Venue: Hybrid meeting - Zoom - County Hall. View directions
Contact: Connor Farmer
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Apologies To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from County Councillors C Walsh, J Pugh, J Gibson-Watt (Leader and Cabinet Member for an Open and Transparent Powys), L Lovell (Director of Education and Children), N Davies (Director of Social Services and Housing) and M Perry (Interim Director of Environment). |
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Disclosures of Interest To receive any disclosures of interest by Members relating to items to be considered at the meeting. Minutes: No Disclosures of Interest were received from Members. Ian Halstead (SWAP Assistant Director) declared a potential conflict of interest regarding Item 7, due to a family member attending Ysgol Calon Cymru. |
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Minutes and Action Log PDF 227 KB (i) To authorise the Chair to sign the minutes of the previous meeting held as follows as a correct record:
a. 24th November 2023
(ii) To receive and consider the Action Log. Additional documents: Minutes: Proposed by County Councillors A Williams and P Lewington, Governance and Audit Committee resolved to authorise the Chair to sign the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 24th November 2023, as a correct record.
Observations and Recommendations:
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New Ways of Working update PDF 331 KB To receive a presentation of the Head of Workforce and Organisational Development. Minutes: Documents Considered: · New Ways of Working (NWOW) Presentation Slides
Background: · The Head of Workforce and Organisational Development provided a short presentation (included within the agenda pack), to provide assurance to Members regarding outstanding staff flexi-time balances. · Officers from the Workforce and Organisational Development Service provided an overview of NWOW at the 29th September 2023 Governance and Audit Committee meeting, alongside the associated guidance and documentation available to support staff and line managers. · A notice was sent to all staff to advise that the interim changes to the flexi-time scheme made during the Covid pandemic would cease from November 2023. · Data provided by the Service confirmed that there had been a significant reduction in average flexi hours held by staff. The average across Service Areas as of January 2024 was 5.47 hours. It was noted that up to 10 hours may be carried forward into the next period.
Issues Raised by the Committee and Responses Received:
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Whistleblowing Policy PDF 182 KB To receive and consider the Whistleblowing Policy. Minutes: Documents Considered: · Powys County Council Whistleblowing Policy.
Background: · The Chair noted that Governance and Audit Committees in Wales had a duty under the Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021, to consider the Council’s approach to complaints, including seeking assurance of the overall effectiveness of the Council’s complaints policy. · The Professional Lead – Human Resources Management and Development explained that the renewed policy included the definition of a protected disclosure (and what was not); the legal protections for staff to prevent dismissal or victimisation, and so encouraged staff to make protected disclosures where relevant. · The policy was reviewed in September 2023 with minor changes, such as the addition of the fraud and investigation process and general updates to contact details. The policy was reviewed every five years. · A plan was being developed (for September 2024) to produce a toolkit to complement the grievance policy, followed by a similar toolkit for the whistleblowing policy. The toolkit would promote initiatives around raising awareness of the policies, encourage staff to speak up and report their concerns, in addition to supporting staff who raise concerns or protected disclosures.
Issues Raised by the Committee and Responses Received:
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Digital Strategy Review PDF 71 KB To receive and consider a report from Audit Wales and the organisational response. Additional documents:
Minutes: Documents Considered: · Audit Wales Digital Strategy Review – Powys County Council. · Organisational response.
Background: · The Senior Auditor (Performance) provided a high-level overview of the report. · The Digital Strategy Review was a thematic review carried out by Audit Wales across all 22 councils in Wales. · A national summary report was planned once all individual reports were finalised (likely to be March 2024). · The review’s focus was around the Council’s strategic approach to digital, to secure value for money and its considerations around the sustainable development principle. The ultimate question was whether the Council had a clear and well developed strategi approach to digital. · The review found that the Council had a clear, integrated and well-developed digital strategy, informed by a good understanding of its current situation and possible future trends. The Council engaged with stakeholders to inform its strategy and collaborated with partners to deliver it. · The review found that the Council did not routinely monitor the effectiveness of its partnerships. · Resources were in place for the delivery of the digital strategy, to deliver long-term benefits. · The Council had strong arrangements for measuring progress of an impact of its digital strategy, reviewed the effectiveness of the strategy and shared lessons learnt. · The only recommendation made was for the Council to strengthen its arrangements to secure effectiveness, efficiency and economy through partnership working when delivering the digital strategy. The Council should develop arrangements to assess the effectiveness of its partnerships. · Audit Wales would follow up on the recommendation and progress according to the future audit programme. · Noted that appendix one included the full range of questions which Audit Wales sought answers from, in addition to the audit criteria. · The Senior Audit (Performance) thanked officers and elected members involved in the review for their positive cooperation, noting the presentation and organisation of documentary evidence and fieldwork were excellent. · The Interim Head of Economy and Digital Services fully accepted the recommendation. The organisational response explained that the Service’s partnerships and their effectiveness would be constantly reviewed and assessed by building in appropriate governance; this would cover the stages of growth, cultivate, innovate, monitor and optimise within the partnership itself. · The work around refreshing the digital strategy had already began and would be finalised around August 2024. This would ensure enough time was allocated to align the digital strategy with feedback from the Council’s Sustainable Powys and place-based planning programmes, as there would be extensive engagement with partners and communities.
