Agenda item

The Head of Corporate Resources introduced the report. He highlighted that as recommended by the Overview and Scrutiny Business Panel, the Annual Schools’ Forum Report was being reported to the Audit Panel. This was because of their concerns about the deficits in the accounts of some secondary schools. The Audit Manager added that the audit work had progressed well this year.

Following a question from Paul Dale about the Council not being PCI DSS compliant, the Head of Corporate Resources said the Council operated a credit card system with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Mr Dale said the Council could be penalised for non compliance. Mr Pleace asked if this issue could be resolved easily and was told by the Head of Corporate Resources that it could easily be done with more focus and that security training and a review of practices would be done as soon as possible. Mr Pleace said this could incur a financial penalty.

Following a question from Councillor Ingleby the Head of Corporate Resources explained that the New Housing Act now provided Local Authorities the power to license accommodation below and above shops, as opposed to just above shops. The Audit Manager said audit officers were going to do some work around this but decided not to at this time because of work pressures. In the meantime Lewisham Homes would be dealing with this.

Councillor Ingleby also raised concerns about non-compliance in Procurement on the Schools Forum report. The Head of Corporate Resources said the report was last year’s and officers have agreed with Schools Forum to continue to monitor this going forward. He added that in terms of the Council procurement work an update would be coming to the Panel in March 2017.

Stephen Warren said from experience not having digital copies of data was a real concern. He said although scanning documents could be time consuming it was important to have a record of information in the electronic system. The Head of Corporate Resources said the Council do have records and had started scanning documents into the electronic system, but discovered that some bits of information were missing, and also the system was not robust enough to do the work. This is a risk that would be considered as part of the internal audit planning for 2017/18

The Head of Financial Services said the Council was working towards being digital, but it would take some time. He added that the absence of some record was also making the work difficult.

The Chair asked officers how they intended to address the deficit in Sedgehill’s budget and was told that finance officers were working closely with the Schools Forum to support the school deal with the problem. Also emphasis would be placed on training for schools finance staff to help them identify and address weaknesses earlier. The Head of Corporate Resources emphasised that internal audit recommendations should help schools put in place key controls which would give schools a clearer overview of their financial options and a clearer focus on key risks. He added that officers were redesigning the school audit report to help do this.

The Head of Financial Services said financial training programmes would be set up for staff and Governors to ensure improvement of skills. Bursars would be given support within the range of existing experiences. Mr Warren said the Executive Director should speak to the Headteacher, about support and additional full time resources for the school. Following a question from Panel Members it was noted that the School’s Forum comprised of Headteachers, Governors, and other professionals. Mr Warren said he was glad of the wide representation.

Councillor Klier said she heard Forest Hill School had some financial problems too and was told by the Head of Financial Services that officers were aware of this and were engaging with schools with financial problems, and work was ongoing to address the licensed deficits/loans.

Resolved that the report was noted.