Agenda item

To receive Southern Internal Audit Partnership’s (SIAP) Report No. SIAP26/04 (copy attached), which includes the internal audit progress report from the Council’s internal auditors, for the 2026/27 audit.

The Chairman welcomed Natalie Jerams, Deputy Head of Southern Internal Audit Partnership (SIAP), and Nick Barrett, Audit Manager, from the Council’s internal auditors, who joined the meeting remotely via Microsoft Teams.

The Committee received SIAP’s Report No. SIAP26/04 which set out the Internal Audit Progress Report, which provided the Audit and Governance Committee with an overview of internal audit activity against assurance work completed in accordance with the approved audit plan. The Report also provided an overview of key updates pertinent to the discharge of the Committee’s role, in relation to internal audit.

During discussion, Members raised questions regarding the Disabled Facility Grants (DFG) audit and the Agency Staff audit. Members noted that the limited assurance opinion for the Disabled Facilities Grants review reflected areas where controls and processes needed to be strengthened. It was also noted that the no assurance opinion for the Agency Staff review showed concerns regarding procurement legislation and internal governance standards. Further information on the Disabled Facilities Grants and Agency Staff audit reviews would be provided by SIAP at the next Committee Meeting.

Members stated that they wished for clarification regarding the legal requirements relating to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for staff members. The Committee highlighted the need to ensure that risks identified through internal audit reports, together with any overdue audit actions, were appropriately considered within the Council's wider risk management arrangements. Members also emphasised the importance of audit action deadlines being met and noted that responsible officers could be required to attend Committee meetings to explain delays and outline mitigations where target dates had not been achieved. Members sought clarification that the requirement was clear to officers.

Members also discussed whether greater access to information from individual audit reports would support scrutiny, particularly for reviews that had received low or no assurance opinions, and requested additional detail where actions had been delayed.

ACTIONS:

RESOLVED: That:

(i)            that SIAP’s Report No. 26/04, be noted; and

(ii)          the adjustments to the Internal Audit Plan 2026-27, as detailed in section 8 of Appendix A, be approved.