The Governance, Audit and Standards Committee are scheduled to meet to discuss the annual counter fraud report, an internal audit progress report, and a review of the strategic risk register. Also on the agenda is a quarterly report on complaints made against the council, and a statement assessing the council's status as a going concern. Finally, the committee will consider items for inclusion in their work programme for future meetings.

Local Government Reorganisation

The committee will be asked to approve amendments to the Strategic Risk Register, including action plans to mitigate risks.

A new risk has been added to the register for the committee's consideration, relating to the failure to respond to the outcomes of Local Government Reorganisation in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire . The report pack notes that all two-tier county, district and small unitary councils will be replaced by larger unitary authorities by 2029, and that Broxtowe Borough Council would cease to exist as an entity, with all its services, functions and finances transferring to the new unitary authority.

The key controls listed in the report pack to mitigate this risk are:

• The Council and Cabinet (Members)
• The Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive
• Local Government Reorganisation Management and Planning Groups
• Nottinghamshire Finance Officers Association (NFOA)
• External Consultants reports from PWC and CIPFA

The risk indicators listed in the report pack are:

• Political acceptance or non-acceptance of the Local Government Reorganisation option proposals
• A recent ministerial letter outlining spending restrictions on local authorities progressing through Local Government Reorganisation, including requirements for approvals for capital expenditure over £1m, recruitment to senior permanent roles and limits on surplus/disposal assets
• Potential pause/slowdown in the delivery key strategic priorities, eg new leisure centre, affordable housebuilding, economic regeneration
• Potential challenge in recruiting to vacant senior posts impact on service delivery and additional agency costs
• Potential to pause/slowdown of investment in ICT, thereby impacting on improvements to efficiency and output productivity.

The actions listed in the report pack to mitigate this risk are:

• Ensure that the Council is represented on the various Nottinghamshire Local Government Reorganisation programme groups covering option 1b, option 1e and the potential City option when developed.
• Establish an internal Local Government Reorganisation Implementation Group to plan and co-ordinate the Council's response to Local Government Reorganisation.
• Provide regular update reports to Members through Cabinet and Council.
• Update the Council Local Government Reorganisation intranet webpages developed to continually engage with staff.
• Programme staff engagement sessions to provide updates on Local Government Reorganisation developments.
• Ensure that the Chief Executive's weekly employee briefings to includes regular updates on Local Government Reorganisation.
• Complete the Broxtowe residents survey on Local Government Reorganisation to gauge local public views.

Strategic Risks

The committee will be asked to approve amendments to the Strategic Risk Register and the action plans identified to mitigate risks. The Strategic Risk Management Group met on 19 August 2025 to review the Strategic Risk Register, and General Management Team (GMT) has since considered the proposals made by the Group.

The objectives of the review were to:

• Identify the extent to which risks included in the register are still relevant
• Identify any new strategic risks to be included in the register
• Review action plans to mitigate risks.

The report pack summarises the proposed changes to the register. It notes that the position with regards to the risk of failing to maintain effective corporate performance management and implement change management processes had worsened. It also notes that the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the annual local government financial settlement means that the risk of failing to obtain adequate resources to achieve service objectives remains a high-rated residual risk.

The report pack also notes that the Social Housing Regulator inspection has commenced, which presents a significant risk to the council as a social housing provider.

The action to produce a programme to address the issues identified in the detailed property condition survey at Bramcote Leisure Centre has been completed and is being delivered as part of business-as-usual activity.

A new action was added to respond effectively to the recommendations agreed following an Internal Audit of commercial properties.

A new action was added to ensure that the ongoing maintenance arrangements are defined for the Chilwell Quarry site, including respective responsibilities.

The action to assess the impact of the Household Support Fund coming to an end in March 2026 was replaced with a new action to monitor the outcome of the potential merger of the Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) and Household Support Fund into a new Crisis Resilience Fund.

Two new actions were added to address the risk of corporate and/or political leadership adversely impacting upon service delivery:

• Implement the necessary interim executive management arrangements from September 2025; and
• Complete the recruitment process for a new permanent Chief Executive as the 'head of paid service' statutory officer.

