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No. | Item |
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ELECT CHAIR To elect
Chair for 2022 - 2023 Decision: To elect Mrs Sharon
Warnes as Chair of the Committee for 2022-23 Minutes: RESOLVED to elect
Mrs Sharon Warnes as Chair of the Committee for 2022-23. Councillor Angela Russell (Leader of the Opposition) expressed her discontent that the Chair of the Committee, in accordance with
the requirements of the Local Government
and Elections (Wales) Act
2021, would transfer to a Lay Member. She added that this
change highlighted the Government's intention to deprive Local Councils from leading on
the work and making local decisions. |
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ELECT VICE CHAIR To elect
Vice-chair for 2022 - 2023 Decision: To elect Mr Eifion Jones as Vice-chair of the
Committee for 2022-23 Minutes: RESOLVED to elect Mr
Eifion Jones as Vice-chair of the Committee
for 2022-23. |
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APOLOGIES To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were
received from Councillor
Menna Baines. |
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DECLARATION OF PERSONAL INTEREST To receive any declaration of personal interest. Minutes: None to
note |
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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 on 10th
February 2022, be signed as a true record. Minutes: The Chair signed the minutes of the previous meeting of this committee, held on 10 February 2022 as a true record. |
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FINAL ACCOUNTS 2021/22 - REVENUE OUTTURN PDF 187 KB To receive the information, consider any risks
arising from the actual expenditure and income against
the 2021/22 budget, and scrutinise the Cabinet’s decisions regarding managing the budgets of the Council and its
Departments. Additional documents:
Decision: DECISION: To accept the
report To note the relevant risks To support the
Cabinet's decision (14 June 2022) Note: Suggest that issues of overspending and realising savings in the
municipal field are scrutinised. Propose to refer the suggestion to the
Language and Scrutiny Unit for Members of the Communities Scrutiny Committee to
consider as a potential field to scrutinise at their annual workshop. Minutes: The Cabinet Member for Finance highlighted that the
report had been submitted to the Cabinet on 14 June 2022 and the Cabinet had
approved all the recommendations and financial transactions. The Senior Finance Manager gave the context to the
report. It was noted that the reports elaborated on the Council's expenditure
in 2021/22, the out-turn position of the underspend or overspend of individual
departments, and the reasons for this. Reference was made to a summary of the
final financial position of all the departments, which highlighted the amounts
to be carried forward at the end of the year together with the principal
matters and areas where there had been significant differences. It was highlighted,
·
That the financial impact of Covid-19 had again
been significant for the Council in 2021/22, with £17.5 million claimed from
the hardship fund and Furlough by the end of the year (a combination of
additional costs of £15.2 million and income losses of £2.3 million). ·
The Council had received a number of substantial
additional grants late in the year that transformed the financial position by
the end of the financial year - the substantial grants included: -
a Local Government Settlement Addition 21/22 (£2.5
million) -
social care hardship grant (£1.9 million) -
social care recovery fund (£1.5 million) -
school maintenance grants for school budgets (£1.8
million) -
Accelerated Learning in Schools (£1.2 million) -
Council Tax backlog (£0.9 million) -
£0.8 million Economic Framework priorities ·
There was an underspend by all the departments
(except for the Highways and Municipal Department which had overspent by
£746k). It was noted that the municipal
field continued to be a matter of concern with the most prominent issues in the
field of waste collection and disposal. It was added that the department was
also facing difficulty to realise savings to the value of £608k. ·
There had been an improvement in the position of
the Adults Department as a result of receiving substantial grants in the last
few months of the year (including a grant of £1.9 million Local Government
Social Care Hardship). It was noted that
the impact of Covid-19 had continued again in 21/22 to have a substantial
impact on the Department which was equivalent to over £3.7 million by the end
of the year. ·
There were several reasons for one-off underspend
on several Corporate headings ·
Schools' balances, had increased from £10.7 million
at the end of March 2021 to £16.7 million by the end of March 2022 as a result
of the impact of Covid-19 and various grants received. ·
A review of the adequacy of the Council's specific
provisions when closing the accounts had shown that it had been possible to
harvest £851k of resources. It was reported that the statutory financial statements for 2021/22 had
already been completed and submitted to Audit Wales for audit. Staff were thanked for their thorough work and flexibility during this
challenging period During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by
members: · that schools' balances were acceptable bearing ... view the full minutes text for item 7. |
