Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Andrews, Maud and Raper

The minutes of the meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee held on the 8 April 2010 were presented.

            Resolved

            That the minutes of the meeting of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee             held on the 8 April 2010 be accepted as a correct record.

With reference to Minute No. 84, Councillor Mrs Wilford asked for an update in relation to a previous concern regarding the declarations of interest at the Community Services meeting held on the 25 March 2010.  The Corporate Director (s151) confirmed that the Monitoring Officer had provided the further clarity needed.

Councillor Clark expressed some concern with reference to Minute No. 87, and was of the opinion that the recommendations from Deloittes, were in “Local Government language”, and therefore difficult for a member of the public to understand.

To receive notice of any urgent business which the Chairman considers should be dealt with at the meeting as a matter of urgency by virtue of Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972.

The Chairman reported that there were be one item to be dealt with at the meeting as matter of urgency by virtue of Section 100(B)(4)(b).

Members to indicate whether they will be declaring any interests under the Code of Conduct.

Members making a declaration of interest at a meeting of a Committee or Council are required to disclose the existence and nature of that interest.  This requirement is not discharged by merely declaring a personal interest without further explanation.

No declarations of interest were received.

The Corporate Director (s151) submitted a report (previously circulated), the purpose of which was for Members to critically review the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) as required under the Accounts & Audit (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2006.

The preparation and publication of an annual governance statement in accordance with the CIPFA/SOLACE Framework was necessary to meet the statutory requirements set out in Regulation 4 (2) of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003, as amended by the Accounts and Audit (Amendment)(England) Regulations 2006 which required authorities to “conduct a review at least once a year of the effectiveness of its system of internal control” and to prepare a statement of internal control “in accordance with proper practices”.

The Policy and Resources Committee had adopted the CIPFA Framework for producing the AGS.  Part of this framework was for the Council’s Overview & Scrutiny Committee to consider the AGS and its content.  The document had then to be signed by the Chief Executive and the Leader of the Council.  This emphasised that the document was all about corporate controls and was not confined to financial issues.

The External Auditor would be considering the AGS as part of his auditing of the Statement of Financial Accounts.  The auditor was required to issue his opinion on the accounts and sign them off.  Any matters arising from the audit work of the External Auditor would be brought to the attention of the Committee in due course.

The Corporate Management Team, together with other appropriate senior officers had reviewed controls in some detail.  In addition, comments, evidence and feedback from a number of internal and external sources had been reviewed in the compilation of the AGS.

The report and Action Plan were discussed in detail and Officers addressed concerns expressed by some Members regarding asset management and the role of Member Champions.

            Resolved

            That the Policy & Resources Committee be recommended to approve             the Annual Governance Statement and its associated Action Plan.

The Corporate Director (s151) submitted a report (previously circulated) setting out Ryedale District Council’s Statement of Accounts for 2009/10.

The accounts included in the Statement consisted of:

• Statement of Responsibilities for the Accounts
• Annual Governance Statement
• Statement of Accounting Policies
• Income & Expenditure Account
• Statement of Movement on the General Fund Balance
• Statement of Total Recognised Gains & Losses
• Balance Sheet
• Cash Flow Statement
• Collection Fund Account

The Finance and Revenue Services Manager and Corporate Director (s151) presented the report and provided further details during the discussions.

The Chair and Corporate Director (s151) thanked the Finance and Revenue Services Manager and his team for all their hard work in producing a comprehensive statement of accounts.

            Resolved

            That the statement of accounts 2009/10 be received and referred to the       Policy and Resources Committee.

The Chair advised that as part of the ongoing review of Sickness Absence, a task group meeting was to be arranged, and an Officer from Selby District Council would be attending to provide details of Selby’s sickness absence policy.

There were two potential dates for the task group meeting, and the general consensus was that Wednesday 21 July 2010 would be most convenient.

            Resolved

             That a task group meeting be arranged for Wednesday 21 July             2010 at 6.30pm.