Agenda and decisions

in terms of Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the following item of business:-

•         Item 10.2 – Council Tax Financial Controls

There were no declarations of interest or transparency statements.

to approve the minute as a correct record.

(i)       to agree to defer item 18  (Public Sector Equality Duty (item 9.4 on today’s agenda)) to the next meeting of the Committee;

(ii)      in relation to item 5 (SPSO Decisions, Inspector of Crematoria Complaint Decisions) to note that this was a standing item for the Committee and that the comments would be noted and picked up during the Governance review;

(iii)      in relation to items 13 (External Audit Annual Report), 14 (Best Value Thematic Report) and 15 (ALEO Assurance Hub Workplan and Terms of Reference) to note the update provided from officers; and

(iv)     to otherwise note the content of the business planner.

to note the activities undertaken in 2023 and planned in 2024 to review, exercise and improve the Council’s Business Continuity arrangements.

(i)       to note the Corporate Risk Register set out in Appendix A and the summary of movements in risk scores set out in the table at section 3.6;

(ii)      to note the Cluster Assurance Maps provided at Appendix B;

(iii)      to note the Inspections Planner provided at Appendix C, note that this is unlikely to include all external scrutiny requirements for 2024 for the reason explained in item 9.5 (Assurance Reporting) on today’s agenda and note that this limits the Councils visibility on the balance of management, internal and external assurance required to manage our risk environment; and

(iv)     to instruct the Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment to provide an update by email on the risk associated with Resettlement and Asylum demand.

(i)       to approve the updated Risk Appetite Statement, attached at Appendix A;

(ii)      to note the progress made towards embedding the Risk Appetite Statement during 2023 and the training and engagement activities planned for 2024; and

(iii)      in relation to the Overarching Statement, under Compliance, to note that approvals in advance would be included.

This item was deferred to the April Committee.

(i)       to instruct the Interim Chief Officer – Governance (Assurance) to seek a schedule of external audit reporting in 2024/25 from Audit Scotland by 31^st March 2024, including dates for reporting the audited annual accounts and Best Value reports, in order that officers can plan for resourcing these activities, update committee business planners and ensure the requirements to notify the London Stock Exchange are fully met;

(ii)      to instruct the Interim Chief Officer – Governance (Assurance) to write to the chair of the Strategic Scrutiny Group, comprising Scotland’s main public sector scrutiny bodies, to seek a schedule of external scrutiny in 2024/25 to allow Council resources to be allocated accordingly; and

(iii)      to note the management proposals on the Internal Audit Plan 2024/25 and seek the views of the Chief Internal Auditor on these proposals when considering the Plan at a later point in this agenda.

(i)       to note the overview of the Council’s use of investigatory powers during the calendar year 2023 as set out in the report; and

(ii)      to agree that the Use of Investigatory Powers Policy remained fit for  purpose.

to approve the Internal Audit Charter as presented which included minor amendments following the recommendations made as part of the External Quality Assessment.

(i)       to note the progress of the Internal Audit Plan; and

(ii)      to note the progress that management had made with implementing recommendations agreed in Internal Audit reports.

to endorse the agreed recommendations for improvement as contained in the internal audit report.

(i)       to note the responses to questions from members; and

(ii)      to endorse the agreed recommendations for improvement as contained in the internal audit report.

(i)       to note the responses to questions from members; and

(ii)      to endorse the agreed recommendations for improvement as contained in the internal audit report.

(i)       to note the responses to questions from members; and

(ii)      to endorse the agreed recommendations for improvement as contained in the internal audit report.

to approve the attached Internal Audit Plan for 2024-2027.