(a)

the Audit Committee was required to consider the Chief Internal Auditor’s audit reports, to monitor and review the internal audit programme and findings and to monitor the progress and performance of internal audit to satisfy themselves that the internal control framework continued to be maintained;

(b)

Internal Audit provided reasonable assurance on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Authority’s internal control framework;

(c)

audit work was affected by the Council’s operational business needs being examined as part of the Transformation Programme as well as the Ofsted Inspection and the change of ICT services to DELT;

(d)

audits completed this year, in the majority of areas, provided assurances that identified risks were being minimised or mitigated where appropriate;

(e)

the internal audit activity had added value to the organisation and stakeholders by providing objective and relevant assurance and contributing to the effectiveness and efficiency of governance, risk management and internal control processes;

(f)

the graphs displayed on page 76 of the agenda pack were incorrect – the revised graphs provided a better opinion that those displayed and would be updated on the Council’s website;

(g)

the Plymouth Safeguarding Adults Board identified areas for improvement specifically regarding the governance of the Board; issues were due to be discussed and addressed at the next board meeting;

(h)

during 2014/15 an audit was undertaken linked to Fraud Prevention and Detection; seven irregularity investigations were carried out of which five were linked to IT misuse and two linked to employee conduct. Concerns had been reported back to management;

(i)

asterisks contained within the appendix highlighted if the report had recently been issued or linked to transformation or other projects.

(j)

the replacement graphs for page 76 of the agenda did not show the high standard category however officers confirmed that results were of a good standard;

(k)

Plymouth Safeguarding Adults Board was listed in the appendix as having a green rag rating despite the lack of an operational risk register because there were plans in place to progress this issue;

(l)

the Safeguarding Adults Return 2013/14 was populated using data held in a spreadsheet instead of data being extracted direct from CareFirst as this was not considered to be complete or up to date; this resulted in more likelihood for error. Officers confirmed that they would provide Members with an update on this issue;

(m)

the performance against indicators within the report was very good; some reports were not issued to the customer within the agreed timeframe however areas for improvement had been highlighted;

(n)

an update would be provided to Members at the March 2015 Committee meeting regarding the risks of delivery of the Transformation Programme.

(1)

Members would be provided with an update on the issues linked to the Safeguarding Adults Return 2013/14;

(2)

Members would be provided with an update at the March 2015 Audit Committee meeting regarding the risks of delivery of the Transformation Programme.