(a)

had been prepared in accordance with the CIPFA Treasury Management Code and the Prudential Code;

(b)

confirmed capital financing, borrowing, debt rescheduling and investment transactions for the year 2015/16 and confirmed the borrowing limits for 2015/16 to 2017/18;

(c)

provided an update on the risk inherent in the portfolio and outlined actions taken by the authority during the year to minimise risk;

(d)

gave details of the outturn position on Treasury Management transactions in 2015/16;

(e)

confirmed compliance with treasury limits and Prudential Indicators (PIs) and outlined the final position on the PIs for next year.

(f)

the method by which the private finance initiative for the energy from waste plant;

(g)

the impact that ‘Brexit’ would have on interest rates.

(1)

that Cabinet recommends the Treasury Management annual report (incorporating the authorised limits, operational boundaries for 2015/16 to 2017/18) to the Council for approval;

(2)

to refer the report to full council to note as required by the CIPFA Treasury Management Code of Practice;

(3)

to include a ‘standing’ agenda item on the impact of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.

(a)

the  reviews had made recommendations on and agreed management action for improvement in many areas to improve services, the key ones included -

?

redress for overpayments to domiciliary care providers which did not reflect actual provision; 

?

support for the project to improve customer engagement (Firmstep Digital Platform);

?

effective governance arrangements of the Integrated Health and Wellbeing Board where the need to review existing Board structures was highlighted in order to better achieve goals and aims;

(b)

the committee was required to consider the assurance provided alongside that of the executive, corporate risk management and external assurance including that of the external auditor, as part of the Governance Framework.

(c)

the cost effectiveness of budget cuts within Street Services which had resulted in a reduction in the grass cutting programme which had led to a significant increase in complaints;

(d)

the reduction in resources (particularly in housing benefits) and the challenge to improve performance;

(e)

the use of the word ‘feel’ in the assurance statement relating to the specific audits regarding ICT following the launch of Delt Shared Services Ltd and Public Health;

(f)

the Internal Auditor’s opinion of ‘improvement required’ for one school (whether the same issues applied to other schools).

(1)

to consider the following issues when signing the Annual Governance Statement -

?

the assurance statement;

?

the basis of the Internal Auditor’s opinion and the completion of the audit work against the plan;

?

the scope and ability of audit to complete the audit work;

?

audit coverage and findings provided.

(a)

the report summarised the work carried out during 2015/16 to develop the Council’s approach to risk and opportunity management which covered the following -

?

Corporate and Operational Risk Management Groups;

?

Risk and Opportunity Management Strategy;

?

Risk and Opportunity Registers;

?

Annual Governance Statement;

?

Information Lead Officer Group (ILOG);

?

Transformation Project;

?

Integrated Assurance Project;

?

focus for 2015/16;

(b)

the focus for 2016/17 included -

?

supporting the creation of a new Integrated Assurance Service which would result in risk management being formally aligned and working alongside other compliance functions to promote a joined-up approach to all aspects of governance;

?

the delivery work packages outlined within the Finance Fit project;

?

undertaking a CIPFA risk management benchmarking exercise;

?

continuing to develop and promote the Council’s approach to risk management through the Risk and Opportunity Management Strategy;

?

continuing to support the Transformation Portfolio Board in monitoring the key risks to the delivery of the blueprint for the Transformation Programme;

?

the continuation of developing risk management processes to provide assurance that risks were sufficiently managed relating to the joint risk register between the Council and NEW Devon CCG.

(c)

the cost of appointing a consultant to provide project management and advice, in order to help achieve compliance for the transport operator licence;

(d)

the use of the risk management fund to replace lighting in the Guildhall.

(a)

the report supported the delivery of the City’s vision and to enable the provision of high quality services to the residents and communities of Plymouth it was imperative that effective risk management arrangements were in place; a fundamental element of corporate governance, a risk managed approach to decision making would enable the Council to achieve its objectives and deliver services more efficiently and cost effectively;

(b)

the management of risk principles and processes equally applied at operational level, supporting improved performance, integration with business planning, projects, change programmes and partnerships; 

(c)

the continuing progress being made across services in delivering operational risk and opportunity registers, in line with the Council’s shared vision and priorities;

(d)

the total number of operational risks had reduced from 110 to 90, comprising of one high (red) risk, 53 medium (amber) risks and 36 low (green) risks;

(e)

partnership work being undertaken between the Council and NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group to develop an integrated risk management framework and an integrated risk register.

(f)

the delivery of Council services within the envelope of the resources provided in 2016/17 which had now been identified as a ‘red’ risk and the rationale behind the change in this risk as the budget for 2016/17 remained challenging;

(g)

staff and Members undertaking the risk management eLearning course which had been developed as part of the finance fit transformation work package.

