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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 8 December 2025 be approved and signed as a correct record.
RESOLVED: That the Audit and Governance Committee Forward Work Programme be approved.
RESOLVED: That the Internal Audit Performance report for 1 April 2025 to 31 December 2025 be noted. Note: Councillor Stephen Price declared an interest in the above Agenda Item as the Audit and Procurement service is part of his Cabinet portfolio. Whilst the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Price left the meeting room whilst the item was discussed and voted upon.
RESOLVED: (a) That the Governance and Audit Committee acknowledge the self-assessment in terms of areas of full and partial conformance with the Standards and agree that the current area of partial conformance does not significantly impact on the Service’s ability to demonstrate overall compliance. (b) That the results of the Internal Audit Self-Assessment 2025/2026 be noted. Note: Councillor Stephen Price declared an interest in the above Agenda Item as the Audit and Procurement service is part of his Cabinet portfolio. Whilst the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Price left the meeting room whilst the item was discussed and voted upon.
RESOLVED: That the contents of the Revised Annual Ombudsman Letter 2024/2025 be noted.
RESOLVED: a) That Councillor Paul Luckock be nominated as a substitute to serve on the Governance and Audit Sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee, should Councillor Gareth Jones be unable to attend. That the update report on the Corporate Joint Committee’s Governance and Audit Committee be noted.
RESOLVED: That the current position and work being undertaken to manage the Council’s financial position be noted.
RESOLVED: That the Treasury Management Quarter 3 update be noted.
An apology for absence was received from Councillor Elizabeth Roberts. In addition, the Chair extended best wishes to Keith Williams (Audit Manager) ahead of his forthcoming retirement.
In the interest of transparency, Nigel Rudd (Lay Member) stated that he was a Member of Denbighshire County Council’s Governance and Audit Committee. Councillor Stephen Price declared an interest in Agenda Items 6a (Internal Audit Performance 1st April 2025 to 31st December 2025) and 6b (Internal Audit Self-Assessment 2025/2026) as the Audit and Procurement service is part of his Cabinet portfolio. Whilst the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Price left the meeting room whilst the item was discussed and voted upon.
None.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 8 December 2025 be approved and signed as a correct record.
The minutes of the meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 8 December 2025 were submitted for approval. RESOLVED: That the minutes of the Governance and Audit Committee held on 8 December 2025 be approved and signed as a correct record.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Audit and Governance Committee Forward Work Programme be approved.
The Audit and Governance Committee Forward Work Programme was presented. It was confirmed that although the revised Governance and Audit Committee Terms of Reference (TOR) had been presented to Council for approval in December 2025, they would also be considered at the Annual General Meeting of Council in May 2026. RESOLVED: That the Audit and Governance Committee Forward Work Programme be approved.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Internal Audit Performance report for 1 April 2025 to 31 December 2025 be noted. Note: Councillor Stephen Price declared an interest in the above Agenda Item as the Audit and Procurement service is part of his Cabinet portfolio. Whilst the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Price left the meeting room whilst the item was discussed and voted upon.
