The Audit and Standards Committee met on Tuesday 29 September 2026 to discuss the draft value for money risk assessment for 2025-26, the National Fraud Initiative 2026 update, and the internal audit plan for 2026-27. The committee also considered proposed changes to the Council's constitution regarding planning committee size and delegations, and reviewed the management of complaints under the Members' Code of Conduct.

Draft Value for Money Opinion (2025/26)

KPMG presented the draft value for money risk assessment for Staffordshire County Council for the 2025-26 financial year. The assessment followed the National Audit Office's Code of Guidance, examining financial sustainability, governance, and economy, efficiency, and effectiveness. Pleasingly, no significant risks were identified in any of these areas. However, two performance improvement observations were noted. The first related to the significant overspend in Children's Services, with a projected £20 million overspend at Quarter 1, expected to rise to £22 million by Quarter 2. While the Council has reserves to manage this in the short term, significant efforts will be needed to address budget gaps from 2027/28. The second observation concerned the timeliness of completing Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), with performance at Quarter 3 standing at 23.2%, significantly below the statutory 20-week timeframe and the Council's own target of 49% for 2025-26. Additional investment has been agreed for Children's Services and SEND to address this.

National Fraud Initiative 2026 Update

The committee received an update on the Council's participation in the Cabinet Office's National Fraud Initiative (NFI) 2026. This mandatory data matching exercise aims to detect and prevent fraud and error across the UK, having identified £510.1 million nationally since 1996. Staffordshire County Council will submit data sets including payroll, pensions, trade creditors, blue badges, direct payments, and residential care home residents. The proposed fee for this year's exercise is £5,880. Councillors noted the potential for employment fraud detection through payroll data matching and discussed the requirement for employees to declare second jobs.

Internal Audit Plan 2026/27 - Progress Update

Lisa Andrews, Assistant Director – Audit, Risk Management & Insurance Services, presented the progress update on the 2026/27 Internal Audit Plan. The service has successfully recruited to all established posts, with two new Audit Assistants and two Auditors now in place. Progress against the plan is on track, with 36% of planned audit work at various stages of completion. Key areas of focus include debt recovery, cyber security, new ERP and care case management systems, and reviews within children's and adult social care. The report also detailed proactive and reactive fraud activities, with a number of anomalies identified through continuous controls monitoring, primarily relating to duplicate payments and mileage claims, which are being addressed. The committee noted that one high-priority recommendation regarding the Dedicated Schools Grant High Needs Block remains overdue.

Proposed Addition to the Scheme of Delegation: Market Supplement Payment Approval

The committee considered a proposal to add a delegation to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) Scheme of Delegation for market supplement payments. These payments are temporary additions to salary made when there is evidence of difficulty in recruiting or retaining staff due to market pay conditions. The scheme requires robust business cases with evidence of market pay comparisons and recruitment challenges. Applications for market supplements for Band A roles (Chief Executive and Directors) will be approved by the Special Committee (Remuneration), while other applications will be approved by SLT. The proposal aims to ensure transparency, governance, and clarity of accountability.

Proposed Changes to the Constitution

The committee discussed proposed changes to the Council's Constitution to align with new national regulations regarding planning committees and delegations, which come into force on 31 October 2026. These changes include reducing the size of the Planning Committee from 15 to 13 members and amending delegations to the Deputy Chief Executive and Director for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills. The new regulations introduce a gateway test for referring applications to the Planning Committee, with a presumption towards officer delegation for most applications. Councillors expressed significant concerns that these changes, driven by central government, would erode local democracy by reducing the number of planning decisions determined by elected members. Despite acknowledging the mandatory nature of the regulations and the legal risks of non-compliance, several councillors stated they could not support the proposals on principle. The committee ultimately recommended to Full Council that they do not endorse the proposed changes, while acknowledging that Full Council would still need to vote on them.

Code of Conduct for Members - Report on the Management of Complaints (May 2026 - July 2026)

The committee received an update on the management of complaints made under the Members' Code of Conduct for Quarter 1 of 2026/27. Of the 88 complaints outstanding from the previous year, 55 were found to be no breach, one resulted in a sanction (removal of a social media post and apology), and 32 remain ongoing. The majority of closed complaints related to social media comments. Nine new complaints were recorded in Quarter 1, with five closed as no breach and four remaining open. The themes of these new complaints were varied, including social media comments, communication with constituents, and attire worn at meetings. The report noted that while the volume of complaints had reduced from the previous year, it remained higher than in previous years. The committee discussed the financial implications of managing these complaints, with the significant increase in volume leading to unforeseen pressures on the Member and Democratic Services budget.

Update on Appointment of Members to the Standards Panel for 2026/27

The committee noted the updated membership of the Standards Panel for 2026/27, following changes to committee appointments. Councillor Rhys Mandry was appointed in place of Councillor Rhys Machin, and Councillor Matthew Wallens replaced Councillor Jon Pendleton. The full membership of the panel for the year was confirmed.

Forward Plan for the Audit and Standards Committee 2026/27

The committee reviewed the forward plan for its upcoming meetings, noting the scheduled items for the remainder of the civic year. Councillor Pert noted an apology from Councillor Alex Farrell for the current meeting.