Agendas, reports and minutes

A meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee will take place REMOTELY on Thursday, 24 September 2020 at 10.30am.

Webcast Notice: This meeting will be filmed and broadcast over the Internet on the Highland Council website and will be archived and available for viewing for 12 months thereafter.

You are invited to attend the meeting and a note of the business to be considered is attached.

Yours faithfully

Stewart Fraser
Head of Corporate Governance 

Business

1. Apologies for Absence
Leisgeulan

2. Declarations of Interest
Foillseachaidhean Com-pàirt

Members are asked to consider whether they have an interest to declare in relation to any item on the agenda for this meeting. Any Member making a declaration of interest should indicate whether it is a financial or non-financial interest and include some information on the nature of the interest. Advice may be sought from Officers prior to the meeting taking place.

3. External Audit Report
Aithisgean Sgrùdaidh bhon Taobh A-muigh

There is circulated the following Annual Report prepared by the Council’s External Auditors (Grant Thornton) issued since the last Audit and Scrutiny Committee:-

Annual Report 2019/20 – progress update and timeline

The Committee is invited to note the terms of the report as circulated.

4. Internal Audit Annual Report 2019/2020        
Aithisg Bhliadhnail In-Sgrùdaidh 2019/2020

There is circulated Report No. AS/1/20 dated 14 September 2020 by the Corporate Audit Manager. 

The Committee is invited to note the content of the report, the audit opinion provided and to raise any relevant points with the Corporate Audit Manager.

5.   Internal Audit Reviews and Progress Report
Ath-bhreithneachaidhean In-sgrùdaidh agus Aithisg Adhartais

There is circulated Report No. AS/2/20 dated 14 September 2020 by the Corporate Audit Manager which summarises the final reports issued since the date of the last meeting, together with details of work in progress and other information relevant to the operation of the Internal Audit Section as follows:-

•    Resources & Finance - Income Systems (Substantial Assurance) 
•    Infrastructure & Environment - Local Full Fibre Networks Project (Reasonable Assurance) 
•    Infrastructure & Environment - Compliance with the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme 2018/19 (Reasonable Assurance 
•    Infrastructure & Environment – Flood Defence Capital Projects (Substantial Assurance) 
•    Infrastructure & Environment - Car Park Arrangements (Reasonable Assurance) 

The Committee is invited to consider the Final Reports referred to in Section 4.1 of the report and note the current work of the Internal Audit Section outlined at Section 5 of the report and details of progress against the plan at Appendix 1.

6.  Internal Audit Plan 2020/21     
     Aithisgean Sgrùdaidh bhon Taobh A-muigh

There is circulated Report No. AS/3/20 dated 28 August 2020 March 2020 by the Corporate Audit Manager.

The Committee is invited to approve the Internal Audit Plan for 2020/21.

7. Action Tracking    
Leantainn Gnìomhachd

There is circulated Report No. AS/4/20 dated 14 September 2020 by the Corporate Audit Manager.

The Committee is invited to note and comment upon the action tracking information provided including the revised target dates for the completion of outstanding actions. 

In this regard, it should be noted that there is a greater number of revisions than normal due to a lack of action during the response stage of the Covid-19 pandemic.  This is a similar position reported by other Councils.

8. National Fraud Initiative in Scotland 2018-19
Iomairt Foille Nàiseanta ann an Alba 2018–19 

There is circulated Report No. AS/5/20 dated 31 August 2020 by the Corporate Audit Manager.

The Committee is invited to:-

i.     consider the Audit Scotland NFI report, the results for the Highland Council and the associated commentary;
ii.    consider the additional reports issued by Audit Scotland relating to fraud risks associated with Covid-19.  This includes the suggested questions provided in the guide for audit and risk committees to help them effectively scrutinise and challenge the key areas; and
iii.   note that Audit Scotland will be issuing further guidance to public bodies as they move from the response phase of the pandemic into recovery and renewal.

9. Six-Monthly Review of Corporate Risks
Ath-Sgrùdaidh air Cunnartan Corporra

There is circulated Report No. AS/6/20 dated 4 September 2020 by the Corporate Audit and Performance Manager.