Issues Raised by the Committee and Responses Received:
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SWAP Internal Audit Adverse Report (Ysgol Calon Cymru) PDF 113 KB To receive and consider the SWAP report. Additional documents: Minutes: Documents Considered: · SWAP Internal Audit Adverse Report - Ysgol Calon Cymru
Background: · The Chair noted that there may be crossover between the remit of Governance and Audit Committee and Learning and Skills Scrutiny Committee, where this occurred, the points would be referred to the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee. · The SWAP Assistant Director provided a presentation (slides were available within the agenda pack) outlining the audit and its findings: o The main concerns were around finance and budgeting, the school’s ability operate within their budget window and to deliver a balanced budget. Otherwise, the school was generally performing well. o Minor improvements could be made around governance and ICT. o 12 recommendations were made around the topic of finance: §For context, Ysgol Calon Cymru’s annual budget was £5.8 million. §The school had operated with a deficit budget since 2019, suggesting there was a longer-term finance issue. §For 2023/24 at the time of the audit, the in-year deficit was forecasted at £627,000, with the overall deficit slightly exceeding £1.5 million. §The school’s budget remained unlicensed by the Council, meaning it had not yet been approved by the Council. §By 2026/27, the accumulative deficit was forecasted to rise to £2.4 million. §The annual in-year deficit was forecasted to significantly improve by 2026/27, from £600,000 to £70,000. §A budget recovery plan had been submitted to the Council but had yet to be approved. §An officer from the Council’s Finance Team was closely supporting the school amounting to several days per week, in addition to the other financial support provided to all schools in Powys. · The Chair invited the Ysgol Calon Cymru Headteacher and Chair of Governors to respond to the audit findings and their experiences, noting that Governance and Audit Committee wanted to see understand how the actions could be reasonably delivered, and was not an adversarial environment.
Issues Raised by the Committee and Responses Received:
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Corporate Fraud and Error Report - Quarter 3 2023 PDF 71 KB To receive and consider the report of the Head of Finance. Additional documents: Minutes: Documents Considered: · Corporate Fraud and Error - Quarter 3 Report
Background: · The report was provided within the agenda pack and considered as read by Members. · The Senior Fraud Investigator provided updates on the action log included in the appendix of the quarterly Corporate Fraud and Error report.
Issues Raised by the Committee and Responses Received:
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Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy PDF 199 KB To note the renewed policy for information. Minutes: Documents Considered: · Renewed Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy.
Background: · The Senior Investigator guided Members through the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Policy and highlighted the main changes. · A second appendix had been added to clarify the role and responsibility of all staff, senior officers and Members in reporting potential fraud or corruption. · Details of the fraud hotline were added to the policy, although there had been situations where frustrated customers rang the hotline due to not having their call answered by other Service Areas.
Issues Raised by the Committee and Responses Received:
Actions: · To add reference to the ... view the full minutes text for item 9. |
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Climate Emergency (EDR0011) Risk Deep Dive To receive and consider the Risk Deep Dive presentations. Minutes: Documents Considered: · Risk Deep Dive presentation - Climate Emergency (EDR0011)
Background: · The Programme Delivery Manager (Climate and Nature) provided a presentation to outlining the risks and mitigating actions involved with the Strategic Risk EDR0011 – Climate Emergency. · The previous administration of Powys County Council had declared a Climate Emergency, noting the consequences of not taking action, such as increased flooding, poor air quality and the impact on nature and communities. Both Climate and Nature Emergency strategic risks were rated as Severe, therefore there would be severe consequences without mitigation. o Several areas were considered in order to mitigate the strategic risk, including influencing national and regional action planning, ensuring effective business continuity, emergency planning procedures and improving dynamic flood risk. o Planning and transforming the Council’s aging fossil-fuel fleet vehicles, use of assets, buildings and delivery of services was necessary to reduce its carbon footprint. · The residual risk remained high due to the global context of climate change, the issues were likely to remain regardless of the delivery of the Council’s mitigations. As the Council could not influence other regions or nations to decarbonise by 2030, it needed to remain vigilant to the changing climate and its impact on delivery of services, impact on residents, communities and businesses. · Climate change would lead to hotter, dryer summers and extreme temperatures on a more regular basis. Impacts included worsening air quality and therefore worsened asthma, increased risk to heart health and related cardiovascular diseases, heat stress, and the increased demand for summer cooling would lead to increased energy bills for households, exacerbating fuel poverty. In contrast, winters will be wetter and warmer, increasing incidences of volatile and extreme weather events causing financial losses, poor mental health, injuries and deaths. · Transport services and networks would also be impacted due to flooding and damage to infrastructure. Increased flooding also had the greatest impact on the hardest-hit communities, not only affecting river quality but also increasing distress, damage and demand for flood alleviation. · The Council was implementing mitigating actions, working with partners and stakeholders at a national, regional and local level to identify opportunities to work collaboratively where possible. Developing intelligence and an evidence-base to inform action and prioritise resources to areas with the greatest potential for change. · The Council’s Climate Strategy would set the vision and framework across its own operations, but also the wider territory as a county, to reduce emissions and contributions to climate change, ultimately lowering the risk of climate change’s impact on delivering services. · Carbon Accounting was undertaken, although not an exact science, it did provide a clear baseline and benchmark to inform plans of action, such as how the Council utilised its assets and delivered services, and subsequently how it should distribute resources and funding to make the most difference. · A Climate Report had been commissioned to inform the Senior and Corporate Leadership Team on the best route for action, such as through a transformation programme or through action plans, Sustainable Powys or wider initiatives.
