To receive the Draft Financial Statements including Annual Governance Statement 2022/23.

The Deputy Chief Finance Officer (Corporate), PSPS Limited presented Members with the Draft Annual Governance Statement 2023/23 and Draft Financial Statements 2022/23.

Members were referred to the draft Financial Statements 2022/23 for the year ended 31 March 2023 that were attached at Appendix A, pages 7 to 112 of the Supplementary Agenda refer.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

·         A Member commented on the value of information being publicly available on the Council’s website and queried whether an easier to read summary could be included to enable members of the public to digest the report more easily.  In response the Deputy Chief Finance Officer (Corporate), advised Members that the accounts were a statutory document, and that more detailed information was not disclosed unless they were classed as material.

·         A Member commented that the Revenue Support Grants were making up a small proportion of the Council’s income and that the rest was clustered in non-ringfenced government grants.

·         A Member further queried the breakdown of the £26.5 million, page 77 of the Supplementary Agenda refers.  In response the Deputy Chief Finance Officer (Corporate), advised Members that the £26.5 million was primarily related to the Towns Fund and that the wording would be revised to provide greater clarity.  

·         In relation to the narrative in the accounts, the Section 151 Officer further advised Members that a national initiative was underway by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) for the industry to examine ways in which to produce a more succinct narrative of the key facts of authority’s accounts.  The Section 151 Officer further advised Members that work around Pension Funds and Valuations was complex and that it was challenging to simplify the narrative when the Council needed to fulfil certain requirements.

·         A Member commented on the delivery of mandatory training and considered that training should be more targeted rather than repeating the same content each year, page 101 of the Agenda refers.

·         A Member further commented that training for Audit and Governance was well regulated and that training on current issues was welcomed.  In response, the Deputy Chief Finance Officer (Corporate), PSPS Limited advised Members that in a normal year Members would undertake training prior to the examination of the Financial Statements and that this would resume with the 2024-25 accounts.

·         In reference to Information Governance, a Member queried when the annual GDPR training had taken place.  In response the Assistant Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer assured Members that annual training took place for Licensing, Planning, Planning Policy and Audit and Governance Committees and that emerging issues would be factored into future sessions. 

The Assistant Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer further advised Members that training sessions were open to all Members and that GDPR Training was undertaken as part of wider governance sessions, with a future session to be brought to Members.

·         A Member further commented on the issue previously highlighted with Related Party Transaction Forms and the need for Members to be aware of how to make declarations accurately, page 103 of the Agenda refers. 

·         In reference to the Business Rates Volatility Reserve, the Chairman queried whether the reserve was labelled effectively, page 52 of the Agenda refers.  In response the Deputy Chief Finance Officer (Corporate), PSPS Limited explained to Members that during COVID, grants were awarded to authorities for the deficit for business rates and that the deficit did not occur in the accounting transactions until the next financial year.  Members were further assured that the deficit was budgeted for and that funding was set aside to draw down on in 2022/23.

·         The Chairman further commented that the report was not easily understood by a layperson.  In response, the Deputy Chief Finance Officer (Corporate), PSPS Limited assured Members that more details would be included in the outturn report which was being presented to the Executive Board.

There were no further questions or comments.

Following which it was,

RESOLVED

·         That unaudited Financial Statements 2022/23 be noted as part of its governance role;

·         That any necessary amendments prior to the formal approval of the Accounts for audit be made by the Section 151 Officer.