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ELECT CHAIR To elect Chair for
2021 / 2022 Decision: To elect Councillor John Pughe Roberts as
Chair for the period 2021 - 22 Minutes: To elect Councillor John Pughe Roberts as
Chair for the period 2021 - 22 |
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ELECT VICE CHAIR To elect a Vice-chair for 2021/2022. Decision: To elect
Councillor Medwyn Hughes as Vice-chair for 2021 - 2022 |
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APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were received
from Councillor Peredur Jenkins. Condolences were extended
to the Councillor who had recently lost his wife. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: No declarations of personal interest were received from any members present. |
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URGENT ITEMS To note any items which are urgent business in the opinion of the Chairman so they may be considered. Minutes: None to note |
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The Chairman shall propose that the minutes of the meeting of this committee, held 11 February 2021, be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous
committee meeting held on 11 February 2021 as a true record. |
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND ELECTIONS (WALES) ACT 2021 PDF 483 KB To approve the proposed work programme for the implementation of the Act. Additional documents: Decision: To approve the
Work Programme To request an update for the Committee
meeting in October 2021 Minutes: Submitted – the
report of the Monitoring Officer seeking the Committee’s approval to the draft
work programme in response to Legislation that introduces a number of changes
and powers in relation to the governance of Local Government in Wales. Members
were reminded that the Full Council (4 March 2021) had resolved that the Audit
and Governance Committee would keep an overview of the work in response to the
provisions and requirements of the Act and the proposed work programme in place
to address these measures in a timely and appropriate manner. Following the Committee's approval of the work programme
a report will be submitted to the Corporate Governance
Group drawing attention to the possible risks together with a series of further
reports to the Council, The Cabinet, The Standards Committee and the Democratic
Services Committee regarding the provisions of the Act and the relevant
elements. It was added
that elements of the work were already underway and a working group of officers
had been identified to implement the work. In the context of the Audit Committee, it was noted that there were several changes to the Committee's
responsibilities, and it was acknowledged that a few would be far reaching. A
brief overview was given of the aspects that will need
to be prioritised: - take an overview of the
Council's specific performance monitoring functions - guidance will be set out
by the Legislation and the process will have a formal procedure. - name of Committee - the
Act notes the need to establish a Governance and Audit Committee. - keep an overview of the Council's complaints procedure and ensure an
effective complaints system - review the Audit Committee
membership by May 2022 - the membership will transform the whole Committee and
the need to have a detailed discussion regarding the implications on the
Committee's governance was highlighted. Thanks was given
for the report In response to a question about the role of the Committee regarding complaints arrangements and if this would
make the process easier for individuals to submit complaints, it was
noted that the Committee's responsibility was to ensure that the procedure and
its performance were working. In response, it was stated
that the Standards Committee was already looking at the complaints process and
having two committees giving an overview would duplicate the work. In response, the Monitoring Officer noted
that the two committees were two different systems - complaints monitoring of
the code of conduct was the responsibility of the Standards Committee, while
the Audit and Governance Committee was responsible for an overview of complaints
about the Council's services and corporate arrangements. In response to a comment that appointing lay Members would be difficult bearing in mind aspects such as the background, political balance, unbiased attitude, payments, influence and suitability, the Monitoring Officer noted that guidelines were being prepared to give guidance on the arrangements and the suggestion that careful forward planning was required was accepted. It was suggested that a similar system to that of the Standards ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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FUNCTIONS OF THE AUDIT AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE PDF 345 KB To
comment on the contents and adopt the new arrangements Additional documents: Decision: To accept the information To approve changes to the Operational
Arrangements Minutes: It was
explained that since Gwynedd Council's Audit Committee had been
established in 1999, the role of the Committee had evolved to reflect the
statutory requirements on local authorities as well as changes in the Council's
internal administrative arrangements. As
a matter of course, the Audit and Governance Committee will consider and adopt
Operational Arrangements at its first meeting of a new council after an
election - the current version as adopted by the Audit and Governance Committee
on 6 June 2017. Occasionally, changes in internal arrangements or legislation will mean that
these Operating Arrangements will need to be adapted. Following a period of reviewing the financial
governance arrangements of the Pension Fund, modifications were introduced to
the Arrangements which are necessary for dealing with the 2020/21 accounts of
the Gwynedd Pension Fund. It was highlighted that the Audit and Governance
Committee had been receiving and approving the accounts of Gwynedd Council and
the Gwynedd Pension Fund, as part of its role as "those charged with
governance". Having considered the
latest regulations, it appeared that the Pensions Committee was the appropriate
body to receive and approve the Gwynedd Pension Fund statements of
accounts. Attention was drawn to the relevant regulations and the new draft
operational arrangements which remain consistent with
the requirements of the Local Government Measure and the Statutory Guidelines.