The Audit Manager presented a report on the Internal Audit Performance 1 April 2025 to 31 December 2025. The following was discussed: · The percentage of the annual plan completed was at 50%. There had been a reduction in the staff resource to 5.2 (FTE) and 98 days had been lost to long term sickness absence, which had impacted on the completion of the plan. As a result, priority was being given to higher‑risk areas. - It was confirmed that an Auditor had left the service and that the Audit Manager would shortly be retiring. A Senior Auditor had been shadowing the Audit Manager in order to maintain resilience within the team. - Recruitment would soon begin for the Audit Manager post, followed by the appointment of two auditors. - Staff training was underway to help improve the efficiency of processes. • Progress in addressing the outstanding recommendations from the Home to School Transport Audit had been delayed due to staff sickness. - Whilst the issuing of contracts had been delayed to allow for updates, in line with the new contract procedure rules, they had since been issued and externally reviewed. - Consideration would be given to adopting a dynamic purchasing system, as used by several other Local Authorities. - Risk assessments were in place for children travelling to and from school by taxi. - Insurance for licensed vehicles carrying up to eight passengers was checked annually. - It was confirmed that contracts were not being paid if children were not using the service. • The Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) audit still had three major recommendations outstanding, and it was, therefore, likely that the audit opinion would remain unchanged when reported in the annual report. - There had been issues relating to sickness absence within the Regulatory Service, along with a change in management. - Members of the Committee expressed concern in relation to the significant delays in progress and agreed to monitor the situation closely. - Relevant officers would be invited to a future meeting to address concerns. · Concerns were expressed that there had been some issues in relation to Financial Assessments that dated back to 2020. - It was confirmed that the team had been transferred from the Revenue and Benefits Section to Social Care. - IT systems were limited, and a new, improved system would be introduced in due course. - A restructure had taken place within the Accountancy Section, resulting in increased capacity to support Social Care. - Outstanding issues were being prioritised. - An Internal Audit consultancy report had been produced, and its recommendations had been used to inform an action plan. - The Head of Audit and Procurement advised that a root cause analysis had been undertaken and the assurance map had been updated in order that areas of less assurance were targeted. • The Head of Integrated Adult and Community Services advised that, while Conwy County Borough Council (CCBC) paid nursing care fees, a portion of these costs was reclaimed from the Health Board. - Discussions were ongoing with other North Wales Local Authorities as to whether a fee should be levied for reconciliation work. - A formal arrangement was required. - It was suggested that if CCBC were to stop paying the Health Board’s element of nursing care, this could affect the stability of care providers due to the likely delay in payment. • It was confirmed that it was the responsibility of the relevant Head of Service to highlight any issues in addressing audit recommendations. - The Audit Section could be asked to undertake consultancy work. - Follow-up audits would identify outstanding recommendations. - Reports of limited assurance were shared with the Senior Leadership Team and Cabinet Members met regularly with service managers. - Realistic deadlines for implementing recommendations were discussed with services. RESOLVED: That the Internal Audit Performance report for 1 April 2025 to 31 December 2025 be noted. Note: Councillor Stephen Price declared an interest in the above Agenda Item as the Audit and Procurement service is part of his Cabinet portfolio. Whilst the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Price left the meeting room whilst the item was discussed and voted upon.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: (a) That the Governance and Audit Committee acknowledge the self-assessment in terms of areas of full and partial conformance with the Standards and agree that the current area of partial conformance does not significantly impact on the Service’s ability to demonstrate overall compliance. (b) That the results of the Internal Audit Self-Assessment 2025/2026 be noted. Note: Councillor Stephen Price declared an interest in the above Agenda Item as the Audit and Procurement service is part of his Cabinet portfolio. Whilst the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Price left the meeting room whilst the item was discussed and voted upon.
The Audit Manager presented the Internal Audit Self-Assessment 2025/2026. The report provided assurance that Conwy County Borough Council’s Internal Audit Service was fully compliant against 98% of the 52 Standards, with 1 area of partial conformance. The following was discussed: · Whilst the Head of Internal Audit and Procurement had responsibility for Corporate Procurement, Information Governance, Corporate Complaints and Corporate Health and Safety, objectivity and independence were maintained by delegating the operational management of the Service to the Audit Manager, with any related engagements overseen and reports signed by the Strategic Director of Finance and Resources. · It was confirmed that the estimated cost of an auditor, at £316 per audit day, was a performance indicator and that services were not charged, in line with other Local Authorities. - Fees and charges had been reviewed by external consultants and a report would be presented to the Finance and Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 23 February 2026. RESOLVED: (a) That the Governance and Audit Committee acknowledge the self-assessment in terms of areas of full and partial conformance with the Standards and agree that the current area of partial conformance does not significantly impact on the Service’s ability to demonstrate overall compliance. (b) That the results of the Internal Audit Self-Assessment 2025/2026 be noted. Note: Councillor Stephen Price declared an interest in the above Agenda Item as the Audit and Procurement service is part of his Cabinet portfolio. Whilst the interest was not considered prejudicial, Councillor Price left the meeting room whilst the item was discussed and voted upon.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the contents of the Revised Annual Ombudsman Letter 2024/2025 be noted.
