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1.1 Councillor Jones nominated Mrs. Pegington for the position of Chair of the Governance and Audit Committee. The nomination was seconded by Councillor Ashley. 1.2 Councillor Jones nominated Mr. Kelleher for the position of Deputy Chair of the Governance and Audit Committee. The nomination was seconded by Councillor Ashley. 1.3 The Committee agreed the appointments of Mrs. Pegington as Chair and Mr. Kelleher as Deputy Chair.
2.1 Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Davies and Councillor Williams.
3.1 The following declarations were made: • Councillor Ashley declared a personal interest as a member of the Greater Gwent Pension Fund. • Councillor Jones declared a personal interest as a contributor to the Pension Fund and as his wife was in receipt of a pension from the Fund. • Mr. Kelleher declared a personal interest as a recipient of a pension from the Fund. • Mrs. Pegington declared a personal interest as her husband was in receipt of a pension from the Fund. • Mr. Rees declared a personal interest as a recipient of a pension from the Fund.
4.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 19 March 2026 were presented for approval. Members identified a minor amendment relating to a date reference within the minutes, which officers agreed to correct. 4.2 Subject to the amendment above, the minutes were approved as an accurate record.
5.1 The Committee was advised that the planned briefing on the new Global Internal Audit Standards had been deferred due to the Chair's absence from the previous meeting and subsequent membership changes following a by-election. Officers confirmed that the briefing would be delivered following the September 2026 Governance and Audit Committee meeting and that the action would be re-added to the action sheet for monitoring purposes. 5.2 The Committee noted the action sheet.
6.1 The Head of Financial Services provided an update on progress towards completion of the 2024/25 Statement of Accounts following the issues previously reported relating to the Council's asset register. Members were advised that substantial re-statement work was nearing completion and officers were approaching the point of producing a revised set of accounts for consideration by Audit Wales. 6.2 The Committee were advised that the Council, along with the other welsh Local Authorities, had received correspondence from the Auditor General for Wales regarding compliance with statutory accounting deadlines. In response, a recovery plan had been prepared setting out the proposed timetable for completion of the 2024/25 and 2025/26 accounts and return to normal reporting arrangements from 2026/27 onwards. 6.3 The Committee was advised of the principal risks associated with the recovery plan, including audit scheduling, internal capacity requirements, and the compressed timetable required to complete both years of accounts activity. It was reported, however, that the service now had sufficient resource capacity in place and remained confident that the recovery timetable could be achieved. 6.4 Following questions by the Committee, Officers confirmed the following points: • The Council was progressing well against the agreed recovery plan and was in a considerably stronger position than six to nine months previously. • Welsh Government had been kept fully informed of the Council's position and all required public notices had been issued. • A special meeting of the Governance and Audit Committee would likely be required to consider the final audited 2024/25 Statement of Accounts once completed. • Additional audit work was not expected to adversely affect preparation of the Council's Medium-Term Financial Plan or annual budget process due to the separation of responsibilities within the finance structure. • Staffing capacity had improved following successful recruitment into key posts. 6.5 The Governance & Audit a) Noted the position in respect of the 2024/25 external audit process. b) Noted the proposed approach for achieving the statutory deadlines going forward.
7.1 The Head of Financial Services presented the annual Treasury Management Outturn Report for 2025/26, advising that the report fulfilled the Council's obligations under the CIPFA Treasury Management Code and Prudential Code. 7.2 Members were informed that overall external borrowing had reduced during the year and that no long-term borrowing had been undertaken due to prevailing interest rates. The Council had continued to utilise internal borrowing where appropriate and maintained sufficient investment balances to support cashflow management and preserve access to beneficial lending arrangements. 7.3 Investment returns had exceeded the relevant industry benchmark during the reporting period and officers confirmed that Treasury Management activity had remained within approved limits, with the exception of one technical prudential indicator relating to exposure to variable interest rates. 7.4 The Committee noted that the technical exception had not resulted in any adverse financial impact and that all key borrowing limits and prudential indicators had been complied with. 7.5 The Governance and Audit Committee • Noted the new reporting timetable for Governance and Audit Committee. • Noted the previous update provided for the Action Plan for Governance and Improvement (attached as Appendix 1).
