Issue - meetings

To receive an update on the Audit and Governance Committee action log.

The committee considered the action log. The following updates were provided:

Training Session – External Auditors

The committee noted that this training session would be arranged at the earliest opportunity, but this however could not be completed until Mazars had fully handed over to Ernst & Young.

Statement of Accounts – Briefing Session

It was confirmed that the 2022-23 Statement of Accounts remained with Mazars however a draft copy of the Value for Money report had been received and was currently being checked over by colleagues. It was agreed that the report would be circulated to the committee at the appropriate point to allow members to fully consider prior to the December committee meeting.

Good Practice Briefing Notes

Discussions were underway with colleagues in Democratic Services to explore how briefing notes could be hosted (such as the Members’ Hub). The committee welcomed the development of these briefing notes and asked that they be expedited for consideration at the December committee meeting.

S106 Update

The committee received an update by email and a further briefing had been added to the Work Programme for December 2024. Cllr Snowball agreed to share the concerns raised by members in relation to the committee receiving a full report on progress against the original timetable and actions agreed set out within the Internal Audit report.

Sandbach Town Council Standards Report

The Interim Director of Governance and Compliance committed to exploring the issues with consistency in relation to the reporting-back of any Standards Sub Committee investigations to the Audit and Governance Committee as the parent committee. It was agreed that the process was currently inconsistent and that both the current complaint procedure and Constitution did not provide for the Audit and Governance Committee to receive reports on items that they had requested be investigated. It was agreed that a report back on the Sandbach Town Council Standard matters would be scheduled for December 2024. 

B4B Report

The committee noted that a verbal update would be provided at today’s meeting however requested that a full report on improvements, budget/spend, key issues and lessons learnt be considered and added to the Work Programme.