Agenda item

This report provides Members with a high-level progress report on the work of the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud team for Q2 of the 2024/25 financial year.

The Head of Audit and Counter Fraud presented the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Progress Report for Q2 2024/25.

The Committee heard of the work carried out by the team from 1 April 2024 to 1 November 2024. During Q1 the team finalised work on the Council’s Fundamental Financial Systems (FFS) reviews to provide assurance in respect of the 2023/24 Financial Statements, and the Annual Opinion Report of the Head of Audit and Counter Fraud for 2023/24. These reports were issued in Q1 2024/25. During Q2 the team commenced work on the Council’s FFS reviews for 2024/25, to be reported later in the year.

In addition, other Audit and Counter Fraud Team activity in Q2 included:

· Completion of four opinion reports in connection with Christchurch School, Building Control, VAT and Highways Grant Administration, and a grant assurance review of the Council’s Pothole Fund Assurance Statement.

· Commencement and ongoing work in connection with a Standards of Conduct review, a Recruitment processes review, a review of the Council’s Risk Management Processes, a review of the Council’s decision recording systems; a review of the Council’s Housing Options Service, a review of Children’s to Adults transitions in Social care, a review of In-Borough SEND Placements, a review of Miocare financial systems, and a review of Public Health Commissioning.

 · Work was also commenced on 2 further reviews which, following initial background work have been halted pending further developments. Work in connection with the Council’s Speech and language Therapy Services was halted in agreement with the Service. The Service is aware of the challenges both locally and nationally in this area and is forming its own plans to address these. The value which would be added by an audit review at this stage is likely to be low. This work may re-commence at a future date and we will maintain contact with the Service to agree an appropriate time for this to take place. In the meantime this review has been replaced with a review of In[1]Borough SEND Placements noted above. Work in connection with the Council’s “Don’t Trash Oldham” initiative was also halted following an internal Service led review of this initiative. Again, the potential to add value by undertaking further audit work in this area is deemed to be low.

· Corporate Counter Fraud activities have identified £269,487 of fraud, errors and overpayments.

· Line management of the Direct Payments Audit Team (Adults and Children) has transferred out of the Audit and Counter Fraud Service and into the Central Finance Service. As a result the outcomes of this work will no longer be reported as part of these regular update reports to this Committee.

Members queries where the direct payments report will be going in the future and who will have oversight. Officers suggested it may be picked up as part of Budgetary Monitoring, but they will check and confirm. Officers also clarified that if Audit wanted to receive the report in the future, they are able to request that from the Central Finance Service.

RESOLVED, that the Progress report be noted by the Audit Committee.