Attention was also drawn to the modified clauses and
it was emphasised that this was a provisional version for the 2021/22 as not
all the modifications introduced into the Committee's activities in accordance
with the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 had yet to come into
effect. It was added
that the proposed arrangements had been discussed with Committee Chairs. It was noted that the arrangements and determinations involving
pensions are managed by the Pensions Committee and are in turn scrutinised in
detail by the Pension Board. As a result, it was considered
that the modification was sensible During the ensuing
discussion, the following observations were made by Members: ·
That members of the Pension Board and the Pensions
Committee supported the arrangement ·
That the arrangement was to be welcomed - offered a
clean and clear system with less duplication
·
That the system appeared to be orderly ·
That professional Managers also kept an eye on the
Fund and therefore there was plenty of support available RESOLVED To accept the information To approve changes to the Operational Arrangements |
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OUTPUT OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT SECTION PDF 403 KB To receive the
report, comment on the contents and support the actions
that have already been agreed with
the relevant services Decision: To accept the information To support the actions that have already been agreed with the relevant services Minutes: Submitted- for
information, the report of the Audit Manager updating the Committee on the
internal audit work for the period from 1 February 2021 up to 31 March 2021. It
was highlighted that 4 audits had been completed
together with a post-16 grant audit. Gratitude was expressed for the report During the ensuing
discussion, the following observations were made by Members: ·
There was a need to undertake a welfare assessment
of employees and councillors who are working from home ·
As Covid restrictions
were eased it would necessary to give staff an option in the context of home
working ·
A timetable was needed to return to the offices ·
It was necessary to conduct home workplace
assessments ·
There was admiration for the commitment and
flexibility of staff when working from home In response to the
observations, it was noted that home working
assessments had been completed and Corporate Support was leading on a project
to assess the suitability of posts. It was added that there was no pressure to return to offices
and it was possible to undertake a post effectively from home, there would be
no enforcement to change. RESOLVED To accept the information To support the actions that have already been agreed
with the relevant services |
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HEAD OF INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL REPORT 2020/2021 PDF 727 KB To consider the
report Decision: To accept the information Minutes: Submitted - the
report of the Audit Manager, expressing Internal Audit's opinion of the general
management environment within the Authority during 2020/21 providing the said
annual internal audit opinion to the Authority. It was noted that
assurance can never be absolute, and the most that the internal audit service
can provide to the Council was a reasonable assurance that there were no major
weaknesses in the whole system of internal control. It was reported that the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic had
a significant impact on the authority as a whole and on the work of Internal
Audit. It was stated that Internal Audit
was not able to undertake its work during the first quarter of the year and at
the request of the Head of Finance, officers from the service
were redeployed to assist and support the Council by verifying and processing
Welsh Government Grants for Businesses administered by the Revenue
Service. The total number of days for
this work was 146 days. Furthermore, Internal Audit staff also assisted the
Test, Trace and Protect Service, a service launched by the Welsh Government and
a total of 120 days were spent on this work. A revised work
programme for Internal Audit for the financial year 2020/2021 was presented to the Audit and Governance Committee on 30
July 2020. The annual internal audit
plan was much more fluid than normal because of the impact of the pandemic on
the organisation. New audit priorities were identified to cover the new risks and changes from the
impact of Covid-19. The audits of the revised plan were completed during a
challenging period with the focus of the audits being on the arrangements as a result of the pandemic and statutory audits such as
grants. A low number of audits were undertaken during
2020/2021 compared to the previous years and this was due to the unprecedented
and abnormal circumstances. This was considered to be an
exception this year and evidence provided by external regulators was used to
support the opinion for the year. ·
Overall, good internal control had
been found within each of the Council’s audited services. ·
All the Council's departments had built upon
previous work, and continued to develop their risk management systems. A report was submitted by
the Assistant Head of Finance to the Audit and Governance Committee on
30 November 2020 to update the Committee on developments in risk management
arrangements, the next steps for implementation, and to consider whether the
response addressed the matters raised in the Auditor's letter. ·
23 governance risks had been identified in the Annual Governance Statement
and are continually assessed by the Governance Arrangement Group. ·
Where significant internal control weaknesses were found, these matters were resolved by the Council’s
officers, and considered by the Control Improvement Working Group. ·
The Authority had received a number of reports from
regulators during 2020/2021: On the basis of Internal Audit work completed during 2020/2021, it was considered that Gwynedd Council's framework of internal control during the 2020/2021 financial year operates ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |
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GWYNEDD COUNCIL'S ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT FOR 2020/21 PDF 396 KB To
approve the statement so that it can be signed by the Council Leader and the
Chief Executive Additional documents: Decision: To accept the report To approve the Statement To recommend that the Council Leader and
the Chief Executive sign the statement Minutes: The statement was presented by the Assistant Head - Revenue and Risk.
