Agenda item

The Committee considered a report which provided a summary of the audit recommendations, as well the management action taken to date in implementing the recommendations from the Internal Audit report on the Disposal of Assets, from October 2019. The report was introduced by Christine Addison, Interim Director of Capital Projects & Property and Bill Ogden, Head of Strategic Property as set out in the agenda pack at pages 11-14. Cllr Adje was also present, as the Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration. The following was noted in discussion of this report:

a.    The Committee sought assurance around the monitoring arrangements for the implementation of the recommendations and whether it had been discussed at the Property Management Board. In response, officers advised that the report had been discussed at Corporate Board, as this was an officer level function and that Cllr Adje, as Cabinet Member, was responsible at a political level for ensuring that the recommendations from the audit were implemented. The Chair set out that he would like all audit reports to be sent to the relevant Cabinet Member as a matter of course.

b.    In response to questions around the extent to which the Strategic Property Unit was made up of interim staff or consultants, officers acknowledged that there were a lot of interim staff in the team and that this was not the ideal situation. It was commented that a number of the permanent staff had left the organisation due to plans for this function to be absorbed into the now defunct Haringey Development Vehicle.  The Interim Director of Capital Projects & Property advised that work was continuing on recruitment of full-time permanent members of staff. The Director also assured the Committee that the staff in Strategic Property had extensive experience, irrespective of them being interim staff and that she had no concerns about their ability to perform their role competently.

c.    In response to a question around considerations of value for money when undertaking asset disposals, officers advised that there was a process in place for checking the basis for any disposal and that disposals were done on the basis of best consideration. Officers clarified that no significant disposals had taken place in the past 18 months.

d.    Members of the Committee broadly welcomed the fact there had been no significant disposal of assets in that past 18 months. The Committee sough assurance that any significant disposal would be discussed at Corporate Committee before it took place. In response, the Cabinet Member stressed that the nature of disposals could be time-sensitive and that discussing this with the Committee may not be practicable or desirable, particularly as the Committee only meets five times a year. The Cabinet Member assured the Committee that any disposal that was undertaken in future would have proper audit trail. 

e.    The Committee suggested that, in light of the sensitivity of asset disposals and concerns about what may have happened in the past, that there was a need for an extra layer of scrutiny around this issue and that Corporate Committee should perhaps be the most suitable forum for that extra scrutiny to take place.

f.     The Committee enquired about the disposal of the Red House site, suggesting that this had taken place in the last 18 months and had not been sold on the open market. In light of the fact that this was part of the Council’s Housing Delivery Strategy, it was put to officers that this constituted a significant site. In response, the Interim Director of Capital Projects & Property advised that she would come back to the Committee with the details of this as she did not have the information to hand. (Action: Christine Addison).

g.    The Director assured the Committee that any future decision would be done through a proper process and through the proper channels. In respect of asset disposals, it was noted that Cabinet was responsible for agreeing and monitoring any asset disposal.

h.    In response to a question, officers advised that following a specific audit recommendation, all voids, acquisitions and disposals would be recoded on the new Estate Management Database. The database would hold data in real time to ensure that management reports were continuously up to date. However, this had been delayed due to the new SAP provider going live on 1st June, and as a result the Estates Management Database was expected to be implemented by 1st September. Officers advised that, until the database was up and running, the disposals tracker would be updated manually on a monthly basis. In response to a follow-up question, the Director advised that strong processes were in place to monitor the tracking of voids, acquisitions and disposals and that the database would provide an additional level of assurance. The Interim Director of Capital Projects & Property provided assurance to the Committee that she was confident that the monitoring processes in place were robust. 

i.      The Committee also sought clarification as to whether usage of an asset was considered when a disposal was made. In particular, whether its use as  a community building could be part of the consideration process. In response the Cabinet Member advised that the administration had a policy in place that any disposal would go through a review process and that usage could be one of the factors considered. It was noted that the Council’s Asset Management Plan was agreed by Cabinet on 11^th July 2020.

j.      The Cabinet Member agreed to being back a further update on asset disposals back to the next meeting of Corporate Committee on 17^th September, which would address the points raised by the Committee at this meeting. The Chair requested that this update also include some further reassurance around the method used when disposing of assets and considerations around community buildings. (Action: Cllr Adje/Christine Addison).

RESOLVED

That Corporate Committee noted the report.