Present at the meeting:
- Councillor M W Winstanley (Chairman)
- Councillor R Brierley
- Councillor Mrs P Cullen
- Councillor J D Hodgkinson
- Councillor C Rigby
- Councillor E Russon
- Councillor Mrs E Smethurst
- Councillor C Sweeney
- Councillor F B Walker
Independent Members
15 Welcome: The Chairman welcomed Mr Richard Corney, Assistant Ombudsman to this meeting of the Audit Committee.
16 Apologies for absence: Councillors Mrs S Dewhurst, E N Houlton and J Miller and Mr T Addison and Mr P Connor (Independent Members).
17 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 25 June 2009 were approved as a correct record, subject to the inclusion of Councillor J D Hodgkinson in the list of Members present at the meeting.
18 Annual Review: The Committee considered a report of the Service Director Borough Solicitor, Kevin Lawson, which was introduced by the Executive Director of Business Support Services, David Smith, and informed the Committee of the content of the Local Government Ombudsman Annual Review for the year ending 31 March 2009. The Assistant Ombudsman, Richard Corney, attended the meeting and discussed the annual review and answered questions.
The review showed that there were no cases of maladministration found against the Council, neither were there any adverse comments. This record was a reflection of the constructive manner in which the Council handled complaints internally, and the level of detail that it sent to the Ombudsman to substantiate the Council’s position should complaints be lodged.
The Local Assistant Ombudsman commented that Wigan compared very favourably with other similar size Authorities in its response times to requests for information from the Ombudsman and had exceeded expected targets, showing improvements in performance each year.
Resolved: The Committee notes the report now submitted and thanks the Assistant Ombudsman for attending the meeting and discussing the review.
19 Work Programme for 2009/10: The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Business Support Services, which included a work programme to assist Members with planning the business of the Committee. Forward planning would assist in avoiding duplication with the scrutiny function, ensure the effectiveness of the Committee and enable statutory timetables to be achieved.
Particular attention was drawn to the next meeting, which will be a joint meeting with the Standards Committee to receive the External Auditors reports within the statutory deadline.
Resolved: The Committee notes the report now submitted
20 Request for Exceptions from Standing Orders: The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Business Support Services, which provided Members with a summary of decisions made where exceptions had been made to standing orders in waiving the requirement to obtain three formal quotations.
Resolved: The Committee notes the decisions made and the reasons provided.
21 Review of major fraud case: The Committee considered a report of the Executive Director of Business Support Services, which provided Members with a summary of the major fraud case which recently received sentence at Crown Court.
The report showed that the Council had responded well to the incident. A strong investigative and co-ordinating role from Internal Audit had driven the response which had been well supported by Members, senior managers in the respective departments and the Human Resources function. Creditor payment procedures had been strengthened, the stolen monies had been recovered and a well publicised deterrent now existed in the event that anyone else should consider committing a similar fraud.
The Committee expressed its gratitude towards the member of staff, who had followed the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy which subsequently led to a full investigation from the Council’s Internal Audit Section and a custodial sentence for the individual involved.
Resolved: The Committee notes the report now submitted and requests that the Executive Director writes to the member of staff, who followed the Council’s Whistleblowing Policy, expressing its gratitude for her courageous actions.
Chairman
