Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Jeffrey Room, The Guildhall, St. Giles Square, Northampton, NN1 1DE. View directions

Contact: Email: democraticservices@northampton.gov.uk  01604 837722

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies

Please contact Democratic Services on 01604 837722 or democratic services@northampton.gov.uk when submitting apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillor Flavell.

 

2.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 118 KB

(Copy herewith)

Minutes:

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 12th January 2015 were agreed as a true record save for the amendment of item 9 paragraph 3, amended to:-

 

In response to a question from Councillor Strachan, Glenn Hammons confirmed that the £40,000 security costs were due to extra security at the Bus Station.  He confirmed that he would get a more detailed cost of the breakdown to Councillor Strachan.

 

3.

Progress Report

Minutes:

It was confirmed that there were no outstanding actions.

 

4.

Deputations / Public Addresses

Minutes:

There were none.

 

5.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

There were none.

 

6.

Matters of Urgency which by reason of special circumstances the chair is of the opinion should be considered

Minutes:

There were none.

 

7.

Treasury Management Strategy pdf icon PDF 129 KB

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Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Larratt welcomed Daniel Haywood from KPMG to his first meeting.

 

P. Morrison presented the report and elaborated thereon.  He confirmed that the interest on the new and replacement borrowing was a £211k gross saving on new long term borrowing.  There also was a £211k saving due to the higher rate of interest earned on higher levels of cash balances compared to forecast.

 

Compliance with agreed policies and practices had been monitored during the year and to date there were no breaches.

 

Councillor Larratt confirmed that they have achieved a significant higher interest rate than average.  He offered his congratulations to everyone in achieving that.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Marriott, the Borough Secretary confirmed that the Section 151 Officer would lead the way forward following discussions with the Management Board and the Risk management for the Football Club loans would be reviewed.

 

8.

Financial Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 115 KB

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Additional documents:

Minutes:

It was confirmed that there were no outstanding actions.

 

RESOLVED:   That the report be noted.

 

9.

Accounting Policies pdf icon PDF 110 KB

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Additional documents:

Minutes:

A. Eyles of LGSS addressed the Committee and confirmed that it was good policy for the Committee to approve the report each year before the Statement of Accounts was produced.  There was no impact for the Council but the accounts would be progressed, reviewed and changes made if appropriate.  The final accounts would be published in September along with any with any updates to Accounting policies.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Marriott, A. Eyles confirmed that nationally Local Authorities were subject to the same CIPFA Code for Local Authority Accounting.

 

RESOLVED:  That the report be approved.

 

10.

External Audit Update pdf icon PDF 426 KB

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Presented By: N Bellamy, External Auditor (Audit Commission)

Minutes:

D. Haywood from KPMG presented the report to Committee and confirmed in the key financial statement of the Audit Plan that there was one key risk identified  at present which is the initial risk of preparing Group Accounts for the first time with the introduction of Northamptonshire Partnership Homes.  At the moment it was undecided whether it would be consolidated or not but there would be a report to Committee in September.  The initial assessment presented no significant risks at this stage.  The fee this year would be slightly higher than normal due to the  changes around NNDR certification. The audit would start at the end of June.

 

As in previous years work was required for auditing the whole of Government Accounts.  The next main Audit document would be in September with the presentation of the ISA260 Report and then the Annual Audit Letter in November.

 

In response to Councillor Strachan’s question, the Borough Secretary confirmed that the 2013/14 accounts Abington Street objection was still being discussed but a meeting would be scheduled shortly.  The objection had been made to the external auditors and they needed to manage the process but it was in hand.

 

Resolved:  That the report be noted.

 

11.

Internal Audit Update pdf icon PDF 379 KB

(Copy herewith)

Presented By: C Dickens, Internal Auditor (PWC)

Minutes:

K. Mulhearn from PWC presented the report and advised that progress continued with the delivery of the plan but there were concerns on the availability of evidence.  There were changes to the plan for the Committee to note which was the removal of the Housing Review now with Northampton Partnership Homes.

 

The financial delivery was a key piece of work and the approval process with Agresso was time consuming to audit but the aim was to complete it by the end of the month.  The S151 review services had started this week and the Environmental Services review had already started but the work required the output of delegations as they were linked.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Strachan, Councillor Larratt confirmed that the recycling credit budget issues needed to be raised at a future meeting and any implications reviewed.

 

K. Mulhearn confirmed that they had some difficulties obtaining information for assurance purposes from the two organisation i.e NBC and LGSS because  of the nature of the Shared Service and that this had caused some delays. Councillor Larratt asked whether this could be resolved as simply as PWC obtaining reports from Agresso. K Mulhern confirmed that that could be done.

 

The Borough Secretary confirmed that his restructure, once implemented, would help with this

 

Resolved: That the report be noted.