Agenda and draft minutes

10 October 2024

It was moved by Councillor Anthony Bates, seconded by Councillor Roger Shelley and

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Governance and Resources Committee held on 10 October 2024 be approved as a correct record.

Voting

07 For

00 Against

02 Abstentions

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

To enable members of the public to ask questions, express views or present petitions, IF NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN, (by telephone, in writing or by email) BY NO LATER THAN 12 NOON OF THE WORKING DAY PRECEDING THE MEETING. As per Procedural Rule 14.4 at any one meeting no person may submit more than 3 questions and no more than 1 such question may be asked on behalf of one organisation.

In accordance with the procedure for public participation the following representation was received in writing prior to the meeting and was distributed to Members.

Statement from Ms Catherine Al-Mashoor regarding Item 12, Complaints Annual Report 2023/24

“Have had a quick look through and was interested to see that no complaints ever appear to be upheld.   Also, none of the complaints raised about the travellers appear on there but I assume that is because of the dates and the fact that we were unaware that we had to enblazon it with ‘formal complaint.”

Members are required to declare the existence and nature of any interests they may have in subsequent agenda items in accordance with the District Council’s Code of Conduct. Those interests are matters that relate to money or that which can be valued in money, affecting the Member, her/his partner, extended family and close friends. Interests that become apparent at a later stage in the proceedings may be declared at the time.

There were no declarations of interest.

To answer questions from Members who have given the appropriate notice.

Question from Councillor Susan Hobson to Councillor Nick Wilton, Chair of Governance and Resources Committee:

“In light of the email to all Councillors from Ashley Watts on 28 November 2024 in relation to the Decarbonisation Scheme at the Arc Leisure Centre, Matlock and, in the spirit of open and transparent governance, can the Chair of the Committee provide the following information to the meeting this evening: -

The exact amount of the amount of money lost in this project, any future financial liabilities and when (and which) officers and members first became concerned about “lack of independent oversight and ability to meet timescales” regarding this project.”

Councillor Wilton provided a verbal response.

RESPONSE:

This is a live situation which will require a response from the funding body (Salix) before the final position can be determined. As of today, both Leisure Centres (Arc and Wirksworth) have been withdrawn from the PSDS 3b funding round due to a significant increase in the District Councils required capital contribution to both schemes and the increased financial risk this would present. Under the funding regime, fees incurred to date can be recovered as permitted expenditure and an application for this will be submitted next week. Subject to confirmation of this, there is not expected to be any direct loss of money and no future liabilities have been incurred. What has been lost is the opportunity to draw down on a portion of funding that is available at this time. This would not prevent future decarbonisation works taking place or a future grant submission being made. All PSDS schemes have been administered by the Climate Change and Biodiversity Officer and the Estates and Facilities Manager with technical consultants’ support. The current issue was initially identified by consultants on 20^th November 2024 and following further research was confirmed on 26th November 2024 and 5^th December 2024 . Whilst this position is unfortunate, 3  PSDS schemes have been successfully  completed at Ashbourne Leisure Centre, Matlock Town Hall and Bakewell Agricultural Business Centre and a 4th scheme is currently on site at Northwood Depot. A further update to Members will be provided once the final position is determined.

Councillor Hobson asked the following supplementary question:

How many formal meetings with officers have the Chair and Vice-Chair of this Committee had and will they present an informal report to each meeting for the information of Councillors as to their Chair and Vice-Chair meetings with information of what they were about.

Councillor Wilton provided a verbal response.

RESPONSE:

An update will be provided.

Question from Councillor Susan Hobson to Councillor Nick Wilton, Chair of Governance and Resources Committee:

“We have seen members of the public and businesses address various council meetings complaining of getting no response from either their elected members or from DDDC departments - is the Chair satisfied that this report accurately reflects how complaints are handled by this council?”

Councillor Wilton provided a verbal response.

RESPONSE:

The District Council has an established Complaints Procedure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 242/24

This report asks the Committee to approve an updated policy and associated arrangements to deal with offences relating to fraud associated with Council Tax Support.

The Director of Resources introduced a report requesting the Committee approve an updated policy and associated arrangements to deal with offences relating to fraud associated with Council Tax Support.

Members were informed that one key element of effective financial governance is that the Council had appropriate arrangements in place in respect of fraud.

The current Fraud Prosecution Policy for Council Tax Support, along with scheme of delegation to officers to administer the policy, was approved in January 2029. The policy had generally worked well but was now due a revision.

Attached at Appendix 1 was a revised Fraud Prosecution Policy for Council Tax Support. The policy set out the approach that would be taken to each type of offence and the factors that would be considered.

