Agenda item

To accept this report on the work of the Internal Audit Section in the period from 1 April 2024 to 30 September 2024, comment on the contents in accordance with members’ wishes, and support the actions agreed with the relevant service managers. 

DECISION:

 

·       To accept the report

·       Findings of the Residential Homes (Plas Pengwaith, Llys Cadfan and Plas Hafan) Services Audits to be referred to the Management Improvement Group.

 

Carys Edwards, Rhys Parry, Cllr Angela Russell, Cllr Meryl Roberts and Cllr Ioan Thomas were nominated as members for the Management Improvement Group with an invitation to Cllr Beth Lawton (Chair of the Care Scrutiny Committee) and Cllr Dewi Jones (Vice Chair of the Care Scrutiny Committee) to observe. Should issues arise from the Management Improvement Group that require further attention, they would be referred to the Care Scrutiny Committee.

 

Note:

Freedom of Information Requests Audit – a request to consider that the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are addressed by the Committee – the Committee to receive an annual report setting out the Council's Arrangements to deal with Freedom of Information matters.

 

Submitted, for information, the report of the Audit Manager updating the Committee on the internal audit work for the period from 1 April 2024 until 30 September 2024. It was highlighted that 11 of the audits in the operational plan had been completed and given an assurance level of high; satisfactory or limited.

 

Each audit was referred to in turn. Matters arising from the ensuing discussion:

 

·       Car Parks (Environment)

-        The use of pay machines – was there a smart phone option?

-        Phone only machines created a problem for older people.

 

In response, the Audit Manager stated that the Service had to consider the risks attached to only using coin machines and also accepted the barriers faced by older people – it was difficult to get the balance right. She added that a combination of payments methods were currently being used.

 

·       Freedom of Information Requests

-        Concern that the audit had only reached a limited assurance level.

-        Need assurance that information was not restricted; need to be transparent.

-        Did the result of the sample highlight a deficiency in the information issued, or that there was a legal reason for not providing the information 'correctly'?

 

In response, the Audit Manager confirmed that the rejected requests in the audit sample had been rejected for legal reasons, therefore the Council had fully complied with the requirements of the Act. It was reiterated that the assurance level hinged between 'satisfactory' and 'limited', and following a discussion with the team, a limited assurance level was agreed because Gwynedd’s performance statistics on the punctuality rate were 77%, which was slightly lower than those of the United Kingdom Government.

 

In response to the failure to reach the target and to a supplementary question on whether the matter should be referred to the Governance Group, the Audit Manager stated that the matter was being monitored by the Performance Challenge Group of the Corporate Support Department, although the staff relied on all Council departments participating to provide the information.

 

As the matter dealt with a Council-wide situation, consideration was given to whether the Committee should receive an annual report setting out the Council's arrangements for dealing with Freedom of Information matters in the same way that the Council's arrangements for dealing with Complaints matters were presented to the Committee.

 

·       Residential Care Homes of Plas Pengwaith, Llys Cadfan and Plas Hafan

-        The report did not reflect good levels of assurance in the Residential Care Homes – there was a pattern here.

-        A suggestion to refer the matter to the Care Scrutiny Committee to look at the issues in greater detail and consider a solution to the lack of management issues.

-        A further suggestion to refer the matter to the Controls Improvement Group as there were some basic issues here – a pattern that had existed for years now.

-        There was a need to consider whether there were adequate arrangements / adequate support for the Managers.

 

Cllr Beth Lawton (Chair of the Care Scrutiny Committee) was invited to comment, and she thanked the officers for the opportunity to discuss the issue. In response to a comment regarding the timetable for responding to the audit recommendations, the Audit Manager indicated that the Audit Unit would revisit the matter in the next year and review evidence of progress or arrange a visit to the three homes. She reiterated that Internal Audit's focus had changed to focus more on the care element rather than financial matters.

 

In response to a suggestion of submitting the matter to the Controls Improvement Group, the Audit Manager noted that this would be a great opportunity to discuss the matter with the Managers, staff and Council officers so that the difficulties could be understood and resolved. It was noted that these were basic errors in a difficult area of high staff absences, a shortage of staff to release others to attend training, along with a lack of suitable courses for staff, such as manual handling, (although the Managers of the homes had identified the need). She reiterated that the Managers were keen to gain a better understanding of management requirements, but there was not enough help and support available to them.

 

RESOLVED:

 

·       To accept the report

·       The findings of the Residential Homes Services Audits (Plas Penwaith, Llys Cadfan and Plas Hafan) to be referred to the Controls Improvement Group.

 

Carys Edwards, Rhys Parry, Cllr Angela Russell, Cllr Meryl Roberts and Cllr Ioan Thomas were nominated as members to the Controls Improvement Group with Cllr Beth Lawton (Chair of the Care Scrutiny Committee) and Cllr Dewi Jones (Vice-chair of the Care Scrutiny Committee) invited to observe. Should issues arise from the Controls Improvement Group that required further attention, they would be referred to the Care Scrutiny Committee.

 

Note:

Freedom of Information Requests Audit – a request to consider that the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 are addressed by the Committee – the Committee to receive an annual report setting out the Council's Arrangements for dealing with Freedom of Information matters. The Chair to discuss with the Head of Corporate Support.