(a)

surveillance was a tool that may be required for the Council to fulfil its obligations to investigate crime, prevent disorder, recover debt, protect the public and establish the facts about situations for which it had responsibility;

(b)

in certain situations, it may be appropriate to undertake covert activities which resulted in individuals being monitored without their knowledge; (the use of covert activities compromised an individual’s ‘right to privacy’, so the use of covert activity must be lawful, necessary and proportionate), in order to comply with the Human Rights Act.

(c)

retention period for records;

(d)

reasons behind the low level of  judicial applications that had been made during 2014/15 (two in total).

(e)

ascertain the retention period for the records;

(f)

seek clarification to the low level of judicial applications relating to Trading Standards.

(1)

acknowledged that covert activities could be a necessary and proportionate response for achieving the Council’s objectives through approval for the Surveillance and Covert Activities Policy; which allowed covert activities to be deployed where necessary and proportionate, under the control of a good practice process based on the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act requirements;

(2)

noted that the recent inspection by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners concerning use of Covert Surveillance and Covert Human Intelligence Sources (CHIS) demonstrated that staff had appropriately implemented those powers available under RIPA; the 2013 report by the Office of Surveillance Commissioners demonstrated that staff had appropriately implemented those powers available under RIPA to obtain Communications Data;

the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 created a judicial approval process for all Local Authority RIPA applications; following internal authorisation the local authority would seek judicial approval for their RIPA authorisation; the authorisation would not come into effect unless or until it was approved by a JP;

further changes had been implemented by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Directed Surveillance and Covert Human Intelligence Sources) (Amendment) Order 2012; local authorities would only authorise directed surveillance or CHIS under RIPA to prevent or detect criminal offences that were punishable, by a maximum term of at least six months imprisonment or are related to the underage sale of alcohol and tobacco;

the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act 2014 received Royal Assent on 17 July 2015; the Act ensured that critical capabilities to fight crime and protect the public were maintained and clarified the existing law without extending current powers;

the Act introduces additional safeguards for the use of Investigatory Powers to respond to criticisms raised by the European Court of Justice; under the new measures certain public bodies lost the right to acquire communications data under RIPA; local authorities including Plymouth City Council had retained their powers but were required to use the National Anti-Fraud  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

(a)

the report outlined the timetable  and key issues in relation to the production of the statutory form of account, the ‘Statement of Accounts’ which the Council was required to produce for audit and publication and reports on progress towards the requirement to prepare the pre-audited accounts by 30 June 2016;

(b)

the Accounts and Audit Regulations required that the accounts were available for inspection for six weeks which commenced on 30 June 2016;

(c)

the report also detailed progress towards completion of the action plan agreed to implement the recommendations made by the auditor following the completion of 2013/14 audit;

(d)

the purpose of the Annual Governance Statement was to provide evidence of a continuous review of the Council’s internal control and risk management processes, to provide assurance as to their effectiveness and to identify action being taken or planned to address any key weaknesses identified;

(e)

the Accounts and Audit (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2006 also introduced an annual review of the effectiveness of the internal audit system;

(f)

the 2011/12 Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting also required that, within the Annual Governance Statement, there should be a statement on whether the Authority’s financial management arrangements confirm with the governance requirements of CIPFA Statement on the Role of Chief Financial Officer in Local Government;

(g)

the report outlined the process followed in order to produce the Annual Governance Statement.

(1)

to endorse the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal audit system;

(2)

to approve the Annual Governance Statement prior to signature by the Leader, Chief Executive and Assistant Director for Finance (Section 151 Officer);

(3)

that the Annual Governance Statement 2015/16 will be an agenda item for the September meeting ahead of the publication of the final Statement of Accounts.

(a)

the auditor’s principal objectives were to review and report on, under the relevant legislative requirements of the Code of Audit Practice for Local Government for the Council’s financial statements and arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources; 

(b)

the requirement to certify specified grant claims and return (as directed by Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd); 

(c)

the need to assess whether the arrangements put in place by the Council would allow the auditor to complete the work by the expected deadline and whether there were any issues that were likely to have a significant impact on the auditor’s ability to provide unmodified audit reports and opinions.

(a)

the issue of the planned reports and opinions during 2016/17;

(b)

the proposed fees and programme of work for 2016/17 which included the following -

?

code audit fee;

?

certification of housing benefits subsidy claim;

?

audit related services; 

?

other non-audit services;

?

amendments to the proposed fees;

?

Arrangements from 2017/18.

?

the inclusion of a standing agenda item relating to the impact of leaving the European Union;

?

the date of the September meeting being changed from 8^th to 15^th.