The Audit and Risk Committee of Barking and Dagenham Council met on Wednesday, 14 January 2026, to review the 2024-25 Draft Annual Governance Statement, the Internal Audit Q2 report, and the Counter Fraud 2024-25 Q1/2 Review. Key decisions included noting the reports and agreeing to a revised work programme for the upcoming year.

2024-25 Draft Annual Governance Statement

The committee discussed the Draft Annual Governance Statement for 2024-25, which had previously been presented in September. The purpose of this meeting was to seek formal approval for its inclusion in the statement of accounts. Members raised concerns about the clarity and detail within the statement, particularly regarding the progress made on identified governance challenges such as staffing, financial resilience, and subsidiary company governance. While officers explained that the statement was a snapshot of the year and that detailed progress would be captured in future reports, councillors expressed a desire for clearer action plans and more explicit reporting on how risks were being managed. The committee was asked to note the report, with officers agreeing to improve the presentation and detail in future statements.

Internal Audit 2024-25 Q2 Report

This report provided an update on the progress of the Internal Audit plan for the second quarter of 2025-26, covering April to September 2025. The team was on track to deliver the full audit plan by May 2026, having completed 35% of audits by the end of Q2, exceeding the 25% target. Twenty-six new audits had been added to the plan, reflecting emerging risks and management referrals. School-based audits were progressing well, with 65% completed against a 30% target. The report highlighted 15 audit issues, with four receiving reasonable assurance opinions and one, the Section 117 of the Crime and Disorder Act review, receiving limited assurance. A significant concern raised was the 22% of high-risk recommendations that were overdue, far exceeding the 5% target. Members expressed frustration with the lack of clarity regarding no assurance findings and the slow progress on implementing recommendations, particularly in areas like contract management, building safety, and procurement. Officers acknowledged these concerns and committed to improving the reporting format and working with departments to ensure timely implementation of recommendations. The committee was asked to note the report.

Counter Fraud 2024-25 Q1/2 Review

Kevin Key, Counter Fraud and Risk Manager, presented the Q1/2 review for 2025-26. The team had seen an increase in casework due to additional capacity, and they were on track to exceed the previous year's caseload. The report detailed ongoing legal cases in both corporate and housing investigations. In housing investigations, eight properties were recovered in Q2, bringing the total for the first six months to 14, already surpassing the nine recovered in the previous year. A significant portion of these recoveries were linked to Operation Chandrila, a joint investigation with the City of London Police into suspected housing fraud offences related to BD Reside properties. The report also addressed an allegation regarding a tracking device placed in a council vehicle, where no evidence of wrongdoing or the perpetrator was found, though recommendations for mitigating such risks were implemented. Members raised concerns about the scale of housing fraud, the potential for it to be much deeper than currently identified, and the challenges in obtaining information from platforms like Airbnb. They also questioned the legality of placing tracking devices and the council's capacity to handle the volume of investigations. Officers confirmed that the problem was very big and potentially affected hundreds of properties, but assured members that robust controls were in place for council-owned stock. The report was noted by the committee.

Review of Counter Fraud Policies 2025

Kevin Key also presented the annual review of the Council's Counter Fraud Policies and Strategy. The policies had been reviewed by Legal and consulted upon with HR, trade unions, and staff networks. Minor changes had been made to reflect new legislation, such as the Procurement Act 2023, and to update officer information. The committee was asked to note the updated policies and commend their principles to schools, council-owned companies, and contractors.

Work Programme 2025/26

The committee reviewed the remaining work programme for 2025-26. Members reiterated the need for the work programme to reflect current issues and problems, and for training on contract management to be scheduled. Officers confirmed that recommendations from the meeting could be added to the work programme for future consideration. The committee was asked to note the current programme.

The meeting concluded with no other public items, and the Chair declared the meeting closed.