He explained that the statement, although not part of the accounts, was a
statutory document that needed to be published with
the accounts. In accordance with the Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations and the CIPFA Code of
Practice, all Local Authorities must ensure that a statement of internal
management is in place. It was reported that the Chief
Executive and the Council Leader were required to sign the statement, although
the Audit and Governance Committee's approval was needed. Some background was given to the report, noting that all Local Authorities
had a duty to present an annual statement, and that although the format or
method had changed, the content was very similar. In Gwynedd, it was the
Governance Arrangement Assessment Group, led by the Chief Executive, who
reviewed the risk register. The group discusses risks within 23 different
governance fields, noting the controls the Council have in place in order to
mitigate these risks. This was done in response to the
CIPFA framework, which identified core principles for good governance. It was highlighted
that a new risk had been added during 2020/21, namely 'inadequate arrangements
and action by Council Services to manage health and safety risks effectively'.
It was added that this risk had originally been included within a more general
risk 'Risk Management Arrangements', however, it was
considered that Health, Safety and Well-being presented unique risks and as a
result it would be appropriate for the field to have specific attention within
the governance risk register. It was reported
that the Group had concluded that there was 0 fields of very high risks, 2
number of high risks, 12 number of medium risks and 9 number of low risk
fields. It was noted that the high risk fields were
'Culture' and the new risk 'Health, Safety and Well-being'. Attention was also drawn to a change in risk score 'weaknesses when
controlling public finance' that entails that the Council's finance is not used
and prioritised. The score was adapted, although the Council's financial
planning arrangements continued to be strong, because the probability score had
changed to 3 as further savings plans would be more
difficult to realise. During the ensuing
discussion, the following observations were made by Members: ·
More information was required about the new
established team to strengthen the support to Scrutiny arrangements ·
It was necessary to consider the risk to Council
property - this was likely to increase as a result of
Council staff working from home and offices being empty. In response to a
request for more information about CCTV control
arrangements it was highlighted that a new information plan had been
established by Corporate Support in response to identifying the risk of
protecting / safeguarding data that appears on CCTV. It was noted that
it was proposed to ensure that the information captured on CCTV was considered
as 'data' and as a result was controlled by data management guidelines. RESOLVED To accept ... view the full minutes text for item 11. |
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FINAL ACCOUNTS 2020/21 - REVENUE OUT-TURN PDF 225 KB To receive the information, consider any risks arising from the actual expenditure and income against the 2020/21 budget, and scrutinise the Cabinet’s decisions regarding managing the budgets of the Council and its Departments. Additional documents:
Decision: To accept the report To note the relevant risks To support the Cabinet's decision (18 May
2021) Minutes: The Cabinet Member for Finance highlighted that the
report had been submitted to the Cabinet on 18 May
2021 and the Cabinet had approved all the recommendations and financial
transactions. The Senior Finance Manager set out the context
and elaborated on the content of the report. Reference was
made to a summary of the situation by department, which highlighted the
sums to be carried forward at the end of the year together with the main
matters and areas where there had been significant differences. It was
highlighted, ·
That the financial impact of Covid-19 had been
substantial to the Council. With over £20m claimed from the hardship fund and
furlough by the end of the year, that was a combination of additional costs of
£11.6 million, income losses of £7.3 million and £1.5 million for
furlough. ·
As a result of receiving numerous other substantial grants associated with Covid-19
late in the financial year, it was highlighted that the financial position of
2020/21 had been transformed by the end of the year, with the grants including
grants to school budgets, for digital transformation, shortcomings in realising
savings and a Council Tax back-log. ·
At the end of the year, five departments were
overspending prior to the allocation of compensation grants for Covid-19 from
Welsh Government, leaving only one department overspending finally, namely the
Children and Families Department. ·
The Children and Families Department faced
substantial pressure, however, there ·
A substantial improvement
was seen in the Adults Department's financial situation - savings worth £1 million that could not been
achieved being deleted and slipped as well as general grant receipts in the
final months of the year. ·
In terms of the Highways
and Municipal Department, it was noted that the
increase was a combination of reducing expenditure, covid
grant receipts and general grants received and savings deleted. The waste
