Agenda item

The Committee considered the Audit Committee Actions Log which updated Members on any actions agreed by Members at previous meetings and that satisfactory progress was being made.

Members noted that good progress was being made, and out of the 14 actions detailed, 6 had been completed and would be removed, 5 had yet to reach the agreed action date, but were on track and 3 were in progress but behind original timelines, details of which were highlighted at paragraph 7 of the report.

Following the introduction of the report, Damian Allen, Director of People gave Members the assurance that in relation to the 3 actions which were behind time progress was being made against the outstanding actions and asked officers in attendance at the meeting to provide Committee with details.

Members were invited to make comments and ask questions. In relation to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) assessment, it was asked whether the number of outstanding assessments had been reduced and what would be seen as an acceptable level. It was reported that the numbers were reducing. However, it would be difficult to quantify what would be an acceptable amount and it was felt that a zero position wouldn’t be achieved without a change in legislation. It was suggested that an update on this issue be brought to the April Committee meeting.

Following a request, Members were provided with an update with regard to the progression made on the Solar Centre. It was reported that progress was going well and the complex needs of the users of the centre were under review. Conversations had taken place with almost all families of the users of the centre on the future provision and for those without family, independent advocates had been involved throughout the process. It was hoped that those conversations would be completed next week. It was highlighted that for around 30 users, a building based provision would be required and it was envisaged provision to meet their needs would be located within existing communities. It was stated that it has proved difficult to allay anxieties as the new provision has yet to be commissioned. However, the Council need to consult prior to commissioning new services to ensure all needs were met.

With regard to the new commissioning provision, it was queried whether the Council were receiving good value for money. It was advised that following the full analysis, some of the services can be clustered together which will enable the team to compare costs. It was stated that 50% of the people were using the centre 24/7 for residential care. Once analysis is recorded for an overall care package there was optimism that savings can be made.

In relation to the reconciliation of Business Waste and the first audit carried out, it was asked what the financial risk was associated with this matter. Whilst it was acknowledged that the reconciliation had not been completed, some progress had been made. It was noted that the team had suffered some capacity issues, with posts being deleted. However, 2 posts had now been reinstated. It was estimated that the annual cost in relation to risk would be £200,000. Members were advised that the lack of reconciliation means there is a risk of an unknown value of unbilled income. The automated reconciliation process was currently being tested. If the test is successful, it was envisaged that it would be possible for the reconciliation to be completed by the end of February. However, if the automated reconciliation was not successful and the process has to be carried out manually, it would take up to the end of March to be completed. It was also noted that, it was envisaged that some of the unbilled income would be recovered. However, there is a risk that income billed late may be irrecoverable. Members were advised that Internal Audit would continue to work with the team further work was being done throughout the Council around its income management arrangements.

Discussion took place in relation to IT Systems within the Council. It was reported that whilst the Council have the ERP System in place, there are other programmes within various departments. It was highlighted that there are inconsistencies across the Council and there was a project currently being undertaken to map out the details and deal with any inconsistences that may arise.

            RESOLVED that:-

(1)          progress being made against the actions agreed at the previous committee meeting, be noted,

(2)          the reconciliation of business waste be monitored and further update report be brought back to the next meeting.