Issues Raised by the ... view the full minutes text for item 10. |
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Nature Emergency (HTR0018) Risk Deep Dive Minutes: Documents Considered: · Risk Deep Dive presentation - Nature Emergency (HTR0018)
Background: · The Professional Lead – Countryside Access and Recreation provided a presentation outlining the risks and mitigating actions involved with the Strategic Risk HTR0018 – Nature Emergency. · The initial risk rating was scored at 25 as it was almost certain that the risk would have a severe effect on the County. The residual risk had been revised to 20 due to its effect globally. · The Council had already declared a nature emergency, establishing a cross-party Nature Emergency Working Group, a nature champion and temporary funding for a Nature Recovery Officer. · Reliance on grant funding for posts was a challenge, although it had allowed support for the local nature partnership. · Following consideration by the Senior Leadership Team, the risk was escalated to the Strategic Risk Register alongside its mitigating actions. · The Professional Lead noted that the nature emergency mattered due to biodiversity being fundamental to survival on Earth, in acting as the life support system. Declining biodiversity impacted on food provision, changing climate, the resilience of Humans as a species and in other areas such as cultural services, which was important for Powys as a rural county. · A Powys Nature Recovery Action Plan had been developed to deliver against the Council’s duties as a local authority to maintain and advance biodiversity in addition to partnership actions. o In accordance with statutory duties, a nature recovery action plan must be reported every three years. However, the Powys Nature Recovery Action Plan sets out 10-year actions. This included assisting Powys to achieve the 30 by 30 target (to protect and effectively manage at least 30% of the County’s land, fresh water and sea for nature by 2030). · Whilst separate and distinct, Nature and Climate risks were interdependent when considering actions to address biodiversity loss, such as through nature-based solutions. An example provided was carbon sequestration, such as by incorporating wildflower species within public green spaces. · If impacts of the nature emergency were not addressed, there would be effects on food, reduced productivity of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, in addition to the livelihoods of residents that are linked through employment. This was a key issue in Powys where most people are connected to nature, agriculture, forestry and farming. · A decline in pollination would result in reduced food availability, as well as other factors such as a decline in soil health and fertility. · Climate change and changes in ecosystems cause environments to be more susceptible to invasion by pests and diseases, potentially requiring pesticides to reduce crop damage. · It was reported that if grant funding ceased, the Council’s nature recovery work would reduce to a minimal level, delivered through core resources such as road verge management. · The risk was rated as Severe due to it being a challenging task to address within a short timescale, especially as it required world-wide activity, and local actions only go so far without support from partners.
Issues Raised by the Committee and Responses Received:
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Risk Assurance - Procurement and Contracts To receive a risk assurance update. Minutes: The item was postponed to the next meeting of Governance and Audit Committee. |
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To receive and consider the following Governance and Audit Committee Working Group reports:
i) Heart of Wales Property Services (HoWPS)
ii) Highways, Transport and Recycling (HTR)
iii) To consider passing the following Resolution:
a. RESOLVED that the Governance and Audit Committee note the findings of the HoWPS and HTR Working Group reports, and recommend that Cabinet accept the recommendations contained within the reports. Additional documents: Minutes: Documents Considered:
Proposed by County Councillor A Williams and seconded by Lay Member G Hall, the Committee:
RESOLVED that the Governance and Audit Committee noted the findings of the HoWPS and HTR Working Group reports, and recommended that Cabinet accept the recommendations contained within the reports.
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To consider the forward work programme (attached) and consider whether any additional items should be included. Minutes: Documents Considered:
Actions: · To add to the Forward Work Programme: o Session to update Governance and Audit Committee Members on the Global Centre for Rail Excellence (GCRE), including: § governance arrangements, § potential conflicts of interest, § risks associated with the Council being involved in GCRE, § whether the risks had increased or decreased. o Review the Supplementary Payments SWAP report before consideration at Governance and Audit Committee. · Risk deep dives – prepare report/presentation slides for inclusion in the agenda pack. · Draft terms of reference to be prepared to establish a Purchase Card Working Group. · Request for a Member Development session on the work of the Anti-Fraud Team and its procedures. · Request for a wider Member Development session on the new International Audit Standards. |
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Regulatory Tracker: Quarter 2 2023/24 Update To receive and consider the report of the Leader and Cabinet Member for an Open and Transparent Powys. Minutes: The exempt item was postponed to the following meeting of Governance and Audit Committee.
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