Issue - meetings

The committee will consider  the follow up study  completed by Grant Thornton on the council’s financial resilience . The review will follow up on the recommendations made in last years  report.

A key part of the external auditors’ work with the council comprised of a review of the council’s arrangements for ensuring financial resilience.

The four key themes explored to provide the council with an overall rating of financial resilience were: indicators of financial performance, strategic financial planning, approach to financial governance and approach to financial control.   All 4 areas were assessed as meeting or exceeding adequate standards, (a green ‘RAG’ rating).  Each theme had sub categories which were also assessed under the RAG rating. The committee were pleased to note that, following last year’s report, four sub categories had improved from amber status to green status and there were no areas showing a red status.  There were seven areas of focus with an amber rating.

Grant Thornton had made recommendations for improvement in these amber assessed areas which had been acknowledged by officers.  When considering the areas for improvement  the  committee observed that:-

• The need for maintaining financial and business skills in departments, in particular ensuring that, in the Children and Young People’s Service, there was an additional focus to monitoring costs. 

•  In a minority of business cases reviewed, the supporting documents outlining how savings would be achieved needed to be more robust.

• Where an original saving had not been made but the directorate still delivered a saving in a connected area, then this should be reported.

• The closure of accounts process currently underway would give an indication of whether the reduction in the number of finance staff employed by the Council would put its financial resilience at risk.

• The implementation of the Haringey Manager scheme was to enable the cultural and behavioural changes required in management, following the increased responsibility for finance placed on managers. There was positive  feedback on  how the scheme assisted managers with their changing role .The scheme would take time to embed and committee members remarked on the  need  to  make the  finance training  mandatory.

The external auditors had spoken with the Children’s and Young People’s Service director and were convinced that the areas listed for improvement in budget management were recognised and were being taken forward in the strategic improvement plan of the service. It was agreed that the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People be briefed on the findings related to Children and Young People’s Service. It was further agreed that there be a report back to the Corporate Committee, in September, from the Director of the Children and Young People’s Service on how the recommendations of the external auditor were being taken forward by the service.

 Agreed that a briefing would be supplied to Cllr Wilson on the management of employment cases.

 RESOLVED

1. Where officer action had been agreed and listed within the attached report, these be completed within the timescale set.

2. The report be noted.