It was moved by Councillor Steve Flitter, seconded by Councillor David Chapman and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

1.     That the updated Fraud Prosecution Policy for Council Tax Support, as set out in Appendix 1, is approved.

2.     That a referral is made to full Council to approve an amendment to the Council’s Constitution to add the following officer delegations.

3.     That delegated authority be given to the Director of Resources to make minor editorial changes to this Policy.

4.     That the Equality Impact assessment relating to the Fraud Prosecution Policy for Council Tax Support, as set out in Appendix 2, is received and noted.

5.     That the ‘Question and Answers’ relating to housing benefit and council tax support fraud cases, as set out in Appendix 3, are received and noted.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report asks the Committee to consider an updated policy that sets out the approach that will be taken to the collection of debts due to the Council.

The Director of Resources introduced a report requesting the Committee consider an updated policy that sets out the approach that will be taken to the collection of debts due to the Council.

Members were informed that local authorities had a statutory duty to administer and arrange their financial affairs appropriately in accordance with section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972. It was therefore important that the Council applied appropriate and effective recovery processes when collecting debts.

The current Revenues Debt Recovery Policy was approved by the Committee in December 2016. It was noted the policy had worked well but some changes were now necessary to bring the policy up to date.

Appendix 1 detailed the draft updated policy. The policy set out the approach that would be taken to the collection of debts due to the Council.

It was moved by Councillor Roger Shelley, seconded by Councillor Dawn Greatorex and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

1.     That the updated Debt Recovery Policy, as set out in Appendix 1, is approved and implemented with immediate effect.

2.     That delegated authority be given to the Director of Resources to make minor editorial changes to this Policy.

3.     That the Equality Impact Assessment relating to the Debt Recovery Policy (as set out in Appendix 2) and the comments received from Citizens Advice are received and noted.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report is to present for members’ information a progress update in respect of the 2024/2025 Internal Audit Plan and to provide assurance on the governance, risk and control arrangements in place. The report also provides an update in respect of the implementation of the new Global Internal Audit Standards and the draft Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) Code of Practice for the Governance of Internal Audit.

The Head of the Internal Audit Consortium introduced a report which provided a progress update in respect of the 2024/25 Internal Audit Plan. The report also provided an update in respect of the implementation of the new Global Internal Audit Standards and the draft Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Code of Practice for the Governance of Internal Audit.

The report detailed the results of the internal audit reviews undertaken since the last meeting and overall progress on the 2024/25 Internal Audit Plan.

Attached at Appendix 1 was a summary of reports issued to date in respect of the 2024/25 financial year. The Appendix showed for each report the level of assurance given in respect of the audit area examined and the number of recommendations made / agreed where a full response had been received. The table detailed in section 2.2 provided the meaning of the assurance levels that could be awarded in terms of risk and control.

Appendix 2 gave a summary of progress made on the 2024/25 internal audit plan. It was noted that progress was good for this point in the year.

It was moved by Councillor Steve Flitter, seconded by Councillor Simon Ripton and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That the report be received and noted.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report provides the Committee with an update from the external auditor relating to progress on the audit of financial statements for 2023/24. The report also provides details of relevant national publications that have been issued recently.

The External Audit Manager, Jennie Norman, introduced a report which provided the Committee with an update from the external auditor relating to progress on the audit of financial statements for 2023/24. The report also provided details of relevant national publications that have been issued recently.

The latest Audit Progress Report was shown in Appendix 1. Members were informed that the Audit Completion Report and the Auditors Annual report, which included conclusions on the Councils arrangements for value for money would be submitted to the next meeting of the Committee in January.

Updates were provided on the areas in the report which were marked at the time of issue as in progress or waiting for outstanding queries. The review process was expected to go on into January and it was noted that inevitably there would be some queries that arise from this but nothing that should cause concern. An update was provided on the back stop arrangements.

It was moved by Councillor Simon Ripton, seconded by Councillor Dawn Greatorex and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

That the Audit Progress Report shown in Appendix 1 be received be received and noted.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report seeks approval for proposed fees and charges for the financial year 2025/26.

The Director of Resources introduced a report which sought approval for proposed fees and charges for the financial year 2025/26.

Members were asked to consider an annual review of the fees and charges for services provided across the Council. The review excluded those fees that were set by central government and car parking pay and display charges, which are subject to a separate review.

It was noted that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.3% in the 12 months to October 2024, the latest figure available at the time of writing the report. The Bank of England’s target remained at 2%.

