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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 22 July 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED: That the Governance and Audit Committee Forward Work Programme be approved.
RESOLVED: That the Audit Wales Detailed Audit Plan for 2024 be noted.
RESOLVED: a) That Councillor Gareth Jones be nominated as a member of the Governance and Audit sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. b) That Councillor Stephen Price be nominated as a substitute member of the Governance and Audit sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. c) That Nigel Rudd (Lay Member) be proposed for consideration by the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee for appointment to the Governance and Audit sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. Note: Whilst not a declaration of interest, Nigel Rudd (Lay Member) left the meeting whilst the above item was discussed and voted upon.
RESOLVED: That the contents of the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales Annual Letter be noted.
RESOLVED: That the Governance and Audit Committee is assured that the Council was meeting performance requirements under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act) 2015.
RESOLVED: That the Treasury Management Quarter 1 update be noted.
RESOLVED: a) That the Council’s draft unaudited Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2023/2024 be noted. b) That the unaudited Conwy Harbour Authority Annual Return for 2023/2024 be noted.
Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Tom Montgomery and David Stephens (Lay Member).
In the interest of transparency, Nigel Rudd (Lay Member) stated that he was a Member of Denbighshire County Council’s Governance and Audit Committee.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 22 July 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.
The minutes of the meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 22 July 2024 were submitted for approval. RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 22 July 2024 be approved and signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Governance and Audit Committee Forward Work Programme be approved.
The Governance and Audit Committee Forward Work Programme was presented and the following discussed: • A Financial Oversight report would be presented to the Governance and Audit Committee in November 2024. • The Head of Audit and Procurement advised that Internal Audit consider value for money as part of all audits and were planning on undertaking a specific value for money audit. • It was confirmed that the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 17 February would be dedicated to budget reports. RESOLVED: That the Governance and Audit Committee Forward Work Programme be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Audit Wales Detailed Audit Plan for 2024 be noted.
Note: The following Audit Wales Officers were in attendance for this item: Audit Manager (Financial Audit), Audit Manager (Performance Audit) and Audit Lead (Performance Audit). The Audit Manager (Audit Wales) presented Conwy County Borough Council’s (CCBC) Detailed Audit Plan, which outlined the planned audit work for CCBC during 2024. Members discussed the following: • It had previously been agreed that the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee review Audit Wales reports and that the Governance and Audit Committee monitor the action plans. • The Local Financial Sustainability report would be presented alongside the national report. • Whilst Audit Wales had a large number of female employees, the team allocated to CCBC was currently all male, due to one member of the team being on maternity leave. • Audit Wales were confident that CCBCs’ financial audit would be completed within timescales. Whilst Audit Wales had experienced some capacity issues, removing an item from the audit schedule would assist. RESOLVED: That the Audit Wales Detailed Audit Plan for 2024 be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: a) That Councillor Gareth Jones be nominated as a member of the Governance and Audit sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. b) That Councillor Stephen Price be nominated as a substitute member of the Governance and Audit sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. c) That Nigel Rudd (Lay Member) be proposed for consideration by the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee for appointment to the Governance and Audit sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. Note: Whilst not a declaration of interest, Nigel Rudd (Lay Member) left the meeting whilst the above item was discussed and voted upon.
The Head of Law and Governance presented a report, which sought nomination of a Councillor to the Corporate Joint Committee’s Governance and Audit Committee. The Governance and Audit Committee were also requested to nominate a substitute Councillor and were given the opportunity to nominate a Lay Member if they so wished. RESOLVED: a) That Councillor Gareth Jones be nominated as a member of the Governance and Audit sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. b) That Councillor Stephen Price be nominated as a substitute member of the Governance and Audit sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. c) That Nigel Rudd (Lay Member) be proposed for consideration by the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee for appointment to the Governance and Audit sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. Note: Whilst not a declaration of interest, Nigel Rudd (Lay Member) left the meeting whilst the above item was discussed and voted upon.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the contents of the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales Annual Letter be noted.
The Head of Internal Audit and Procurement presented the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales’ Annual Letter, which dealt with complaints relating to maladministration and service failure, complaints relating to alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct for Councillors and the actions being undertaken to improve public services. RESOLVED: That the contents of the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales Annual Letter be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Governance and Audit Committee is assured that the Council was meeting performance requirements under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act) 2015.
The Strategy, Performance and Engagement Manager presented the Council’s Performance Self-Assessment for 2023 to 2024, which provided an end-of-year analysis of progress and challenges relating to key performance objectives and governance areas. Members discussed the following: · Whilst the report was comprehensive, it was suggested that the difficult circumstances and challenges faced by the Council could be made more explicit. · It was confirmed that future reports would include additional benchmarking data and perspective reporting. · Consideration would be given as to how positive work carried out by the Council could be promoted. · It was suggested that further explanation was required in respect of the New Ways of Working Journey Checker. · The next report would provide an analysis around the reasons why all staff had no completed safeguarding training. · The Strategic Equality Plan Annual report and the Employment Monitoring Report would be presented to the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 21 October 2024. · It was requested that an update report in respect of the Brickworks site, Llandudno Junction and proposed waste transfer station be brought to democracy. · In respect of a query regarding governance measures, it was confirmed that the corporate plan was due to be revised and that the governance framework would be considered. RESOLVED: That the Governance and Audit Committee is assured that the Council was meeting performance requirements under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 and Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act) 2015.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Treasury Management Quarter 1 update be noted.
The Head of Finance presented the Quarter 1 Treasury Management update 2024/2025. Members discussed the following: • The Head of Finance would ascertain the reason for the increase in bail in exposure and would update the Committee accordingly. • Regular updates were received from the Council’s treasury management advisors, who ensured that investments were not made with Local Authorities who were not financially stable. • Whilst outside of the scope of treasury management, returns on the Council’s investment property portfolio could be considered as part of a wider asset management strategy. • Investments had been made above the level required to retain professional status. A low risk strategy was utilised. RESOLVED: That the Treasury Management Quarter 1 update be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: a) That the Council’s draft unaudited Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2023/2024 be noted. b) That the unaudited Conwy Harbour Authority Annual Return for 2023/2024 be noted.
The Head of Finance presented the Draft Statement of Accounts along with the Conwy Harbour Authority’s unaudited Annual Return 2023/2024. Members discussed the following: • It was suggested that further information be included within the report in respect of measures taken to reduce spend. • It was not anticipated that pooled budgets would be impacted by financial difficulties faced by the Health Board. RESOLVED: a) That the Council’s draft unaudited Statement of Accounts for the financial year 2023/2024 be noted. b) That the unaudited Conwy Harbour Authority Annual Return for 2023/2024 be noted.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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