Issue - meetings

The Head of Finance introduced the report setting out the External Auditor’s Annual Report 2020/21, the purpose of which was to conclude the annual audit process for 2020/21.

Mr Paul Dossett of Grant Thornton, the External Auditor, advised the Committee that the accounts had been signed off on 18 November 2022, including finalisation of the External Auditor’s Report.  The responses of Management to the Improvement recommendations were now included in the document.

In response to questions:

·  Mr Dossett explained that, in terms of the recommendation that consideration should be given to making a clear distinction between statutory and discretionary spending in the budgetary information provided to Members and published on the website, it was the National Audit Office which set out the framework for the Value for Money work and one of its challenge questions related to the distinction between the two.  Potentially, there was scope for savings in all services, so when discussing budgets and savings it would be helpful to be clear about the distinction between services.  However, that was not to say that a service was out of the scope for savings and efficiencies.

·  The Director of Finance, Resources and Business Improvement advised the Committee that the Council’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were reviewed every year to ensure that they continued to be relevant.  Benchmarking the Council’s performance against comparable authorities was done informally and the information could be shared with Members to show how the Council compared.

During the discussion, Members thanked Mr Dossett for the report.

RESOLVED:  That the External Auditor’s Annual Report, attached at Appendix 1 to the report of the Senior Finance Manager (Client), be noted.