Rich Clark (Head of Audit Partnership) introduced the report which set-out the Internal Audit Plan for 2019/20.  He stated that having considered all the highlighted risks set-out in the Plan, he was satisfied that the Council’s resources were adequate.  The Head of Audit Partnership stated that they had looked at other Local Authority and private sector Audit Plans, and were satisfied that the Council’s expertise was sufficient to deal with those risks.  He drew attention to page 20 of the report, which set-out their planned work for 2019/20 and set-out high priority projects.

Members congratulated officers on the document which they considered was clear and concise.  Members made the following comments: many long-standing Members would be standing-down at the 2 May 2019 elections, a lot of experience would therefore be lost and this would have an impact on the Council; pleased that economic development, homelessness and strategic planning were high priority projects; planning enforcement had improved but there were still issues, so would like to see a focus on that; emergency planning in relation to Brexit was critical given Swale’s location in terms of road access; assured that officers would report any concerns regarding resources; was important to provide audit training for new Members before meetings commence; concerned that officers were having to pick-up issues in the Borough from social media; Policy Development and Review Committee would need to look at social media; needed to be very careful about IT especially in terms of Freedom of Information requests; should look at GDPR; and needed to hold Member training on GDPR after the May election.

In response to query from a Member, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance suggested contacting the Council’s Communications Section in relation to providing social media training for Members.  He also suggested that training be provided in the role and responsibilities of Audit Committee for all Members after the May elections.

In response to a query from a Member, the Head of Audit Partnership explained that they were unsure what extra requirements there would be following Brexit.  Audit would monitor routine actions around this, and time would tell if further actions were required. The plan could be revised as circumstances changed.

The Chief Financial Officer clarified that it was an internal audit plan and therefore would not include air quality management.  The Head of Audit Partnership advised that air quality featured in their ‘audit universe’ as a potential area for review.  He stated that he was satisfied that the Council was drawing sufficient assurance from other sources such that additional work from internal audit would not assist further.

A Member asked why there was nothing specific on business rate reserve levels, and were they high enough?  The Head of Audit Partnership reported that this was something that the Council’s external auditors considered.  He added that work on the Council’s budget would look at how reserves were set. With regard to Human Resources procedures, the Head of Audit Partnership stated that no concerns had been identified. 

The Chairman asked Mr Greenlee (Grant Thornton) for his view on the report.  Mr Greenlee stated that the report seemed comprehensive.

Resolved:

(1)       That the Internal Audit & Assurance Plan for 2019/20 be approved.

(2)       That the Head of Audit Partnership’s view that the partnership currently has sufficient resources to deliver the plan and a robust Head of Audit Opinion be noted.

(3)       That the Head of Audit Partnership’s assurance that the Plan is compiled independently and without inappropriate influence from management be noted.

(4)       That the proposed criteria for commissioning an External Quality Assessment of the audit service later in 2019/20 be noted.