PAPER C
Purpose : for Decision
REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE
Date : 28
JANUARY 2004
Title : AUDIT
AND INSPECTION LETTER - 2003
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR RESOURCES
IMPLEMENTATION DATE : 9 February 2004
SUMMARY/PURPOSE
1.
To
report the 2003 Annual Audit and Inspection Letter (the Letter) to the Council.
The Council's Relationship Manager and District Auditor - Stephen Taylor - will make a presentation to
the meeting and will be able to answer Members questions on the Letter.
BACKGROUND
2.
The
Audit Commission produce an Annual Management Letter for each local authority
in the country. This year, for the first time, it takes the form of a joint
audit and inspection letter. This reflects both the national change to 'strategic regulation' and the collaborative
work being done between the various inspectors to identify each others
priorities for improvement & provide a seamless service for clients.
3.
The
background to, and objectives of, this years Letter are set out on pages 3 and
4 of Appendix 1. Members will note that the majority of the content that
follows reflects the work identified as necessary by the Comprehensive
Performance Assessment (CPA) some 12
months ago. As such there are fewer specific service reviews than in previous
years.
4.
The
key messages section of the Letter (pages 2 & 3) refer to the Council's
'fair' rating and concludes that over the past year the Council has both risen
to the challenges presented by the CPA and is driving forward an extremely
challenging improvement plan. Achievements noted include:
·
Partnership
working including the draft health care strategy with the PCT and NHS Trust
·
Linking
the budget to the improvement agenda, the headroom and prioritisation processes
·
The
IDeA peer review
·
The
developing performance management system
·
The
improvements in Social Services
·
The
OFSTED ranking of the LEA as an 'upper second' authority
·
The
Best value programme
·
Improvements
in Highways and Planning Services
5. However achieving the improvement plan overall represents a
major challenge to the Council's capacity to manage change. The Letter goes
onto say that the improvements have not yet had a consistent impact in terms of
service improvement and that there is still much for the Council to do to build
on its recent achievements.
6. As far as the financial aspects of corporate governance are concerned, the District Auditor did not find any material issues relating to internal financial control and considers that arrangements for ensuring the legality of financial transactions, maintaining standards of conduct and for preventing fraud & corruption are adequate. However attention is drawn to the need to finalise the medium term financial strategy, to address weaknesses in decision making & procurement processes already highlighted by other enquiries and the scope for increasing the level of pro-active anti fraud & corruption work as well as to reinforce ethical values & standards of conduct across the Council.
7.
Members
will wish to note that both the Council's financial statements and Best Value
Performance Plan (BVPP) received unqualified audit opinions last December. However
the Council needs to achieve earlier closure of the accounts in order to meet
new Government requirements next year and to improve the way in which we
produce the statutory performance indicators & ensure their accuracy. The
statutory report on the BVPP is attached to the Letter and contains one
specific recommendation to this effect (Appendix 1 page 20 refers). This is
supported by a more detailed report containing fifteen separate recommendations
and a commentary on each of the indicators that was felt to be unsatisfactory.
Directors have already considered actions to improve the accuracy of
performance indicators in future and a response to each of the detailed
recommendations will be agreed with the Audit Commission. A second workshop for
officers involved in producing the BVPP has already been arranged for later
this month to continue the improvement process.