The Committee is invited to:-

i.     scrutinise the Corporate Risk Register provided at Appendix 1 and consider the risk profile at Appendix 2; and
ii.    note that six monthly reviews of the Corporate Risk Register will continue to be reported each March and September to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee.

10. Code of Corporate Governance
Còd Riaghladh Corporra

There is circulated Report No. AS/7/20 dated 6 September 2020 by the Head of Corporate Governance.

The Committee is invited to:-

i.     note the progress on delivering the 2019/20 Code of Corporate Governance; and 
ii.    approve the 2020/21 Code of Corporate Governance.

11. Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Scotland) Act 2000 (RIPSA)
Achd Riaghladh Chumhachdan Sgrùdaidh (Alba) 2000 (RIPSA)

There is circulated Report No. AS/8/20 dated 6 September 2020 September by the Executive Chief Officer, Performance and Governance. 

The Committee is invited to note the outcome of the IPCO Inspection. 

12. Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life/Standards Commission: Councillors’ Code of Conduct – Investigation into Complaints

There is circulated Report No. AS/9/20 dated 6 September 2020 by the Head of Corporate Governance.

The Committee is invited to note that, in respect of the complaints against Highland Council Members, concluded during 2019/20, the Commissioner/Commission has found there to have been one breach of the Code of Conduct.

13. Corporate Complaints Process - Annual Report 2019/20
Aithisg Ghearanan Corporra - 2019/20

There is circulated Report No. AS/10/20 dated 11 September 2020 by the Executive Chief Officer Resources and Finance.

The Committee is invited to:-

i.     scrutinise the Council’s performance for Stage 1 (+4.1%) and Stage 2 (-10.15%) complaints; 
ii.    reflect upon the volume of complaints received (1,726), which is a 21% increase when compared with the previous year;
iii.   recognise that the number of complaints received is a low volume at 1% within the context of the scale of the Council’s citizen base and the scope of services provided;
iv.    support officers’ continued participation in the Local Authority Complaint Handlers Network; and 
v.     support the changes to the delivery model to bring together a corporate approach and drive performance improvement.

14. Highland Council Emergency Plan
Plana Èiginn Chomhairle na Gàidhealtachd

There is circulated Report No. AS/11/20 dated 8 September 2020 by the Chief Executive.

The Committee is invited to:-

i.     note that the Council has in place a General Emergency Plan (GEP) which has been produced in compliance with the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA) and the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (Contingency Planning) (Scotland) Regulations 2005;
ii.    note that the General Emergency Plan (GEP) was completely rewritten in 2019 and incorporates best practice, current guidance and learning from exercises and incidents;
iii.   note that internal and multi-agency debriefs on the response to COVID-19, along with a tabletop exercise, have taken place and that the learning will be used to inform future response arrangements;
iv.    note that the Council’s emergency plans will be subject to scrutiny under Internal Audit and the Council’s response to Covid-19 will be subject to scrutiny under external audit; and
v.     agree further member training and awareness sessions/seminars to be provided on Emergency Planning and Resilience structures and processes.

15. Highland Council Whistleblowing Policy
Poileasaidh Innsireachd Chomhairle na Gàidhealtachd

There is circulated Report No. AS/12/20 dated 7 September 2020 by the Corporate Audit and Performance Manager.

The Committee is invited to:-

i.     scrutinise the revised Highland Council’s Whistleblowing Policy with a view to recommending its approval and implementation to the next meeting of the Highland Council on 29 October 2020.
ii.    note the intention to provide an annual monitoring report to the Audit & Scrutiny Committee beginning June 2021.
iii.   note the plan to review the policy with Trade Unions and with Staff Forum input and report this to Audit & Scrutiny Committee in June 2021 along with any recommendations for change to be scrutinised and recommended to Council for approval.

16. Exclusion of the Public
Às-dùnadh a’Phobaill

The Committee is asked to resolve that, under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item on the ground that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 1, 8, and 9 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act.

17. Internal Audit Reviews    
Ath-bhreithneachaidhean In-sgrùdaidh

There are circulated to Members only Reports by the Corporate Audit Manager which summarise two final confidential reports issued since the date of the last meeting as follows:-

• Infrastructure & Environment (formerly Community Services): Establishments Investigation – Control Weaknesses 
• Resources & Finance – ICT Contract Management 

The Committee is invited to consider the reports as detailed.