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CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2021/22 - END OF YEAR REVIEW (31 MARCH 2022 POSITION) PDF 284 KB The Committee is asked to note the position and any risks
relating to the Council’s capital programme, consider the Cabinet’s decision and comment
as necessary Additional documents: Decision: To accept the report To note the relevant risks To support the Cabinet's decision (14 June
2022) Minutes: The Senior Finance Manager highlighted
that the main purpose of
the report was to present
the revised capital programme at the end of the financial year (31 March 2022 position), and to approve the relevant financing sources. The analysis per Department
of the £139.3 million capital
programme for the 3 years 2021/22 - 2023/24 was referred
to together with the sources available to fund the net increase of approximately £11.0 million since the previous review. The main findings of the review
was that the Council had managed to spend £37.1m in 2021/22 on capital
schemes, and £29.9m (81%)
of it funded through specific grants. It was reported that
the impact of the Covid-19 emergency
and the lockdown period on the capital
programme was evident and in addition
to the £31.2m reported in
the previous reviews, a further £26.8m of proposed expenditure had been re-profiled, namely slippage from 2021/22 to 2022/23,
and the main plans included: ·
£7.6 million in Housing Strategy
and Homelessness Plans ·
£7.2
million in Flood Prevention and Land Drainage
Schemes ·
£6.5
million in 21st Century Schools Plans and Others ·
£4.0
million in Welsh Government New Grants in the Housing field (slippage replaced resource) ·
£3.2 million in Additional General
Capital Grant for 21/22 (received in the last quarter of the year with allowance
for slippage to 22/23) In addition, the Council had managed to attract further grants since the last review (over 11 million) these included; ·
£3.2 million - Additional General Capital Grant 21/22 - permission for slippage to 22/23 ·
£3.1
million - Grants from the Land and
Buildings Development Fund that allowed
replacing current funding for expenditure
in 22/23. ·
£1.3
million - Intermediate Care
Fund Grant - adapting adults establishments as well as facilitating joint working arrangements with other agencies
in the care field. ·
£1.1 million - Free School Meals
Capital Grant - allowing
the replacement of current funding for expenditure
in 22/23 on adaptations to school kitchens. The Cabinet's decision
(14 June 2022) was to accept all the recommendations and: ·
To accept the report ·
To note the expenditure of £37,054,000 on the
capital programme during the 2021/22 financial year, which would
be used as a basis for the statutory financial statements for 2021/22. ·
To approve the revised funding: Thanks
were expressed for the report. In response to a question regarding the assurance of receiving grants or that grants had been lost due
to slippage, it was highlighted
that some grant terms meant replacement
whilst others gave permission to continue In response to a question regarding identifying the risk of an increase in building costs and the cost of living and for this to be considered within the application / grant sum, it was noted in general that it was necessary to receive some grants and to maximise their use, however, with others an additional application was made to the Welsh Government. It ... view the full minutes text for item 8. |
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GWYNEDD HARBOURS' FINAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 PDF 211 KB To receive
and approve the accounts Additional documents: Decision: To accept the
report To approve: ·
Revenue
Income and Expenditure Account 2021/22 ·
Annual
Return for the year ending 31 March 2022, subject to audit by Audit Wales 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 the Wales Audit Office satisfied the statutory requirement. Reference was made to the income
and expenditure account, and an
overspend of £975 was highlighted
at the end of the year. From this sum, it was reported that there
was underspend on staffing and buildings
(due to less expenditure on maintenance and grounds maintenance), however, there was an overspend mainly
on signage, notices and boats
maintenance. In terms of income,
it was reported that the fee levels were
above the income target and this
was very promising following the impact of Covid on income
levels in 20/21. Reference was made to the cost comparison over the last two years
that indicated that matters had come back to their
usual expenditure levels following Covid in 20/21. Attention was drawn to the external auditors'
standard form together with the Annual Governance Statement, that gave assurance of 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. The members expressed
their thanks for the report. RESOLVED To accept the report To Approve: ·
The Revenue
Income and Expenditure Account 2021/22 ·
Annual Return for the Year ending 31 March 2022, subject to audit by Audit Wales |
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GWYNEDD COUNCIL'S ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT FOR 2021/22 PDF 391 KB To consider and approve the statement so that it can
be signed by the Council Leader and the Chief Executive Additional documents: Decision: DECISION To accept the
report To approve the
statement To recommend that
the Council Leader and the Chief Executive sign the statement Note: A suggestion to
establish a sub-group to review the risks and challenge the headings Minutes: The Statement was presented
by the Head of Finance Department.