field, continued to cause concern as the department had faced significant
additional costs involving compliance with covid-19 guidance. It was also noted
that there were also income losses in the commercial waste field, worth £2.4
million in total for the year. ·
There were several reasons for one-off underspend
on several Corporate headings ·
Schools' balances, had
increased from £4.3m in 2019/20 to £10.7m in 2020/21 as a result of the impact
of Covid-19 and various grants received. ·
A review had been undertaken
of the adequacy of the Council's specific funds at the closure of accounts, and
£170k of resources had been harvested. Reference was made to the
Cabinet's decision to, ·
note the final financial position of the Council's
departments at the end of 2020/21 and to approve the amounts to be carried
forward ·
to approve all the recommendations and financial
transfers It was reported that the statutory financial statements for 2020/21 were being completed with the intention of submission to the Auditors before the statutory date of ... view the full minutes text for item 12. |
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CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2020/21 - END OF YEAR REVIEW (31 MARCH 2021) PDF 210 KB To receive the information and consider the risks relating to the Capital Programme Additional documents: Decision: To accept the report To note the
relevant risks To support the Cabinet's decision (18 May
2021) Minutes: The Cabinet Member for Finance highlighted that the
report had been submitted to the Cabinet on 18 May
2021 and the Cabinet had approved all the recommendations and financial
transactions. The Senior Finance Manager set out the context
and elaborated on the content of the report. Reference was
made to a summary of the situation by department, which highlighted the
sums to be carried forward at the end of the year together with the main
matters and areas where there had been significant differences. It was
highlighted, ·
That the financial impact of Covid-19 had been
substantial to the Council. With over £20m claimed from the hardship fund and
furlough by the end of the year, that was a combination of additional costs of
£11.6 million, income losses of £7.3 million and £1.5 million for
furlough. ·
As a result of receiving numerous other substantial grants associated with Covid-19
late in the financial year, it was highlighted that the financial position of
2020/21 had been transformed by the end of the year, with the grants including
grants to school budgets, for digital transformation, shortcomings in realising
savings and a Council Tax back-log. ·
At the end of the year, five departments were
overspending prior to the allocation of compensation grants for Covid-19 from
Welsh Government, leaving only one department overspending finally, namely the
Children and Families Department. ·
The Children and Families Department faced
substantial pressure, however, there ·
A substantial improvement
was seen in the Adults Department's financial situation - savings worth £1 million that could not been
achieved being deleted and slipped as well as general grant receipts in the
final months of the year. ·
In terms of the Highways
and Municipal Department, it was noted that the
increase was a combination of reducing expenditure, covid
grant receipts and general grants received and savings deleted. The waste
field, continued to cause concern as the department had faced significant
additional costs involving compliance with covid-19 guidance. It was also noted
that there were also income losses in the commercial waste field, worth £2.4
million in total for the year. ·
There were several reasons for one-off underspend
on several Corporate headings ·
Schools' balances, had
increased from £4.3m in 2019/20 to £10.7m in 2020/21 as a result of the impact
of Covid-19 and various grants received. ·
A review had been undertaken
of the adequacy of the Council's specific funds at the closure of accounts, and
£170k of resources had been harvested. Reference was made to the
Cabinet's decision to, ·
note the final financial position of the Council's
departments at the end of 2020/21 and to approve the amounts to be carried
forward ·
to approve all the recommendations and financial
transfers It was reported that the statutory financial statements for 2020/21 were being completed with the intention of submission to the Auditors before the statutory date of ... view the full minutes text for item 13. |
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GWYNEDD HARBOURS' FINAL ACCOUNTS PDF 216 KB To receive and approve the accounts Additional documents: Decision: To accept the report To approve the Accounts: - Revenue Income and Expenditure Account 2020
/ 21 - Annual Return for the Year ended 31 March
2021, subject to audit by Wales Audit. Minutes: Submitted - the report by the Senior Finance Manager. It was explained, in accordance with the statutory requirements
under the Harbours Act 1964, as a harbour authority, Gwynedd was required to
provide an annual accounts statement relating to the activities of Barmouth, Aberdyfi, Pwllheli and Porthmadog harbours. As the Gwynedd
harbours turnover was lower than £2.5m, it was considered to
be a small local government body, and as such completion of statements
of accounts return prepared by Audit Wales satisfied the statutory requirement.