The action to complete a review of Broxtowe Local Pay Scales by benchmarking against national scales was completed.

Annual Counter Fraud Report

The committee will be presented with the Annual Counter Fraud Report for 2024/25. Internal Audit is expected to report that no successful fraudulent activity within the council has been noted during the financial year.

The report includes a summary of the ongoing counter fraud work performed by Internal Audit and other relevant departments. It also includes the council's engagement with the National Fraud Initiative (NFI). The council's Fraud Risk Register is also presented, summarising the key significant fraud risk areas within the council along with the processes and procedures in place to mitigate those risks.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) estimates that up to £49bn of public money is lost each year as a result of fraud, with an estimated £8.8bn specifically located within local government.

The council has in place a Fraud and Corruption Prevention Policy, which establishes two key processes for the prevention of Fraud and Corruption within the council:

• A procedure for the reporting of suspected fraudulent and corrupt acts.
• An ongoing programme of preventative measures established by relevant departments across the council, supported by ongoing assurance and advisory work performed by Internal Audit.

The council participates in the Cabinet Office's National Fraud Initiative programme (NFI), which matches electronic data within and between the public and private sector to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. The latest NFI data matching exercise was performed in January 2025 with 1,687 matches being generated for further review.

Internal Audit Progress Report

The committee will be informed of the recent work completed by Internal Audit. A summary of the reports issued and progress against the agreed Internal Audit Plan is included in the report.

Internal Audit has also reviewed progress made by management in implementing agreed actions within six months of the completion of the respective audits.

The following audit reports have been issued with key findings:

• Financial Appraisals Advisory Reports Only
• Homelessness Assurance Opinion – Substantial
• Garden Waste Assurance Opinion – Substantial
• Commercial Property Management Assurance Opinion – Limited
• Tenant Engagement Assurance Opinion – Substantial

Progress on the Internal Audit Plan for 2025/26 is considered to be satisfactory.

Going Concern Statement

The committee will be asked to note the outcome of the assessment made of the council's status as a going concern for the purposes of the Statement of Accounts 2024/25.

The concept of a 'going concern' assumes that a local authority, its functions and services will continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

The main factors which underpin the going concern assessment are the council's current financial position; projected financial position; governance arrangements; and the regulatory and control environment applicable to it as a local authority.

The council's financial outturn position 2024/25 showed a £1.369m underspend against revised budget which culminated with a £521k withdrawal from General Fund balances. The General Fund revenue reserves amounted to £5.557m as at 31 March 2025.

In February/March 2025, the council approved a balanced budget for 2025/26. This allowed for net spending of £15.429m and required a Council Tax increase of 2.94%, pressures/growth of £1.863m, savings/additional income of £1.994m and the use of £1.277m from General Fund reserves.

The Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) is updated twice-yearly and reflects a four-year assessment of the council's spending plans and associated funding.

With the council having already overcome significant reductions in central government grant funding, it is anticipated that the MTFS will identify a significant budget gap of around £9.7m over the period to 2025/26 to 2029/30.

Quarterly Complaint Report

The committee will be provided with a summary of complaints made against the council.

Of the 163 stage one complaints received overall, 25 were investigated under the stage 2 complaints procedure and three were investigated by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO). Under the stage 2 complaints procedure, 13 complaints (52%) were not upheld, 12 complaints (48%) were upheld. The Ombudsman investigated seven complaints made against the council. Three complaints were recorded as not upheld, resulting in no further action being required by the council, four complaints were upheld.

Work Programme

The committee will consider items for inclusion in the Work Programme for future meetings.

Items which have already been suggested for inclusion in the Work Programme of future meetings are:

• Annual Audit Letter – External Auditors Report on the Statement of Account 2024/25
• Internal Audit Progress Report
• Review of Strategic Risk Register
• Complaints Report Quarter 2
• Annual Constitution Review
• Code of Conduct Review