To receive a report from the Assistant Director (Governance) and Monitoring Officer.

John Medler, Assistant Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer presented Members with the Combined Assurance Status Report 2024/25, pages 115 to 140 of the Agenda refer.

Members were advised that the Combined Assurance Status Report provided a record of assurance against the Council’s critical services, key risks, partnerships and projects and supported the Council’s commitment to achieving good corporate governance.

Members were invited to put their comments and questions forward.

• In reference to Key Partnerships, a Member queried where Partnership working with Internal Drainage Boards (IDBs) and Town and Parish Councils sat within achieving the Council’s goals and desired outcomes, page 138 of the Agenda refers.  In response, the Assistant Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer advised Members that the query would be taken away for further consideration.

• In reference to Deputy Chief Executive – Communities’ Critical Activities, a Member queried the absence of flooding which was of high importance.  In response, the Assistant Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer advised Members that the request would be queried with the relevant Assistant Director and would be recognised in future reports.

• A Member queried whether Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) was an emerging risk for recognition in the report.  In response, Matt Waller, Internal Audit Manager advised Members that the risk had not been established at the time of the report and that the evolving risk would be considered more closely in subsequent reports.

• A Member queried whether it would benefit the Committee to see trends in RAG ratings over the past 5 years rather than just a single snapshot in time.  In response, the Internal Audit Manager explained to Members that the ratings were intended to highlight the feelings of managers each year and that it was healthy to have a mixture of RAG ratings for an accurate reflection.

• In reference to the risk of ‘Failure to delivery major capital schemes within the capital programme’, a Member highlighted mitigating actions did not appear to work and that there was increased risk to the rural market towns, page 125 of the Agenda refers.   In response, the Assistant Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer advised the Committee that Members concerns would be reflected in the next strategic risk register.

·         In reference to LGR, the Assistant Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer further assured Members that a range of risks had been identified and were being examined.

• In reference to Key Partnerships, a Member queried the way in which the Council was partnership working with Historic England, page 138 of the Agenda refers.  In response, the Chairman advised Members that the Council had a number of key partnerships which varied in their effectiveness.

• In reference to Theddlethorpe GDF Proposal, page 103 of the Agenda refers, the Chairman highlighted this was no longer on the Council’s key projects lists.  The Chairman further advised Members that LGR was expected to feature more prominently in the next report.

The Chairman thanked the Assistant Director, Governance and Monitoring Officer and Matthew Waller, Internal Audit Manager (Internal Audit, Lincolnshire County Council) for the report.

Following which, it was

RESOLVED:

That the findings illustrated in the assurance framework detailed within the Combined Assurance Status Report 2024/25 (attached at Appendix 1 of the report) was operating effectively as part of the Council’s corporate governance arrangements be noted.