Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Councillor Gary Mulvaney.

Janice Wason Hall, Chair of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee declared a financial interest in relation to item 7(a) (Internal Audit Report – Short - Term Lets) due to her being a Short Term Let business owner. She advised that she would leave the meeting and take no part in the consideration of this item.

Minutes of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee as held on 13 March 2025

The Minute of the previous meeting, held on 13 March 2025, were approved as a correct record.

Report by Forvis Mazars

The Committee gave consideration to a report which presented the Audit Strategy Memorandum for Argyll and Bute Council for the year ending 31 March 2025.  The report provided a summary of the audit approach taken by external auditors, Forvis Mazars LLP and highlighted significant audit risks and areas of key judgements.

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee considered and noted the contents of the report.

(Reference:  Report by Mazars LLP dated June 2025, submitted)

Report by Chief Internal Auditor

The Committee gave consideration to a report providing a summary of Internal Audit activity and progress during quarter four of 2024 against the following areas:-

Audits in Planning/in Progress

·     2024/25 Audit Plan progress

·     2024/25 Individual Audits undertaken

·     2025/26 Audit Plan progress

·     Scrutiny

·     Counter Fraud

·     Continuous Monitoring Programme Testing

·     Performance Indicators

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee reviewed and endorsed the Summary of Activities report.

(Reference: Report by Chief Internal Auditor, dated 12 June 2025, submitted)

Report by Chief Internal Auditor

Consideration was given to a report which provided an update on all open actions as at 31 March 2025. The report included information on actions where the agreed implementation date had been rescheduled.

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee endorsed the contents of the report.

(Reference: Report by Chief Internal Auditor dated 12 June 2025, submitted)

Janice Wason Hall, having declared an interest in the Short-Term Lets report in the following item of business, left the meeting and took no part in the consideration of that report.

The Committee agreed unanimously that Councillor Reeni Kennedy-Boyle take the position of Chair for the consideration of the Short-Term Lets report only.

On conclusion of the Short-Term Let report Janice Wason Hall returned to the meeting and took the Chair.

Report by Chief Internal Auditor

Consideration was given to a report containing the action plans in relation to the following seven audits:-

Short-Term Lets

Asbestos Management

Bridges Asset Management

Trading Standards

External Placements

IFRS 16 – Leasing

Disclosure Checks – PVG – LiveArgyll

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee reviewed and endorsed the summary report and detail within each individual report.

(Reference: Report by Chief Internal Auditor dated 12 June 2025, submitted)

Report by Chief Internal Auditor

The Committee gave consideration to a report which outlined the work undertaken by Internal Audit in respect of the Annual Audit Plan 2024/25 and advised of the contents of the Chief Internal Auditor’s (CIA) independent annual opinion on the effectiveness of the Council’s risk management, internal control and governance processes. 

The Chair, on behalf of the Committee, took the opportunity to recognise the volume of work undertaken by the Internal Audit team and thanked them for their continued hard work and support. 

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee endorsed the content of the report and the associated annual opinion of the Chief Internal Auditor.

(Reference:  Report by Chief Internal Auditor, dated 12 June 2025, submitted)

Report by Chief Internal Auditor

The Committee gave consideration to a report which advised that the complaints scrutiny review had been carried out as per the 2024/25 scrutiny plan agreed by Committee in March 2024. The complaints process was chosen for inclusion in the scrutiny priorities for 2024/25 due to the importance of having a complaints process which met expected best practice.

The Chair on behalf of the Committee thanked Martin Caldwell for all his hard work and involvement with the Audit and Scrutiny Committee over the years.

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee agreed:-

1.    the Draft Complaints Scrutiny Report; and

2.    to refer the report to the Council’s Executive Leadership Team to take forward the recommendations in the report.

(Reference:  Report by Chief Internal Auditor, dated 12 June 2025, submitted)

The Chair announced, and the Committee agreed, to adjourn the meeting for a 10 minute comfort break and re-convened at 12.30pm with all Members present with the exception of Councillor Daniel Hampsey.

The Chair advised that the new Panel had been established and the current review will be commenced shortly. A more detailed update will be provided at the next meeting of the Committee.

Report by Section 95 Officer

Consideration was given to a report which highlighted the key messages and recommendations contained within the Accounts Commission report. Information on Argyll and Bute Council’s position in respect of key facts and analysis across Scotland, and an assessment of the authority’s current position in respect of compliance with the report’s recommendations was also provided.

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee noted the contents of the report.

(Reference: Report by Section 95 Officer dated 11 March 2025, submitted)

Report by Section 95 Officer

Consideration was given to a report which advised that Local Government (Scotland) Act 2003, and supporting regulations, requires local authorities to have regard to the CIPFA Code of Practice on Treasury Management (revised 2021) and that the code requires full Council to receive an annual Treasury Management Strategy Statement, including the Annual Investment Strategy for the year ahead.

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee:-

1.    Considered the Treasury Management Annual Report 2024/25 and noted the technical breach to the bank deposit limit outlined at paragraph 5.2.5 of the submitted report.

2. noted a required amendment to the actual Capital Financing Requirement (CFR), given within the report at paragraph 5.3.15, in respect of the actual 2024/25 Service Concession Annual Gain.  This increases both the actual CFR movement during the year and the balance as at 31 March 2025 by £5m.  The revised CFR as at 31 March 2025 is noted as £349m; and

3. was content to note the detail and to refer the report, which will be updated on this basis, to Council for noting.

(Reference: Report by Section 95 Officer dated 4 June 2025, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services

Consideration was given to a report which provided a high level summary of Argyll and Bute Council’s performance as reported in the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) data. 

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee considered the contents of the report and noted the trend of net improvement across the Council’s functions.

(Reference:  Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services, dated 16 May 2025, submitted)

Report by Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support

Consideration was given to a report which advised that the statement of governance and internal control for 2023/24 had been reviewed and updated which allowed the Council to include a statement of governance and internal control in the Annual Accounts for 2024/25.

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee:-

1.    Noted the updates in the Action Plan for 2024/25.

2.    Considered and approved the content of the areas for further development for 2025/26; and

3.    Considered and approved the draft statement of governance and internal control for 2024/25.

(Reference: Report by Section 95 Officer and Executive Director with responsibility for Legal and Regulatory Support dated June 2025, submitted)

In order to facilitate forward planning of reports to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee, Members considered the outline Audit and Scrutiny workplan.

Decision

The Audit and Scrutiny Committee agreed to note the outline workplan. 

(Reference:  Audit and Scrutiny Workplan, dated 12 June 2025, submitted)