Agenda item

The Head of Internal Audit, Veritau, submitted a report, the purpose of which was to provide Members with information on the arrangements for developing the 2025/26 internal audit work programme.  The report also sought the views of the Committee on areas that should be considered a priority for audit in 2025/26.

Internal audit provided independent and objective assurance and advice on the Council’s operations.  It helped the organisation to achieve overall objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to the evaluation and improvement of the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.

The work of internal audit was governed by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and relevant professional standards.  These included: the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS); CIPFA guidance on the application of those standards in Local Government; and the CIPFA Statement on the role of the Head of Internal Audit.

The PSIAS set out requirements for the development of internal audit work programmes.  These included the need to seek the views of the Committee on audit work to be undertaken.

The consultation report was shown at Appendix One.  It contained information on the approach taken in creating the work programme, together with background on the internal audit opinion framework.  It also asked the Committee to suggest any areas it believed should be considered for inclusion in the work programme.

Members were directed to page 106 of the agenda pack, which posed several questions for consideration.

During discussion, several points were raised, as follows:

·        A Member referred to the Council’s cyber security and queried resilience around this issue.  In response, it was indicated that succession planning was key.  A subsequent query relating to governance was raised; in response it was indicated that MBC governance applied.

·        A Member commented on the potential impact of flooding and the requirement to look at the Council’s resilience if it was a known risk.

·        A Member referred to a previous suggestion made in relation to officers’ declarations of interest.  The Head of Internal Audit advised that this was currently being looked into.

·        A Member referred to the Middlesbrough Municipal Golf Centre and queried its future.  The Mayor explained that there were several potential options available in respect of this, i.e. it could be sold, leased out, or operated by a third party.  In terms of the latter, it was a separate arrangement from Everyone Active, and there had been expressions of interest from possible operators.  The Head of Policy, Governance and Information advised that a written response would be obtained, for the Committee, from the Director of Regeneration.

·        A Member referred to an item agreed last year that referred to control over items that were not intrinsically valuable and queried when these would be looked into.  In response, Members heard that matters related to information security, which would be looked at during 2025/26.

·        A Member suggested that one area for the internal audit work programme could be Revenue and Benefits, specifically collection of Housing Benefit overpayments and Council Tax debt.  Consideration was given to the split by landlords versus tenants/ homeowners.  The Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Board (OSB), also a Member of the Audit Committee, indicated that matters such as debt recovery, Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs), and Selective Landlord Licensing (SLL) could potentially be looked at by OSB.  The Head of Internal Audit indicated that an audit of Council Tax was on the list.

AGREED that:

1.      A response to the query raised regarding the Middlesbrough Municipal Golf Centre would be obtained from the Director of Regeneration.

2.      The information, as presented, was noted.