s Statement on Internal Control and to recommend its adoption,

To consider the Council’s arrangements for corporate governance and agreeing necessary actions to ensure compliance with best practice.

To consider the Council’s compliance with it’s own and other published standards and controls.

To approve the annual statement accounts and report of this Council (with delegated power).

To review the annual statement of accounts. Specifically, to consider whether appropriate accounting policies have been followed and whether there are concerns arising from the financial statements or from the audit that need to be brought to the attention of the Council.

To consider the external auditor’s report to those charged with governance on issues arising from the audit of the accounts.

Standards

To review and recommend amendments to the Council’s Code of Conduct for Members and procedure for dealing with complaints.

To receive and hear and make decisions on standards complaints following investigation.

To hear appeals against decisions made at a hearing of a standards complaint. To report sanctions imposed on Members to full Council.  

When a complaint is made about a Councillor

There is procedure for when a complaint is received that a Member, Co-opted Member or Parish Member has or may have failed to comply with the relevant Code of Conduct for Members within the Council’s Constitution which can be viewed here.  Please view the procedure in Appendix 6. 

Complaints about Councillors must be made in writing by post or email to: –

The Monitoring Officer

Chorley Council

Town Hall

Market Street

Chorley

PR7 1DP

Or to democratic.services@chorley.gov.uk