Reference was made to the income and expenditure account, and an overspend of £5,208 was highlighted at the end of the
year. It was reported that the impact of covid-19 and
the associated lockdown period had affected the income levels of the Harbours,
which were much less than the income target for the year. However, it was reported that the underspend on staffing, maintenance etc. had to some
degree alleviated the situation. Attention was drawn to the external auditors'
standard form together with the Annual Governance Statement, which ensured a
robust internal control system. It was
highlighted that the accounts had already been subject to an internal audit and
had now been submitted to the external auditors namely Audit Wales External Auditors. It was added that
only if changes were required following the audit would an amended version be
presented to the Committee in October. RESOLVED To accept the report To approve the Accounts: -
Revenue Income and Expenditure
Account 2020 / 21 -
Annual Return for the year Ended
31 March 2021, subject to audit by Audit Wales. To recommend that the Chair signs the form electronically |
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INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN 2021/22 PDF 436 KB To consider and
approve the plan Decision: To accept the report To approve the Plan Minutes: Submitted – the
plan of the Internal Audit work for the 2021/22 financial year by the Audit
Manager. In accordance with best practice and the Public Sector Internal Audit
Standards, the Internal Audit plan was subject to continuous review in order to
ensure that it remained up to date and reflected changes in the business
together with the consideration of the significant and speedy impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic on the Council. In
order to ensure that the Council's key controls and correct matters were reviewed, consideration was given to the Corporate Risk
Register, Gwynedd Council's Plan as well as any other significant developments
that are underway. As a result, an
initial draft plan was prepared that would provide flexibility to address any
matters that became apparent, to the Council's risks and priorities and to
ensure the health and safety of Internal Audit officers and clients. The initial plan was
discussed with every Head of Service; this was an opportunity to further
refine the plan, before preparing the final Plan for the Audit and Governance
Committee. It was noted that
the Audit Plan 2021/2022 gave appropriate consideration to
the following: ·
to be aware at all times of the potential
occurrence of fraud or corruption - taking advantage of the National Fraud
Initiative and undertaking proactive Fraud Prevention Work ·
continue to address specific grants, particularly
where the conditions of the grant expect an Internal Audit ·
to ensure flexibility, Internal Audit will wherever possible use the AGILE
methodology. The main objectives of applying the AGILE principles are: o Increasing audit quality o Short audit cycles o More interaction with clients o Providing insights (It was noted that Agile provides a more flexible and dynamic Internal
Audit Planning as a result of continuous risk
monitoring). It was projected that
approximately 715 days of audit resources would be available to complete the
2021/22 audit plan. The available
staffing resources were analysed, giving consideration to
reasonable budgets for ‘unproductive’ work such as holidays, illness, training,
management and meetings. Details of the purpose and reason for some audits were
given for members to have a taste of the contents of the audit plan Gratitude was expressed for the report In response to a
question regarding the contents of cyber security (identified as a priority
field in a recent workshop) on the work programme, it was
noted that an audit into the security of IT systems had been
identified. However, it was highlighted that an external company was preparing
thorough, professional reports on cyber security and these reports were
presented to the Audit Service. It was added that
these were robust arrangements and to an extent, the Audit Service could add to
what the external company does. It was reported that an item 'Resilience of IT Systems - Cyber
Security' had been included as an item for scrutiny at the 15 July Committee
meeting. In response to a question regarding measures to safeguard freedom and the intention to audit new arrangements that will replace DoLS and ... view the full minutes text for item 15. |
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AUDIT WALES AUDIT PLAN 2021 GWYNEDD COUNCIL PDF 828 KB To consider the
report Decision: To accept the report Minutes: Alan Hughes and
Yvonne Thomas were welcomed to the meeting.
Submitted - the Audit Wales plan for 2021 noting the work they intend to
undertake during the year in accordance with the statutory responsibility they
have as external auditors. Reference was made to the need to audit the financial statements and
risks attached (that are risks that appear more or less in every Council). Reference was made
to the contents of the performance audit programme offering an outline of the
work to be undertaken and the proposed timetable. Gratitude was expressed for the report and a willingness to
collaborate was expressed. RESOLVED To accept the report |
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COMMITTEE FORWARD PROGRAMME 2021/2022 PDF 208 KB To consider
the contents of the forward programme, to question officers about the items as
required and to offer comments. Additional documents: Decision: To accept the report Minutes: Submitted - the
report of the Assistant Head (Revenue and Risk), outlining the work programme
of the committee for the year up to February 2022. It was
highlighted that the forward programme had been drafted around standing
items and some scrutiny items had been included. It was added that the
programme was a live programme and the timetable may change. RESOLVED To accept the report |