The Committee
considered the External Auditor’s Annual Audit Letter
summarising the main findings from the work undertaken by the
External Auditor for the year ended 31 March 2015. It was noted that:
·
The External Auditor had issued an unqualified opinion on the
Council’s 2014/15 financial statements and an unqualified
Value for Money conclusion for 2014/15.
Work on the Council’s 2014/15 housing benefit subsidy claim
was largely complete and a summary of the main issues would be
reported to the January meeting of the Committee.
·
One of the key messages from the audit work related to slippage in
the capital programme. The Council
spent £4.427m on capital projects in 2014/15 compared to an
original estimate of £11.67m, which was a significant
variance.
In response to
questions by Members, the Officers explained that discussions were
taking place to identify a more robust process for prioritising
capital projects and delivering them within the planned timeframe
to ensure the use of resources to the best effect. Quarterly budget monitoring reports were submitted
to the Policy and Resources Committee to enable comparisons to be
made of expenditure against the capital budget/programme throughout
the year.
RESOLVED: That
the External Auditor’s Annual Audit Letter for the year ended
31 March 2015, attached as Appendix A to the report of the Head of
Finance and Resources, be noted.