This meeting was scheduled to involve the consideration of the committee's workplan, as well as the review and potential approval of a number of reports about the activities of the council. These included reports on internal and external audits, treasury management, and the Local Government Ombudsman's annual review letter.

Bishop Fleming - Auditor's Annual Report (AAR)

The committee was scheduled to review the Auditor’s Annual Report (AAR) from the council’s external auditors, Bishop Fleming.¹

Update on Progress on 2024/25 Internal Audit Plan

This report provides an update on the internal audit work that has been undertaken since the last progress report. This included the presentation of the Internal Audit's opinion that there is Reasonable Assurance on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Authority’s internal control framework.

This opinion statement will support Members in their consideration for signing the Annual Governance Statement.

The report also outlines the assurance provided on each area that has been audited. Of the 10 audits that have been completed so far, four were given a Substantial Assurance opinion and six were given a Reasonable Assurance opinion. No audits were given a Limited Assurance or a No Assurance opinion.

The report details a number of key findings from recently completed audits, including the following:

• The Waste and Recycling contract was highlighted as a high-risk area, due to the constraints of the waste infrastructure in place
• A number of issues relating to the management of the Waste and Recycling contract are to be addressed in a new Waste Strategy, a Business Continuity Plan and a risk assessment.
• The emergency planning arrangements within the council had been strengthened.
• The resilience of the business continuity function needs to be improved.
• There are opportunities to strengthen controls over the use of corporate credit cards.
• The recruitment and retention issues experienced by local government nationally are reflected at both South Hams and West Devon.
• The council adheres to legislative and regulatory requirements and has appropriate and effective controls over treasury management operations.

The report notes that no fraud issues have been reported in the year to date, but reminds councillors that suspected issues can be referred to our specialist counter fraud team .

External & Internal Audit Tracker

The committee was scheduled to note progress being made against the recommendations made in previous internal audits.

Since 2021, 571 High, Medium, or Low recommendations made by Internal Audit have been due for completion.

The report shows that 99% of high priority recommendations had been implemented, with all recommendations made in 2021 and 2022 now considered complete. One high-priority recommendation from 2023 had not yet been completed, relating to the development of a property maintenance strategy.

Update November 2024:- Work has now commenced on developing the strategy with the intention that it would be completed for Summer 2025 (subject to successful recruitment to the Head of Land and Property post).

Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2024/25

The committee was scheduled to receive a mid-year report on the council's treasury management activities.

The Council operates a balanced budget, which broadly means cash raised during the year will meet its cash expenditure.

The report summarises the economic context for the report and explains that the council’s investments are always higher mid-way through the year, compared to the year end, due to the timing differences between the Council collecting council tax income and paying this over to major precepting authorities .

The report also contains the following information:

• The council held £30.7m of investments as at 30 September 2024
• The council’s capital financing requirement (CFR) for 2024/25 is £23.720 million
• The council's budget for investment interest of £800,321 for 2024/25 is expected to be exceeded by £519,679.

Ombudsman Annual Review Letter

The committee was scheduled to review the annual letter from the Local Government Ombudsman. The letter was to provide a summary of complaints made against the council that the Ombudsman has investigated. The key point from the letter was that the Ombudsman did not investigate any complaints against West Devon Borough Council during the year 2023-2024.

Committee Workplan

The committee was scheduled to consider its workplan for the remainder of the 2024/25 municipal year.