Appendices 1-13 contained schedules of the existing and recommended charges. In general, the fees and charges proposed had been increased by 3%. Where officers had recommended an average fee increase of more than 3% or that fees be frozen at the 2024/25 level, an explanation had been provided in section 2 of the report.

A document which detailed the estimated income that the Council generates from each of the sets of fees was circulated to Members at the meeting.

It was moved by Councillor Steve Flitter, seconded by Councillor Roger Shelley and

RESOLVED

That the fees and charges recommended in Appendices 1 – 13 of the report are approved and implemented with effect from 1 April 2025, or as soon as practicable thereafter.

Voting

08 For

00 Against

02 Abstentions

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report summarises Treasury Management activities for the first six months of 2024/25 and seeks approval for the Treasury Management mid-year report and Prudential Indicators.

The Director of Resources introduced a report summarising Treasury Management activities for the first six months of 2024/25 and sought approval for the Treasury Management mid-year report and Prudential Indicators.

It was noted that the Council had long adopted the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s Treasury Management in the Public Services: Code of Practice (the CIPFA Code) which required the Authority to approve treasury management mid-year and annual reports.

This report included the new requirement in the 2021 Code, mandatory form 1^st April 2023, of quarterly reporting of treasury management prudential indicators. The results from the first two quarters of 2024/25 were detailed in the report.

The Authority’s Treasury Management Strategy for 2024/25 was approved at a meeting on 29^th February 2024. The Authority had invested substantial sums of money and was therefore exposed to financial risks including the loss of invested funds and the revenue effect of changing interest rates. The successful identification, monitoring and control of risk remained central to the Authority’s treasury management strategy. The report showed that all treasury management activities undertaken during the first half of 2024/25 complied fully with the CIPFA Code of Practice and the Authority’s approved Treasury Management Strategy and indicators.

It was moved by Councillor Roger Shelley, seconded by Councillor Dawn Greatorex and

RESOLVED (unanimously)

1.     That the Treasury Management Mid-year report for 2024/25 be received and approved.

2.     That the Prudential Indicators contained in Appendix 1 be approved.

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

This report provides information on formal complaints made under the District Council’s internal Complaints Procedures; those referred to the Local Government Ombudsman, and against individual elected member behaviour at town, parish and District Council level.

The Business Support Manager introduced a report which provided information on formal complaints made under the Council’s internal Complaints Procedures; those referred to the Local Government Ombudsman, and against individual elected member behaviour at Town, Parish and District Council level.

Section 1 of the report provided details of complaints against the Council that were delt with through the Council’s Complaints Procedure as formal complaints. During 2023/24 the Council received 51 official complaints, compared to 61 the previous year.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) wrote to the Council in July 2024 to confirm that during the 2023/24 year, it undertook one detailed investigation into a complaint about the Council, but that it was not upheld. This compared to a figure of 63% of complaints being upheld on average in similar authorities.

There were 5 formal complaints alleging breaches of the Code of Conduct for Members during 2023/24. All 5 complaints related to Town and Parish Councils. None of the complaints received in 2023/24 were subject to investigation and were resolved by the Monitoring Officer or Deputy Monitoring Officer at the initial stage.

It was moved by Councillor Steve Flitter, seconded by Councillor David Chapman and

RESOLVED

That the Complaints Annual Report for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 be noted.

Voting

09 For

00 Against

01 Abstention

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.

Governance and Resources Committee is asked to note the recently launched consultation on enabling remote attendance and proxy voting and to delegate the consultation response to the Leader of the Council in consultation with the Group Leaders.

The Interim Director of Corporate and Customer Services introduced a report requesting the Committee note the recently launched consultation on enabling remote attendance and proxy voting, and delegate the consultation response to the Leader of the Council in consultation with Group Leaders.

Members were informed that the government had commenced a consultation on amending the Legislation to introduce provisions for remote attendance at meetings. A number of questions were set out in Appendix 1.

It was noted that the rationale for the consultation was that this increased flexibility would strike balance between the principle that significant in-person engagement remained vitally important, and a recognition that there would sometimes be a need to accommodate members’ requirements to attend Council meetings remotely.

In addition, the consultation sought views on the possible introduction of proxy voting for those occasions when an elected member, dure to personal circumstances, may be unable to attend even remotely, for example during maternity, paternity or adoption leave.

It was moved by Councillor Simon Ripton, seconded by Councillor Dawn Greatorex and

RESOLVED

That the consultation is noted, and authority is delegated to the Leader in consultation with Group Leaders to provide a response.

Voting

09 For

00 Against

01 Abstention

The Chair declared the motion CARRIED.