8.1 The Business and Democratic Support Services Manager presented the six-monthly update on external regulatory activity. 8.2 Members were advised that no new external regulatory reports had been received since the Committee's previous meeting. Consequently, the report focused on confirming the monitoring arrangements that remained in place and advising Members of a revised reporting timetable. 8.3 It was explained that future reports would be brought to the Committee during the June/July and December meeting cycles to better align with wider corporate assurance processes and reporting arrangements to the Council Joint Executive Team. 8.4 The Committee noted the revised timetable and received assurance that robust monitoring arrangements remained in place. 8.5 The Governance and Audit Committee: • Noted the new reporting timetable for Governance and Audit Committee. • Noted the previous update provided for the Action Plan for Governance and improvement (attached as Appendix 1).
9.1 This item was moved to be presented as the first substantive item due to scheduling needs. The Chief Executive presented an update on progress against the Council's Panel Performance Assessment Action Plan. 9.2 Members were reminded that the Assessment had provided a positive overall evaluation of the Council and had identified a number of recommendations for further improvement. Officers advised that all actions contained within the Plan had now either been completed or incorporated into existing business-as-usual arrangements. 9.3 Appendix 1 detailed progress against individual actions and demonstrated that all work streams had been successfully advanced and embedded within normal governance and performance management processes. 9.4 Following questions by the Committee, Officers confirmed the following points: • The Action Plan had delivered significant organisational benefits and had been taken seriously across all service areas. • Ongoing assurance would continue through existing scrutiny, governance and performance-management arrangements. • Continuing to require a separate recurring report could lead to duplication of monitoring activity. • Any future areas of concern could still be identified through existing governance mechanisms. 9.5 The Committee welcomed the progress achieved and commended officers for the work undertaken. 9.6 The Governance and Audit Committee noted the progress made delivering the council’s Panel Performance Assessment (PPA) Action Plan and agreed the assessment of progress provides assurances that the plan has been delivered and embedded into normal ‘business as usual’ practice
10.1 The Head of Internal Audit presented the Annual Report and Opinion for 2025/26. 10.2 Members were informed that the overall opinion remained at Sound, representing a positive level of assurance and reflecting strong governance, risk management and control arrangements operating across the Authority. 10.3 Officers reported that all twelve core systems reviewed during the year had received either Full or Substantial Assurance. In total, approximately 86% of audit opinions issued were assessed as either Full or Substantial Assurance. 10.4 The report also highlighted positive progress arising from follow-up audits, with services demonstrating strong implementation of agreed recommendations. Members welcomed the positive opinion and recognised the significant work undertaken by the Internal Audit Team and Council services in maintaining robust governance arrangements. 10.5 The Governance and Audit Committee noted the content of the report and sought clarification of any points raised where necessary.
Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings
11.1 The Head of Internal Audit provided a brief update on the Internal Audit Plan 2026/27. 11.2 Members were advised that consultation on the draft Plan presented in March 2026 had now concluded and no amendments to the programme were required. Audit activity had commenced in accordance with the approved programme and future progress updates would be reported to the Committee. 11.3 The Governance and Audit Committee noted that there were no changes from the plan presented in March.
12.1 The Committee considered its draft Annual Report to Council outlining the work undertaken during 2025/26. 12.2 Members were advised that the report followed the format adopted in previous years and was intended to promote awareness of the Governance and Audit Committee's assurance role within the wider Council. 12.3 Members were invited to submit any comments or proposed amendments prior to finalisation of the report for presentation to Council. 12.4 Following discussion by the Committee: • It was suggested by the Committee that they undertake a full CIPFA self-assessment during 2026/27, noting that only a partial assessment had previously been completed. • Officers confirmed that this could be incorporated into the Committee's work programme for the coming year. 12.5 The Committee agreed the draft Annual Report for submission to Council, subject to any final amendments received.
Part of an issue followed across 2 meetings
13.1 The Head of Internal Audit advised that the work programme would be updated to reflect the revised timetable for completion of the Statement of Accounts and any resulting special meetings. 13.2 The Committee noted the work programme.
14.1 The date of the next meeting was confirmed as 24 September 2026
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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