He explained that the statement, although not part of the accounts, was a statutory document which 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 of the background to the statement was given. The statement which was based on the CIPFA/SOLACE framework identified seven core principles for good governance
and these had been divided further
into sub-principles. It was
highlighted that the Governance Arrangement Assessment Group, led by the Chief
Executive, had considered these principles and sub-principles and had created a Governance Risk Register, which was part of the Council's Corporate Risk Register. The Governance Risk Register identified risks in 23 different
areas of governance, noting the controls that the Council have in place
to mitigate these risks. It was reported that
there were four types of risks
and that each risk had departmental
ownership; the Group had concluded
that there were 0 fields of very high risks,
2 high risk fields, 12 fields of medium risks and 9 low risk fields. It was noted that the high risk fields
were 'Culture' and 'Health, Safety
and Well-being'. The members expressed
their thanks for the report. Reference was made to every risk in
turn giving Members an opportunity to enquire about that
field. During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by members: ·
Culture and Conduct - why was the impact score for culture
a 4 and the impact score for conduct
a 2 bearing in mind that both
fields were similar? ·
'Planning the workforce' - should 'change to risk' be here considering that it was difficult to recruit / staff working from home / staff retention? ·
Finance - the risk impact was 3 and a likelihood of 3 appeared low considering the increase in costs,
wages, inflation ·
Many of the headings were
'more important than others'
and the principles were not equal - too much narrative
- need to sharpen the evidence ·
Some of the risks were historical - there was a suggestion to establish a group to review the list In response to a question whether or not the 23 risks were common to every Local Authority, it was noted that these
risks were unique to Gwynedd. RESOLVED To accept the report To approve the statement To recommend that
the Council Leader and the Chief Executive
sign the statement Note: A suggestion to establish
a sub-group to review the risks and challenge
the headings |
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TREASURY MANAGEMENT 2021/22 PDF 298 KB To consider
and receive the report as information Decision: DECISION Accept the report and note the information Minutes: The Investment Manager presented
a report on the actual results of the Council's treasury management during 2021/22, against the strategy approved by the Full Council on 04/03/21. It was reported that the end of year position
was very robust with an increase
in the usable reserves and as a result the net borrowing had reduced. This fed into the treasury management summary where a higher level of investments was seen due to the higher reserves. In the context of the Council's borrowing activity, a quiet year was highlighted with only borrowing repayments having occurred. It was highlighted that the Council had continued to invest with Banks and Building Societies, Local Authorities,
Financial Market Funds, Pooled Funds and
for the first time this year
the Debt Management Office
(DMO). This had been done as the Council's finance levels were high and
therefore needed to disperse the monies further and the DMO rates were competitive. During the year it was seen that the financial rates had been very low, but
had improved once the basic rate was increased from December 2021 onwards. Reference was made to the revisions to the code of practice that outlined that
Councils cannot borrow to invest specifically for financial gains, and were not able
to increase the CFR unless
it involved the Council's activities. It was reported that the Council did not intend and did not need to borrow and therefore
the changes did not impact
Gwynedd activities The members expressed their thanks for the report. RESOLVED To accept the report
and note the information |
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OUTPUT OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT SECTION PDF 702 KB To receive
the report, comment on the contents and support the actions that have already
been agreed with the relevant services Decision: DECISION To accept the
information To support the
actions that have already been agreed with the relevant services Minutes: Submitted for information, a report by the Audit Manager updating
the Committee on the internal audit work for the period
from 31 January 2022 until May 2022. It was highlighted
that 16 reports on audits from
the operational plan had been
completed and 4 reports had been released in draft
form. Thanks were expressed for the report. During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by Members: ·
That training sessions needed to be concise ·
In the context of language
designations, had a comparison
been made with pay scale? In response
to a comment regarding the lack of completion of mandatory training (safeguarding arrangements) it was
noted that an operational group had been established to look at the arrangements to ensure that employees completed the training. In accordance with
the principles of Ffordd Gwynedd the hope was to empower staff to take responsibility themselves, with responsibility also on the Heads of Department to encourage and lead staff to complete the training. It was accepted that manual workers
(such as care and municipal) may not have access
to online modules, however, by now a package to transfer the details had been created. The Audit Manager added
that she was content with the steps that were
in hand. Thanks were expressed for the report 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 2021/2022 PDF 638 KB To consider
and accept the report Decision: DECISION To accept the annual report in accordance with the
requirements of the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards for the 2021/22
financial year. Minutes: Submitted - the report of the
Audit Manager, expressing Internal Audit's opinion of the overall control 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 could 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
Covid-19 had a significant impact
on the Authority as a whole and on
the work of Internal Audit and as the majority of the Council's services the Internal Audit officers worked from home. It had not been possible to conduct an audit where
it was necessary to visit
the organisation due to the
Welsh Government guidelines
and restrictions. It was stated that Internal
Audit had assisted the Test, Trace and
Protect Service, a service launched by the Welsh Government and a total of 98.57 days had been spent
on this work. Furthermore, officers had also assisted the Benefits Service in dealing with
the processing of Self-isolation
Payments due to the increase in the number of cases in Gwynedd at the end of 2021 and early 2022 (a total of 96.77 days had been spent on
this work). New audit priorities
had been identified in response to the new risks as a result of the impact of Covid-19.
