Agenda item

To consider a report by the Chief Internal Auditor (copy enclosed) updating members on Internal Audit progress.

 

 

The Chief Internal Auditor presented the Internal Audit Update (previously circulated) the report provides an update for Corporate Governance and Audit Committee on Internal Audit’s latest progress in terms of its service delivery, assurance provision, reviews completed, performance and effectiveness in driving improvement. It also includes an update on progress with the CIPFA Good Practice for Audit Committees.

 

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic emergency, a key focus for the team had been providing advice and support to new activities and changes to arrangements that the Council was having to implement at pace to respond to the pandemic. Operationally, the Council has had to react quickly to rapidly changing circumstances, which has had an impact on the pace and progression of some of our audits. The audit team would continue to carry out audits and 2020/21 planned work with good engagement from services.

 

In addition to the planned audit work, the team had also been assisting the Council with grant payments (e.g. free school meals, social care workers bonus payments and business rate grants) through provision of support and advice. The team had also supported the Council’s Test, Trace and Protect (TTP) Team in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with a Senior Auditor seconded to the team.

 

Appendix 1 showed the impact on progress against the Audit Plan for 2020/21 in part due to temporary reduction in audit resource due to the redeployment and subsequent secondment of one Senior Auditor to the TTP team (from June 2020), and one Auditor retiring in October 2020. The audit team were currently advertising for a Senior Auditor for a 12 month temporary contract to backfill for the Senior Auditor and there remained uncertainty whether the council would support the recruitment into the vacant Auditor post. The Audit Plan would remain under review, as would the utilisation of available internal audit resource, in the context of the Council’s ongoing response to the Covid-19 pandemic and to ensure we continue to focus our work on areas of greatest risk to the council.

 

As indicated previously, a reduction in resource would mean that the following projects would no longer be completed in 2020/21. These areas would continue to be assessed and high priority areas would be carried forward to the Audit Plan for 2021/22:

 

·         Community Mental Health Team – on hold until 2021/22 by request of BCUHB

·         Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) – on hold until WG guidance released

·         Adoption Service – on hold. Wrexham CBC (host authority) also plan to audit.

·         Youth Service – on hold

·         Works in Defaults – no longer a priority

·         Workforce Development – carry forward to 2021/22

·         School Audits – on hold, carry forward to 2021/22

·         Heritage Services – no longer a priority

·         Additional Learning Needs – carry forward to 2021/22

·         Empty Homes – no longer a priority

·         Commercial Waste – on hold

·         Exceptions and Exemptions with CPRs – on hold

·         Equalities / Wellbeing and Impact Assessments – on hold

 

The senior auditor presented the review of Direct Payments as this area had not been reviewed for some time and as part of the proactive counter fraud measures. This review provided assurance for senior managers within the Education & Children’s Services (ECS), the Annual Internal Audit Report and Annual Governance Statement.

 

The audit team had previously carried out a review of support budgets and direct payments within Community Support Services (CSS), which was reported to Corporate Governance & Audit Committee in September 2019.

 

Staff within the Children with Disabilities team have been provided with training on direct payments, but the Service would benefit from having documented guidance to ensure staff were clear of the process and it is followed consistently. It is planned for this to be coordinated with the CSS to produce common guidance for direct payments. Similarly, the Service did not have documented guidance for parents or carers, instead commissioning a third party provider to supply this information and advice to citizens.

 

Officers responded that they acknowledged internal audit for improvement, however the legislation makes certain things difficult, such as control of those who were in receipt for the money. The families who the audit team worked with were through an intervention method, with children with disabilities there were further challenges, there was no significant reason to go through all the process, however if social workers needed to see the information, they could receive the information.

 

General Discussion –

 

·         The committee queried whether the NRF grants within the AONB were audited. Officers responded by informing the committee that there had been an audit of the AONB, however grants could be included in any future audits.

·         The acronym for PLASC was queried and what it meant, officers clarified it stood for pupil level annual school census – it was the pupil and school level data.

·         Members highlighted concerns with parking income, although the current circumstances with COVID made it difficult to audit. There have been issues raised with income, new arrangements for collecting cash had been put in place. There was also changes with payment method, through phone and card. Members requested that a further report be brought back to committee to assure that required improvements have been made given previous low assurance report in this area a few years ago.

·         The committee raised the strain on the audit team, and whether the officer who was relocated to the track and trace team whether they could be moved back to audit. The officers clarified that Bob Chowdhury was redeployed in June, he oversaw the contract tracing and advising those on the phones. In September there was budget available, this was external, the auditor was named lead with the tracing and Welsh Government had covered the cost.

·         The committee wanted to ensure that the importance of the audit team was noted with the budget savings process of the council, to ensure no additional strain to the department.

·         In response to the Direct Payments report members agreed the matter was a complex one and it would be beneficial for a full report to be presented to the committee in the spring, alongside case studies for members to have a better understanding.

 

RESOLVED – that

(a)  The committee note the Internal Audit’s progress and performance.

(b)  The Committee recommended that resources available to the Chief Internal Auditor should not be reduced.

(c)  The Internal Audit of Direct Payments for Children report be brought back to the committee in 2021.