To receive a report from the Internal Audit Manager, Assurance Lincolnshire.

Internal Audit Manager, Matthew Waller presented the Internal Audit Progress Report November 2023 to members summarising East Lindsey District Council’s responsibilities to undertake effective internal audit, pages 37 to 100 of the Agenda refer.

The report was issued in a new format and provided the Audit and Governance Committee with an overview of progress including any outstanding actions to provide a robust picture of the work carried out by Internal Audit.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

·         A Member referred to the Performance Dashboard, and queried if the percentages given reflected that performance was on track, page 41 of the Agenda refers. In response, the Internal Audit Manager explained that previous year audits had run into the next year, for 2023-24 the Council was late getting started but were back on track to deliver Quarter 3 and 4. There was an element of reliance on managers, however the Council was well resourced and working with managers to maintain good communications to get audits scheduled and completed as quickly as possible. The Internal Audit Manager confirmed that he was satisfied with current performance and will provide an annual opinion at the end of the year.

·         A Member sought clarification on why equalisation of pay was not included in the report as it was perceived as a big issue for audit to pick up on, especially when staff dissatisfaction has been voiced, page 54 of the Agenda refers. In response, the Internal Audit Manager advised that the Council always tried to cover all the risks and processes as much as possible during audit, elements not picked up on would be taken forward and addressed in future.

The Section 151 Officer wished to clarify that the pay matters raised in the Peer Review had been actioned and significant progress had been made. For instance, in relation to the high level of cyber risk that was identified, robust action was taken in October by ensuring the relevant training was completed by the cut-off date.

·         A Member acknowledged that there was a lot of work going on at pace which provided strong assurances, however concerns were highlighted in the report regarding payroll reconciliation. An update was requested on what progress was being made. In response, the Section 151 Officer confirmed that payroll audit was an area of concern and that she was following up with the team involved to ensure strong progress was made and that the appropriate measures were in place.

·         A Member expressed concerns that little appeared to be happening since the data was provided by PSPS in April 2022, page 65 of the Agenda refers. This was particularly in relation to S106 agreements, noting that the situation could be improved to ensure contributions from developers were captured for communities and not lost. It was further queried whether there was an issue with resourcing and PSPS in responding to audits not only in relation to S106’s but also in other areas, pages 66 and 67 of the Agenda refer.  

In response, the Section 151 Officer advised that all S106 reconciliations were now up to date and any final adjustments had been undertaken. There were no concerns with S106’s at this point in time and quarterly reports were provided to the senior management team as part of governance reporting. Capacity and expertise within PSPS had been a challenge, however a detailed review of resourcing and management had been undertaken.

It was advised that that these measures were not a quick fix as six to twelve months for training was required to bring new starters up to speed on Local Government Finance. The Council would then have a stable team moving forward and was maintaining a positive outlook in addressing any issues.  The Internal Audit Manager also confirmed that a follow up audit on S106’s was to be performed to provide more assurance.

·         A Member queried if the S106’s could be shared with Councillors and not just senior leadership as there was significant interest in the community that the process occurred correctly. The S151 Officer advised that a response would be brought back to the committee on what reporting mechanisms were in place.

·         A Member queried the lessons learned on Invest East Lindsey, noting four remaining actions on the September report and requested an update on the remaining actions, page 59 of the Agenda refers. The Section 151 Officer advised that an update would be provided to members of the committee following the meeting. 

No further questions or comments were received.

The Chairman thanked the Internal Audit Manager for his report.

Following which it was,

RESOLVED:

That the Internal Audit Progress Report November 2023 be noted.