Agenda and minutes

To note any changes to the membership.

1.1     It was noted that Councillor Julia Alexander had replaced Councillor Lindsey Hall.

To receive declarations by Members and Officers of the existence and nature of any personal or prejudicial interests in matters on this agenda.

2.1       There were no declarations made.

To approve the minutes of the meetings held on 30^th June and 14 July 2016.

3.1       RESOLVED: 

1.    That the minutes of the meetings held on the 30^th June and 14^th July (Public and Confidential versions) be signed by the Chairman as a correct record of proceedings.

2.    That the responses to actions from the above mentioned meetings be noted.

3.2       ACTIONS: The Committee would like an updated version of the forward plan of procurements which they would like to include details of the objectives for each contract, any savings expected to be delivered, the contracts proposed start and end date and the name of the relevant contract manager.  (Action for: Anthony Oliver, Chief Procurement Officer)

Report of the City Treasurer and the Director of Policy, Performance and Communications.

4.1     Steve Mair, City Treasurer, introduced the period 3 finance report which provided details of the forecast outturn in respect of revenue and capital and projected revenue and capital expenditure by Cabinet Member including key risks and opportunities.  The report also included details in relation to the revenue and capital expenditure for the housing revenue account (HRA).

4.2     The Committee noted that the total net variance for the authority’s capital programme was an underspend of £82.030m.  Members asked whether the budget should be adjusted to reflect the slippage.  The City Treasurer reported that the slippage would be re-profiled to the next financial year.  He explained that this would not show in the budget until Period 6.  He clarified that the Council had not taken out any loans against these proposals so had not incurred any related costs.  The committee expressed some concern about the possible impact that the capital slippage could have on the delivery of frontline services such as meeting housing provision and library services.  The City Treasurer explained that the City Council was a large and complex business with a budget of over £800 million per annum.  He stated that it was not unusual given the complexities for slippage to occur in the capital programme.  He advised that while the individual schemes within the capital programme generally did not have detailed business cases in preceding years, for the 2015/16 budget onwards a robust business case process had been put in place.

4.3     Members further noted that at the end of Period 3, the general fund was projecting an underspend of £2.847m which was largely attributable to higher than anticipated car parking income.  The committee asked, should the trend continue, whether the additional income could be redirected to services that have had to be cut to mitigate required savings following the reduction of the government grant.  Members commented that there were a number of services where there was a clear pressure for additional spending.  The City Treasurer stated that the Council would need to consider this position as it progressed through the year and that the vast majority of the Council’s budget for 2016/17 had not been balanced by service reductions but by commercial and other opportunities.   It was not certain at present whether the higher than anticipated parking income would continue but this would be kept under review.

4.4     The City Treasurer was asked whether there were any current projects in the capital programme that were dependent on specific capital receipts that had not yet been received.  Members were concerned about the possible impact on future projects if there is a fall in property prices arising from uncertainty caused by Brexit.  The City Treasurer advised that the Council was waiting on a capital receipt of £80m from the sale of the Moxon Street site.  He further advised that the Council does not necessarily finance individual schemes by individual receipts but that it does monitor the delivery of planned capital receipts.

4.5     With Regard to the HRA Revenue  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

Report of Moyra McGarvey, Shared Services Director for Audit, Fraud, Risk and Insurance.

5.1     Moira Mackie, Senior Internal Audit Manager, introduced a report that provided details of the work carried out by the Council’s Internal Audit service in the reporting period. The paper highlighted that in the areas audited internal control systems were generally effective although five limited assurance reports had been issued.  Follow up reviews completed in the period confirm that the implementation of medium and high priority recommendations had been consistently effective.

5.2     The committee discussed the limited assurance relating to an audit of corporate services monitoring of Internet and social media use.  Members were especially concerned that filters and blocks applied to the network are not tested for any ‘work arounds’ or weaknesses that can be exploited which can potentially allow access to inappropriate Internet sites.The committee was concerned by the potential security implications that this could expose the authority to. 

5.3     Members noted that Internet activity reports are not produced on a regular basis to enable managers to monitor usage by staff.  Ms Mackie explained that while general guidance and protocols on the use of social media tools exist it was unclear whether these have been circulated to staff or that all staff know about them.  She clarified that despite the lack of data reports provided to managers it was a manager’s responsibility to monitor their staffs’ activity.  There was a likelihood that where staff are office-based managers will be in a position to identify instances of exclusive personal use of the internet.

5.4     Moira Mackie advised the committee that the Head of Information Services had accepted the recommendations and was working to implement them.

5.5     The committee discussed the fact that while there was supposed to be a separation between the emails they receive in their capacity as councillors and their private correspondence in practice this is often not the case.  They considered that given the ever increasing threat of malware and viruses it would be useful for all members to receive a dedicated training session on IT/digital security.

5.6     The Committee noted that while the audit of Procurement Governance had received a satisfactory assurance three medium priority recommendations were made to ensure that weaknesses identified are effectively addressed.  This included ensuring that sufficient time is built into the process for appropriate exit planning prior to contracts expiring. The committee had raised concerns at its meeting on 30 June about non-compliance with the completion of mandatory information into the capitalEsourcing system.  This had led to a number of contracts needing to be extended because insufficient time had been available to progress new procurements.  Ms Mackie advised that the Procurement Service team had recently undertaken a great deal of training and publicised guidance to contract managers on their responsibilities.  The City Treasurer advised that compliance with this requirement was being reported to EMT to ensure that the situation improved.

5.7       RESOLVED:   That the report be noted.

5.8       ACTIONS:

1.     The Committee would like to know whether any of the server problems experienced by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Report of Moyra McGarvey, Shared Services Director for Audit, Fraud, Risk and Insurance.

6.1     Moira Mackie, Senior Internal Audit Manager, introduced a report that contained details of the work undertaken by the Internal Audit Service in respect of Tenant Management Organisations (TMOs) for the period 2014/15 to date and included the outcomes of follow up reviews where the effectiveness of implementing the audit recommendations were assessed.

6.2     The report also included details of the level of oversight provided by CityWest Homes (CWH) of TMOs and the mechanisms in place for ensuring that both CWH and the Council were aware of any concerns in respect of a TMO and the appropriate action to take.

6.3     The committee discussed some of the difficulties around the running of TMOs.  Ms Mackie explained that some TMOs in Westminster were staffed by an individual administrator, with some of these only working part-time.  Some TMOs had responsibility for large budgets.  TMO Board members act in a voluntary capacity and some have been performing the role for some time.  In contrast she advised that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea had one large TMO.  She advised that CWH were liaising with the TMOs on the benefits of joining together.

6.4     The committee was informed that since the management of TMOs had been reported to committee last year there had been an improvement in the level of oversight provided by CityWest Homes of TMOs and the mechanisms in place for ensuring that both CWH and the Council are aware of concerns and take appropriate action.

6.5     The Committee asked what actions could be taken if a TMO fails to accept or implement recommendations made following an audit.  The City Treasurer advised that EMT can take action against the TMO similar to a public sector body being placed in “special measures”.

6.6    The committee noted that internal audits of those TMOs that had yet to be reviewed would be taking place in the next few months and it asked to receive information on the outcome of these audits in the future reports to the meetings.

6.7     RESOLVED: That the report be noted.