These audits 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 limited number of audits had been conducted during 2021/2022 compared to the previous years and this
was due to unprecedented and uncommon circumstances. This was considered to be an exception again this year and
evidence provided by external regulators was used to support the opinion for the year. On the basis of Internal Audit work completed during 2020/2021, it was concluded
that Gwynedd Council's internal control framework during the financial year 2020/2021 had operated at a level which provided reasonable assurance on the overall adequacy and effectiveness
of the Authority's framework
of governance, risk management and internal control. A total of 42 assignments were contained in the revised audit plan for 2021/2022 with 30 (71.43% of the plan) completed
by 31 March 2022. For the purposes
of this measure, an assignment was counted as being completed when the final report/memorandum
had been released or, if there was no
report/memorandum, the assignment had been closed and no
further time was expected to be spent on it - the performance ambition was 95%. Reference was made to the list of audits from the 2021/2022 plan that had contributed to the opinion expressed. Thanks were expressed
for the report. In response to a question regarding access to services, the willingness of officers to collaborate in the ... view the full minutes text for item 13. |
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INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER PDF 576 KB To consider
and approve the Charter Decision: DECISION To accept the
report and approve Internal Audit Charter Minutes: In accordance
with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards 2013 (revised 2017) an Internal Audit
Charter needed to be set out and the contents
of the Charter needed to address the Local Government Application Note (2019) published by CIPFA. The Gwynedd Internal
Audit Charter was presented by the Audit Manager and it was noted that it was the Committee's responsibility to approve the charter. Thanks were expressed
for the report. During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by Members: ·
That the charter summarised the Committee's role well ·
The charter was of good standard and
easy to follow ·
It
was necessary to add the word 'Audit' in
point 7.1 (English version of the Charter) RESOLVED To accept
the report and approve the Internal Audit Charter |
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INTERNAL AUDIT STRATEGY AND ANNUAL INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN 2022/2023 PDF 636 KB To consider the report and approve the
strategy and annual plan Decision: DECISION To accept the
report To approve the
Strategy and the Internal Audit Plan 2022/23 Note: Psychological Safety Audit - the Committee recommends, as part of
the discussions with the Corporate Support Department, the need to adopt a
procedure of holding exit interviews. Minutes: In accordance
with the requirements of
the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards, a risk-based plan was submitted to determine the priorities of the Internal Audit activity, consistent with the Council's goals. It was explained that the plan was sufficiently flexible to give attention to any matters which
became apparent, any adaptations / amendments to be approved by the Committee. Reference was made to the use of the AGILE methodology that provided a flexible and dynamic
Internal Audit Planning as a result of continuous risk monitoring. Reference was made to a few plans
sharing the purpose of those plans with
the Members. Thanks were
expressed for the report. During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by Members: ·
That the plan was very clear ·
The audit title 'Psychological Safety' appeared terrifying ·
Welsh Church Act Fund - continuing for charitable purposes? ·
There was a need to consider
the willingness of an individual to express an opinion ·
The work programme was long - there was a need to ensure that high risk
was given priority In response to a suggestion to conduct exit interviews,
it was noted that there was no policy
to conduct exit interviews, however, this did not mean that no exit
interviews were being conducted and therefore the suggestion to consider holding these interviews
was accepted.