The Head of Internal Audit and Procurement presented the Revised Annual Ombudsman Letter 2024/2025. The report provided an update on the work carried out by the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales and shared key trends in complaints regarding Local Government in Wales. RESOLVED: That the contents of the Revised Annual Ombudsman Letter 2024/2025 be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: a) That Councillor Paul Luckock be nominated as a substitute to serve on the Governance and Audit Sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee, should Councillor Gareth Jones be unable to attend. That the update report on the Corporate Joint Committee’s Governance and Audit Committee be noted.
The Deputy Monitoring Officer presented a report on the Corporate Joint Committee’s (CJC) Governance and Audit Committee and invited nominations for a substitute member to sit on the Sub‑Committee. Nigel Rudd (Chair of the CJC Governance and Audit Committee Sub-Committee) provided an update as follows: • Audit Wales had noted that progress on developing the CJCs had been slow. • Local Authorities were contributing funding to the CJCs. • There were operational issues. • It had taken considerable time to establish the sub‑committee and convene its first meeting. • The quoracy requirements for the sub‑committee were considered unrealistic, and no substitute provision was in place for lay member representatives. • The CJC Monitoring Officer and deputy Monitoring Officer had resigned from their roles, along with the Vice‑Chair of theSub‑Committee. The following was discussed: • The deputy Monitoring Officer and Strategic Director for Finance and Resources would discuss the concerns raised with relevant officers. • As the CJC had expanded, Gwynedd Council’s capacity to provide support (both legal and financial) had reduced. • The CJC now required its own Monitoring Officer, both to deal with workload and to also avoid any potential conflict arising from the same monitoring officer providing advice to both the CJC and Gwynedd Council. • The Governance and Audit Committee would welcome regular updates in respect of the work of the CJCs. • It was proposed and seconded that Councillor Paul Luckock be nominated as a substitute to serve on the Governance and Audit Sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee. RESOLVED: a) That Councillor Paul Luckock be nominated as a substitute to serve on the Governance and Audit Sub-Committee of the North Wales Corporate Joint Committee, should Councillor Gareth Jones be unable to attend. That the update report on the Corporate Joint Committee’s Governance and Audit Committee be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the current position and work being undertaken to manage the Council’s financial position be noted.
The Strategic Director – Finance and Resources provided Members with a presentation, which included information on the current financial position and outlook for the Council. The following was discussed: • That in the preparation of the 2026/2027 budget, that prior to the final decisions, there was a remaining shortfall of £8.777m. If this were to be met by Council Tax alone, it would require an increase of around 10%. However, it was advised that the actual increase would be lower once other contributing factors were taken into account. • Whilst previous savings proposals had been overly ambitious, the current proposals were more realistic and largely focused on fees and charges. • Audit Wales were exploring the benefits of multi‑year settlements which included interviewing Section 151 Officers as part of this work. • Following a triennial valuation of the Gwynedd Pension Fund, the employer pension contribution rate had been reduced from 19.6% to 16.6%. As the reduction was less than in someother local government pension funds, it was hoped that no increase would be required after the next review in 3 years. RESOLVED: That the current position and work being undertaken to manage the Council’s financial position be noted.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: That the Treasury Management Quarter 3 update be noted.
The Head of Finance presented the Treasury Management update for Quarter 3, 2025/2026. The following was discussed: • It was confirmed that inflation had decreased and that it was expected to decrease further. • The need for prudence was highlighted, noting that the Council should avoid committing to long‑term borrowing at high interest rates. RESOLVED: That the Treasury Management Quarter 3 update be noted.
The Head of Finance presented the Capital Strategy and Treasury Management Strategy for 2026/2027. The following was discussed: • It was confirmed that the liability benchmark ensured operations remained within acceptable tolerances, and this had been discussed with the Council’s Treasury Management advisors. • In terms of affordability, the Council was taking a prudent approach and balancing essential actions to ensure services could continue to be delivered efficiently. • The strategies were a continuation of the approach undertaken in recent years. RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL: That the following strategies be approved: (i) The Capital Strategy (ii) Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators (iii) The Investment Strategy
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