To consider the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2022.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the meeting held on 6 September 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

You can submit questions in advance of the meeting to the following email address: democratic.services@eastleigh.gov.uk. The deadline for submissions is 12pm on Monday 31 October 2022.

Please let us know if you wish to attend the meeting in person so that we can manage numbers.  We are still encouraging all those in attendance to take a lateral flow test before attending the meeting.  PLEASE DO NOT ATTEND IF YOU HAVE ANY COVID-19 SYMPTOMS.

There was no public participation on this occasion.

Members are invited to declare interests in relation to items of business on the agenda.  Any interests declared will be recorded in the Minutes.

There were no declarations of interest in relation to items of business on the agenda.

The Strategy Development Senior Specialist introduced the report and highlighted that when included in the Council’s total carbon emissions, ‘Scope 3 emissions’ accounted for approximately 80% of the overall carbon footprint.

The Committee were pleased to hear that the consultation will seek feedback from businesses and that once approved here would be further support for businesses and training for staff. The Procurement Executive Group will have the Policy as a standing agenda item so that implementation and compliance can be monitored and any further reports will come to future Audit and Resources Committees.

RESOLVED –

That the Audit and Resources Committee:

(1)  considered the ‘Procurement Policy - Summary’ and ‘Procurement Policy - Guidance and Implementation’ document, which sets out why, and how the Council will seek to procure its goods and services in a more sustainable way.

The Strategic Planning Manager introduced the report and explained that the annual report would be taken to Cabinet in December.

RESOLVED –

That the Audit and Resources Committee noted the proposed fees and charges.

The Corporate Director provided an update on the Final Accounts Audit. The document was currently in draft on the website. The EY audit team has personnel changes from previous years however we are reassured by the Audit Manager that this is a strong team.  There has been a delay in the audit start however it is hoped that EY will be beginning in earnest next week.  It was acknowledged that the timing difficulties with external audits is a national problem. The Corporate Director noted that it is possible that the audited accounts will not be ready for the January Audit and Resources meeting and will keep the committee informed as the audit progresses.

The Chief Internal Auditor (Acting) introduced the report and explained that the current progress had been detailed within the appendices.

The Executive Head of Governance announced that the Chief Internal Auditor (Acting) had now passed her qualification and was a Chartred Internal Auditor (CIIA). The Committee congratulated Lisa on her achievement.

RESOLVED –

That Audit and Resources Committee considered the Internal Audit Monitoring Statement for the second quarter of 2022/23.

(a)  Strategic Risk Management Group (SRMG)

Councillor Holes reported that the Group met on 24 October 2022 and the following was discussed:

• Reviewed the Corporate Risk Register and noted that the risk around interest rates had increased and that work was progressing to ascertain the impact on the medium term financial plan.

• The group also discussed the risk around the increase in construction costs and agreed that the Corporate Project Manager would provide a quarterly update on the impact on schemes.

• CORPORATE RISK – Loss of income from the Property Portfolio. The Executive Head of Assets and Project Delivery provided an update on staff resources in the assets team. Adverts had been out for a number of months and currently a freelance appointment had been made to support the work of the team. 

• The Executive Head of Governance provided an update on the Operational Risk Register for Governance.

• Updates were provided from the Executive Head of Governance on insurance and she advised that the renewal process had begun. An update was also provided from the Safety & Resilience Manager on the review of the executive business continuity plans and desk top exercises to test the updated plans.

• The Health & Safety Officer provided a Health and Safety update.

• The next meeting is on 9 Jan 23.

(b)  Housing Group

Councillor Irish reported that tranches were discussed at the previous meeting back in September. A meeting was due to take place last week, however this was now scheduled to take place later this week.

Councillor Asman (in attendance) queried whether the housing group had been combined with the Policy & Performance Task and Finish Group for Housing Policy. The Corporate Director was to follow this up with Officers and report back to the Committee.

The Committee considered the current Forward Plan of Key Decisions.

It was AGREED -

That the current Forward Plan be noted.

The Committee considered its current Work Programme.

It was AGREED -

That the Work Programme be noted.