The Audit and Governance Committee of Newham Council convened on Thursday 30 July 2026. Key discussions included the corporate risk management framework, the assurance report from the interim monitoring officer, and the draft statement of accounts for 2025/26. The committee also reviewed the external annual audit plan for 2025/26, treasury management outturn for 2025/26, and the internal audit plan for 2026/27.

Corporate Risk Management Update

The committee received an update on the implementation of the revised corporate risk management framework. Progress was noted in establishing the Corporate Minimum Standard and developing the Strategic Risk Register, which now includes 'bow tie' risk cards. The current Strategic Risk Profile indicates the highest areas of residual exposure in Health and Safety, Housing Regulatory Compliance, and Supplier & Contract Management. The next steps involve rolling out the Corporate Minimum Standard through Directorate Management Teams to ensure a consistent approach to risk management across the council.

Assurance Report from the Interim Monitoring Officer

Janie Berry, the Interim Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer, presented her assurance report. She stated that she remained reasonably assured that the Council does have an adequate governance in place. However, she noted that while improvements had been made since her initial report in December 2025, there needed to be greater evidence that these improvements were embedded and understood by all, with sustained and effective monitoring in place. Ms. Berry confirmed she had unfettered access to meetings and documents and had not had cause to report under s5 of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. The report detailed observations on the recent elections, the Council's constitution, and efforts to ensure lawfulness and integrity in decision-making. Improvements were also noted in the standing and respect of the Standards Committee, with a refreshed committee and a clear work plan established.

Draft Statement of Accounts 2025/26

The committee considered the draft Statement of Accounts for the 2025/26 financial year. Meinir Hall, Chief Accountant, presented the report, highlighting that the council had achieved a balanced revenue budget for 2026/27 and maintained its unallocated General Fund balance at 10% of its net revenue budget. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) also reported an in-year surplus. However, concerns were raised regarding significant slippage in the capital programme, with hundreds of millions of pounds in delays. Officers explained that the capital programme's financial profile was sometimes too ambitious, leading to a disconnect between financial profiling and project delivery milestones. The committee also discussed the council's financial resilience, noting the strengthening of reserves, including the General Fund balance and the creation of a Business Risk Reserve. The draft Annual Governance Statement was also presented, which is a living document subject to updates.

External Annual Audit Plan 2025/26

Simon Mathers and Karen Cunanan from EY presented the external audit plan for 2025/26. They outlined their audit strategy, which focuses on rebuilding assurance following previous disclaimed audit opinions. The plan addresses key audit areas and risks, including the presumptive risk of management override of controls, inappropriate capitalisation of revenue expenditure, and the valuation of property assets. The audit timeline was presented, with the aim of completing all work by the end of November 2026. The committee was informed that while progress had been made, there remained a relatively high number of recommendations from previous audits that needed to be addressed.

Treasury Management 2025/26 Outturn Report

Simon Mathers, partner in charge of the 2025/26 audit, presented the audit planning report. He noted that the context for the audit of the financial statements remained the ongoing work to rebuild assurance following the national reset of the local audit regime. The council had issued disclaimed audit opinions for the previous three years. EY's risk assessment for 2025/26 would evaluate the risk of material misstatement in opening reserve balances. The report highlighted that it was unlikely that significant rebuilding of assurance over the historic position would occur in the 2025/26 cycle, but the completion of all planned procedures would be a significant step forward.

Audit Charter and Mandate

Alison Chessell, Assistant Director of Procurement and Head of Internal Audit, presented the updated Audit Charter and Mandate. This document defines the internal audit function's purpose, authority, responsibility, and reporting lines. The minor changes in this update primarily related to the reporting structure for the Head of Audit, ensuring direct access to the Chief Executive and Section 151 Officer. The committee was asked to approve the charter.

Audit Plan 2026/27

Alison Chessell also presented the internal audit plan for 2026/27. This plan takes into account reports from other bodies, such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Regulator of Social Housing, and the strategic risk register. The plan has expanded in terms of the number of audit days to address all discussed areas. The committee was asked to approve the plan, budget, and resource plan for 2026/27.

Internal Audit Progress Report to 31 March 2026

Nicole Metivier, Audit Manager, provided an update on the work undertaken by the Internal Audit Service. The report detailed audits issued, other assurance services, and the implementation status of recommendations. A significant number of overdue high-priority recommendations were noted, with 21 out of 57 overdue actions being classified as Priority 1. Maria Christofi, Corporate Director of Resources, acknowledged that the internal audit opinion was limited assurance and that she was definitely not satisfied, highlighting the need for an expanded audit plan and potentially more internal audit resources to ensure adequate coverage and a strong internal control environment.

Quarterly Counter Fraud Progress Report and Annual Report 2025/26

Nick Sharp, Head of Fraud, presented the quarterly update on the Counter Fraud Team's work. The team had successfully recovered 8 properties through civil court actions, preventing 10 Right to Buy applications and stopping 1 Housing Application and 1 Succession application. Notional savings of £0.336m were reported from property recoveries. The team was actively working on 173 housing investigations. The report also detailed outcomes from whistleblowing and workplace investigations, including dismissals and final written warnings. Council Tax investigations had identified £0.215m in underpaid tax from previous years and added £0.094m to current accounts for discounts removed. The council had also joined the London Counter Fraud Hub for data matching.

Quarterly Report of Contract Waivers

The committee noted the summary of contract waivers for the period 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026. A councillor commented that this represented substantial progress compared to previous years when numerous waivers were seen.

Year Ahead Forward Plan

The committee reviewed the Year Ahead Forward Plan, which outlines upcoming reports and training. Concerns were raised about the decision to cancel the June meeting, with a councillor expressing unhappiness about the lack of detailed discussion time for substantive agenda items. The interim monitoring officer noted that the draft statement of accounts was not available at that time, and it was decided to roll that item into a later meeting. The committee also discussed the need for an additional meeting to consider recommended changes to the constitution before the October full council meeting.

Date of Next Meeting

The date of the next meeting was scheduled for 4 November 2026, with an additional meeting to be scheduled for late September or early October.

Exclusion of Press and Public

The committee resolved to exclude the press and public from the meeting from this point onwards to discuss exempt minutes.