minutes

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 14 December 2011 (Minute Nos. 440 - 446) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

declarations of interest

No interests were declared.

part b minutes for information

internal audit report - planning services

The Chairman welcomed the Head of Planning and the Development Manager to the meeting. He explained that, following concerns expressed by the Committee regarding the audits of Development Control Enforcement and Section 106 agreements, which had both received limited assurances, Officers had been invited to provide an update on improvements undertaken to-date. With regard to Section 106 agreements, the Chairman particularly raised concern that only five of the ten recommendations had been implemented. He then referred to the Development Control Enforcement audit and proposed that a further report be provided to the Audit Committee within six months.

The Head of Planning provided an update to Members on progress to improve the Council's arrangements for monitoring Section 106 agreements. He explained that it was important to ensure transparency and accountability for Section 106 agreements and to improve communications between Officers, Members and the public. He outlined the actions taken to date, as set out on page three of the report, and advised that the intention was to make the new Section 106 database accessible to Members. The Planning Committee Working Group had agreed protocols regarding Member involvement in major applications. He advised that district councils in Kent were working on a joint approach to viability testing of new development sites.

In response to questions, the Head of Planning confirmed that the Planning Committee received monitoring reports for Section 106 agreements and that any substantive changes to an agreement would need approval from the Planning Committee.

The Development Manager referred to the improvements made regarding Development Control Enforcement. He advised that the consultation on the draft Planning Enforcement Strategy and Charter had ended in January 2012 and the final version would be approved and available to view on the website from April 2012. He explained that the Department had experienced some issues with implementing the new IT system 'Headway' and further training was required to understand the system's full reporting capabilities. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) was being established with the Legal Department which would set out requirements from both Departments regarding the provision of legal advice and timescales for the whole of the Planning Service, including enforcement. The Planning Committee Working Group had recently received a monitoring report on enforcement issues.

In response to questions, the Development Manager advised that two Parish Councils had responded to the consultation on the Strategy and Charter regarding gypsy and traveller sites, whilst some enforcement prosecutions had been delayed due to the closure of Sittingbourne Magistrates Court.

Members discussed the report and requested that a copy of the SLA with Legal be provided to Members for information once it had been approved.

part a minute for confirmation by council

certification of claims and returns - annual report

The District Auditor (Audit Commission) introduced the certification of claims and returns - annual report, which set out the results of the 2010/11 certification work in relation to housing and Council Tax benefit scheme, National Non-Domestic Rates return and disabled facilities. He confirmed that all the recommendations arising from the previous years' report had been actioned successfully and there were only minor issues.

part b minutes for information

audit committee update

The District Auditor (Audit Commission) introduced the report which provided an update on progress with delivery of responsibilities as the Council's external auditors, an update on the externalisation of the Audit Practice and highlighted key emerging national issues and developments. He advised that the 2011/12 audit work was progressing well and there were no matters of concern to-date.

audit plan 2011/12

The District Auditor (Audit Commission) introduced the report which outlined the work for the 2011/12 audit including the key milestones and deadlines. He confirmed that good plans were in place and referred Members to page 15 of the report which confirmed a five per cent reduction in the audit fee for 2011/12.

future of local public audit

The Head of Finance introduced the report which updated the Committee on the latest position on the appointment of external auditors to local councils after the abolition of the Audit Commission.

The District Auditor (Audit Commission) advised that the Audit Commission had announced the results of their procurement exercise on 5 March 2012. Grant Thornton (UK) LLP had been awarded a five year contract as the appointed auditor for four contract areas, including Kent. Audit Commission staff in those areas would transfer to Grant Thornton via Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations in October 2012. The next step would now be to engage in a consultation process with all audited bodies on the appointment of new auditors. It was expected that the new contracts would result in reductions in audit fees of up to 40 per cent. He advised that an announcement regarding audit suppliers for Parish Councils was due at the end of the month.

Members welcomed the announcement and thanked the Head of Finance and District Auditor for the update.

internal audit operational plan 2012/13

The Internal Audit Manager introduced the report which set out the Internal Audit one-year operational plan for 2012/13. She advised that the following three audits would be rolled forward from 2011/12: leisure centre management, health and safety and CCTV as they had not been completed in the current year due to resource issues. The Council would be advertising for a Senior Auditor and it was hoped that the recruitment process would be completed by the end of April 2012.

audit committee work programme

The Committee reviewed the work programme and the Head of Internal Audit Partnership confirmed that a report on the review of the Audit Committee - Action Plan would be submitted to the next Audit Committee meeting in May 2012.