In a supplementary comment, it was noted that conducting exit interviews would improve work
conditions, was part of good practice and
an opportunity to express a view without implications In response, it was highlighted that the Corporate
Support Department was piloting
a formal system of holding exit interviews with the intention of expanding these once the pilot period had ended. In response to an observation about a Planning and Environment
audit and if the 'historical' was being considered here or the 'new' it was noted that follow-up
work was being conducted with evidence of the progress supporting the opinion. It was added that conducting follow-on work was dependent on an agreed
timetable. RESOLVED To accept
the report To approve
the Strategy and the Internal Audit Plan 2022/23 Note: 'Psychological Safety Audit' - the Committee recommended, as part of the discussions with the Corporate Support Department,
the need to adopt a procedure of holding exit interviews. |
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AUDIT WALES REPORTS PDF 205 KB To consider
and accept the report Additional documents: Decision: To accept the
report and note the information Minutes: A report was presented
on the Audit Wales work programme and timetable together
with an update
on the performance up to the end of March 2022. It was highlighted that a further report summarising the audit work completed
since the Annual Audit Summary (published January 2022) would be published in December 2022. It was noted that the report referred to the local, regional and national
work that had been completed, as well as the summary of the main messages. It was confirmed that
a 2021-22 Statement of the Council's
Accounts had been received and that
the work of expressing an opinion on
the financial statements
had commenced. Reference
was made to the financial audit and performance
work it was proposed to be completed together with the information about reports that
had been published recently. Thanks were
expressed for the report. During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by Members: ·
That the report was useful ·
There was a need to keep an eye
on the impact of inflation ·
Concern that assistance from the Government had ended although Covid-19 cases were increasing once more. RESOLVED To accept
the report and note the information |
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2022 AUDIT PLAN – GWYNEDD COUNCIL and MINOR JOINT COMMITTEES PDF 310 KB To consider
the report Decision: To accept the
report and note the information Minutes: A report was submitted
by Audit Wales noting the work they intended
to undertake during 2022 as
a means of achieving their statutory responsibilities as an external auditor for the Council and in accordance
with their role under the Audit Code of Practice. It was noted that some of the risks were general
to all Local Authorities and
not specific to Gwynedd. The audit of financial
statements risks were discussed and it was reported, although Covid-19 restrictions had ended, there was continuous pressure on the Council to present and publish accounts
and that discussions were to be undertaken to look at quality monitoring arrangements. In the context of the performance audit programme, it was referred briefly to the four plans - assurance
and risk assessment; thematic review (unscheduled care); thematic review (digital) and local review
of Scrutiny effectiveness. Reference was made to the fees, the local audit team
and their contact details together with the timetable and the key milestones for the work programme.
Alan Hughes and Yvonne Thomas from Audit Wales were thanked for presenting
the information.
RESOLVED To accept
the report and note the information |
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RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPROVEMENT PROPOSALS OF EXTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS PDF 20 KB The Committee will need to satisfy itself that appropriate
arrangements are in place in
order to ensure that the improvement proposals that arise from external
audit reports are implemented. Additional documents: Decision: DECISION To accept the
report That the Committee
is satisfied that appropriate arrangements are in place to ensure that
improvement proposals which arise from external audit reports are implemented Note: Request to
review the key to the conclusions and set a timetable for the reports that are
'in progress' Minutes: Members were
reminded that the Committee should be satisfied that appropriate arrangements were in place
to ensure that improvement proposals arising from external
audits would be realised. It was noted that the work of responding to most improvement proposals was continuous work and that the Governance
Group chaired by the Chief Executive had been addressing the improvement proposals and the progress of the recommendations.
It was reported that Wales Audit was now publishing
quarterly reports as a means of summarising the audits that were
ongoing locally, regionally and nationally. Attention was drawn to the
Local Report for Gwynedd
'The Well-being of Future Generations: Audit of 'Establishing a New Youth Service
to Support Young People' noting
that discussions regarding audit improvement proposals had been undertaken with Wales Audit to undertake a follow-on review by implementing the new model. Despite efforts to conduct a review, as a result of Covid-19, the work was deferred and the Youth Service had not implemented
the new model as the pandemic
restrictions had prevented them from providing
some elements of the service. As a result, it was determined that the proposals for improvement
could be set aside for now with
the intention of looking at
the arrangements from anew in the future.
Thanks were
expressed for the report. During the ensuing discussion, the following observations were made by Members: ·
That the wording of the conclusions were vague - a key should
be considered for the conclusions ·
It would be better to use the term 'being planned' rather than 'in progress'. It would also be ideal to set a timetable for the plan RESOLVED To accept
the report That the Committee is satisfied that appropriate arrangements are in place
to ensure that improvement proposals which arise from
external audit reports are implemented Note: Request to review
the key to the conclusions and set a timetable for the reports that are 'in
progress' |