Issue - meetings

The Report is attached.

Paul Clarke (Internal Audit Manager, Delivery Lead) introduced the Plan, stating that it had originally been prepared for the meeting of the Committee in March which was cancelled following the outbreak of COVID-19. Since then, he advised that the report had been updated to reflect the impact of the pandemic and the reorientation of priorities in response to the change in circumstances.

In response to the Chair, Andrew Felton (Assistant Director, Finance) stated that Warwickshire’s Adult Social Care services had demonstrated resilience throughout the pandemic with good channels of communication between commissioners, health partners and providers. He added that the reintroduction of systems which were temporarily relaxed during the crisis would be a priority for the Council.

Resolved:

That the Committee:

1) Endorses the proposed plan, and

2) Approves the Audit Charter.

The Report is attached.

Paul Clarke (Internal Audit Manager, Delivery Lead) introduced the Annual Report. The impact of coronavirus had led to an interruption of auditing activities, meaning that some reports remained at draft stage. The pandemic had also affected the schedule for implementation of some recommendations.  An auditing exercise to take account of outstanding issues had been delayed from April 2020 due to the virus; this would be rescheduled, and the outcome would be included within a future report.

In response to queries from Councillor Horner and Councillor Gifford, Paul Clarke advised that there was an increase in the number of limited assurance opinions from the levels recorded in 2018/19. The scoring criteria had not changed, but variations could be anticipated depending upon the areas of the organisation’s activities under consideration. Where limited assurance was highlighted, there was an expectation that appropriate action be taken by the Council’s leadership team.

Andrew Felton (Assistant Director, Finance) commented that evaluation of the root causes for limited assurance opinions was being undertaken. In instances where a single episode had accounted for a poor rating, intervention was sought to rectify the issue and re-evaluate the level of assurance.

Resolved:

That the Committee notes the results of internal audit work completed during 2019/2020.