Agenda item

Claire Incledon, Deputy Monitoring Officer (interim) to present the report.

The report was submitted stating that the Forward Work Plan provided the work programme, which allowed the Sub-committee to fulfil its statutory role as set out in the Establishment Regulations 2021. It was explained that it was a matter for Members and the Chair to set out what reports they wish to see before the Sub-committee and any training requirements they may need. These would be added to the Forward Work Plan, which will be a living document and will be circulated regularly to Members.

 

It was confirmed that the dates of the CJC meetings for 2025/26 were in the calendar until May 2026. It was noted that a new final calendar would be developed early next year. It was asked whether the dates of the Governance and Audit Sub-committee meetings had been submitted. It was expressed that there was a date in January to consider the Budget before it was presented to the CJC on 23 January.

 

It was confirmed that the meetings of the Sub-committees would be scheduled around the Forward Work Plan, to allow the work of the Sub-committee to be inputted appropriately into the CJC. It was noted that meeting dates for the end of 2025/26 would be dependent on resource capacity and the requirements of the items that will need to be submitted to the Sub-committee.

 

The importance of sharing dates in a timely manner for the meetings of the Governance and Audit Sub-committee, given the requirements of their respective authorities, and to secure a quorum was highlighted. It was confirmed that they would be circulated as soon as possible.

 

Concerns were raised about a shortage of items on the Forward Work Plan, particularly given that the Terms of Reference highlight items that should be included. They responded by explaining that the Forward Plan continues to be developed by working side by side with members to fulfil the statutory responsibilities of this Sub-committee. The need to consider capacity and the resources available to do the work was reiterated.

 

It was proposed that the decision be postponed until the end of the meeting to provide context before deciding on the priorities of the Sub-committee, and to highlight any additional items to be included on the Forward Work Plan.

 

There was no quorum at the end of the meeting and therefore no decision was made but the comments were noted for information.

 

A question was asked regarding the establishment of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Sub-committee to ensure proper scrutiny of the CJC. It was asked whether the proposed structure needed to be considered. It was confirmed that the terms of reference of the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Sub-committee had already been established and agreed by the six local authorities.

 

The following list of items, as suggestions for the Forward Work Plan, was reported:

 

·         Internal Audit / Audit Out Programme (Audit Wales)

·         Audit action tracking report

·         Annual statement of accounts 2024/25 and Audit Wales report

·         Annual Governance Statement 2024/25

·         Risk Register

·         Asset management and capital disposal

·         Treasury management

·         Draft budget 2026/27

·         Medium-term draft financial strategy

·         CJC governance summary report

o   Corporate Planning

o   Financial Planning

o   Performance Management

o   Risk Management

o   Workforce Planning

o   Asset Management

o   Procurement

           

It was explained that officers would advise which items would go before the Sub-committee on what dates, in consultation with the Chair, with the expectation of three further meetings in 2025/26. It was elaborated that the Forward Work Plan following its update would be distributed as soon as possible to provide a framework for the Sub-committee.

 

The (interim) Chair was asked if he would retain the position of Chairperson until a Chair was officially appointed at the next meeting of the Sub-committee. This was confirmed to be a reasonable expectation.