Agenda item

G Mills (representing the External Auditor) presented the External Audit Annual report in respect of Value for Money (VFM) for the financial year ending March 31 2022.

The following key points were highlighted:

·       In 2021, the National Audit Office broadened the scope of external audit VFM reporting, with an increased focus on governance arrangements.

·       Auditors are required to report their commentary on the Council’s arrangements under specified criteria, with 2021-22 being the second year in which this reporting was required.

·       External Auditors met with N Copley, Director of Finance, to discuss and agree the report.

·       The VFM findings were a positive report for the Council, with only one significant ongoing weakness in arrangements reported regarding the findings from OFSTED/CQC on SEND.

·       It was noted that the Council was working under difficult financial circumstances in regard to the national economic position and inflationary pressures. The Council had taken difficult decisions in the past such as service reorganisations which had placed BMBC in a much stronger position than many other similar Local Authorities.

·       In regard to Council’s governance arrangements, a positive summary was reported with only one key recommendation regarding SEND with the rest of the recommendations being improvement recommendations.

·       The improvement recommendations included considering group entities when drafting the Annual Governance Statement and further enhancing arrangements to provide satisfactory remedies to complaints.

·       The External Auditors had noted the progress in regard to the findings from the SEND review and would continue to monitor this as part of the 2022-23 VFM work.

In the ensuing discussion, the following key points were highlighted:

·       In response to specific questioning regarding SEND, N Copley stated that the Council were not aware when they would be inspected again by OFSTED and CQC. G Mills further added that External Audit would focus on how embedded the actions were in terms of the Council’s response rather than waiting for another inspection. Grant Thornton would continue to monitor the Council’s progress in this area and would take this recommendation to a panel at the end of the year to see if it could be closed.

·       Discussion arose regarding Department of Education funding and whether it was performance dependant. It was confirmed that Department of Education undertake regular checking of an agreed action plan to generate any future funding.

·       Members questioned if the cost depreciation of the Council’s assets was included in the VFM calculations. It was explained that depreciation was not included in the VFM work but was reported in the annual accounts under income and expenditure.

·       Regarding if the 86% occupancy rate referred to just the Glassworks or the town centre as a whole, it was noted that figure referred to the Glassworks only and was by space occupied rather than units. N Copley agreed to provide Members with further detail on unit occupancy rates.

·       Regarding the ongoing work with the SAP system, it was noted that this had been postponed until 2030 as the work had become less urgent due to the Council being half the size it was when SAP was first installed. The SAP system is Cloud based however the Council were looking to replace the system in its entirety.

RESOLVED:-

(i)            That the report be noted.

(ii)          That the Director of Finance provide Members with data regarding unit occupancy at the Glassworks.