The Audit Committee of King's Lynn and West Norfolk Council is scheduled to convene on 22 September 2025, to discuss risk management, fraud prevention, treasury management, and the committee's own effectiveness. The meeting will also include the appointment of a vice-chair and a review of the committee's work programme.

Appointment of Vice-Chair

The committee is scheduled to appoint a Vice-Chair for the municipal year.

Corporate Risk Management

The committee is scheduled to receive the Q1 2025-2026 Corporate Risk Management Report, which includes a review of the corporate risk register. According to the report pack, the Corporate Leadership Team has conducted a detailed review, resulting in a clearer format and the allocation of owners for each identified risk.

Two new risks have been added to the register:

• R17 H&S Compliance of Property Assets
• R18 Hunstanton sea defences

Additionally, the report pack states that Devolution/Local Government Reorganisation has been divided into two separate risks, R15 and R16, to allow for individual evaluation.

The report pack states that risk scores have been re-evaluated, leading to the following changes:

• R9 Organisational change, projects from the Transformation Programme: score decreased from 20 to 12.
• R12 Council owned companies: score decreased from 12 to 8. The report pack states that governance health check recommendations have been rolled out for West Norfolk Housing Company (WNHC) and West Norfolk Property Limited (WNPL). It also notes that Alive West Norfolk is in the process of being wound down.
• R14 Cost of living: score decreased from 20 to 12.

The report pack states that the recommendations from the risk maturity assessment are in progress, including revisions to the corporate risk register, development of a more comprehensive risk appetite, and risk management training for officers.

Audit Committee Effectiveness

The committee is scheduled to review its own effectiveness during the 2024/2025 fiscal year, in accordance with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy's (CIPFA) Position Statement: Audit Committee in Local Authorities . The report pack states that the Audit Committee is meant to provide independent assurance and high-level focus on the adequacy of governance, risk, and control arrangements. The report pack states that the committee is committed to ensuring the council makes the best use of its resources and minimises loss and waste.

The report pack lists the following items as having been considered as part of the committee's work programme for 2024-25:

• Internal Audit
• Risk Management
• Fraud and Error monitoring
• Treasury Management
• External Audit
• Annual Governance Statement
• Company Governance
• Audit Committee Awareness Training

The report pack states that members of the Audit Committee completed the CIPFA self-assessment template in April 2024, resulting in an action plan for the Committee.

Annual Fraud and Error Progress

The committee is scheduled to receive the Annual Fraud and Error Progress Report 2024-25. The report pack states that the report aims to provide information on progress towards anti-fraud and anti-corruption key performance indicators, statistical information on fraud and error detection, data matching activities through the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) and Norfolk Fraud Hub, and a look forward to the 2025/26 financial year.

The report pack states that the council faces fraud and corruption risks across a large range of service areas and functions, as outlined in Section 5 of the Anti-Fraud & Anti-Corruption Policy.

The report pack states that a total of 38 Fraud Risk Assessment Questionnaires were issued, with 36 responses received. The responses highlighted the need to introduce an Anti-Bribery Policy, which has now been drafted alongside an Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2025-2028.

The report pack states that the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, scheduled to be formally enacted on 1 September 2025, introduces Failure to Prevent Fraud offences .

The report pack states that the annual Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for 2024/25 was set as Number of completed fraud/corruption investigations (including data matching exercises) = 5,000 per financial year . The report pack states that a total of 9,753 cases were investigated, with 501 cases of fraud/corruption detected, representing a success rate of 5.14%.

The report pack states that the Single Person Discount (SPD) Canvass Review project, funded by Norfolk County Council, continues to highlight significant contributions to the counter fraud work.

The report pack states that fraud awareness e-learning packages were rolled out to officers in November 2022 and formed part of Members' induction training following the May 2023 elections.

Treasury Management

The committee is scheduled to discuss two treasury management reports: the Annual Treasury Outturn Report 2024/2025 and the Treasury Management Quarter 1 2025/2026 report.

The Annual Treasury Outturn Report 2024/2025 includes a review of capital activity, the Council's overall borrowing need, and the treasury position as of 31 March 2025. The report pack states that during 2024/2025, the council complied with its legislative and regulatory requirements.

The report pack states that the key actual prudential and treasury indicators detailing the impact of capital expenditure activities during the year, with comparators, are as follows:

The Treasury Management Quarter 1 2025/2026 report includes a review of the Treasury Management Strategy, the Council's capital expenditure, and an economic update for the first three months of 2025/26.

The report pack states that the first quarter of 2025/26 saw a fall in real GDP in April, a fall in the rate of average earnings growth, and a fall in core CPI inflation. The Bank of England cut interest rates from 4.50% to 4.25% in May, holding them steady in June.

Committee Work Programme

The committee is scheduled to note the Committee Work Programme 2025/2026 and Forward Decision List.