Agenda item

To provide an update on the delivery of the internal audit work plan for 2020-21.  The report also updates the Committee on counter fraud and information governance work undertaken so far in 2020-21.

The Audit Manager, Veritau presented the quarterly report which provided the Committee with an update on the delivery of the internal audit work plan for 2020-21, along with an update on the counter fraud and information governance work undertaken to date in 2020-21.  It was noted that due to Covid-19, work on the annual audit plan had been delayed therefore the report also updated Members on the plans for completion of work over the remainder of 2020-21.

The Audit Manager, Veritau pointed out that twelve 2020-21 audits were in progress with eight of these expected to be completed and reported on at the next Audit and Governance committee.  It was highlighted to the Committee that there were continued challenges due to Covid-19 and as a result fewer frontline service audits were being conducted due to capacity issues, and to minimise the impact on officers.   

In relation to monies paid on behalf of the government through the grant scheme, Members queried if Veritau had provided checks to ensure that the grants were being processed and paid according to the government guidance and if the Councils IT server network and the staff were able to manage the additional workload, it was explained that the Counter Fraud team had performed spot checks during and after the process and were confident that the process was well managed and appropriate.  The Chief Finance Officer stated that the staff had coped admirably and continued to deliver frontline services and aid the recovery.

The Counter Fraud Manager, Veritau presented the section of the report related to the Council’s counter fraud activity 2020-21 which highlighted that savings of £8k had been achieved through fraud investigation.

The Committee heard that the counter fraud team had supported the Council with Covid-19 grant payment processes and post payment assurance work was ongoing in relation to successful applications for the initial tranche of grants with no issues being identified. It was further confirmed that four grant payment investigations had been completed to date and £30k of incorrect payments had been prevented.

In terms of housing fraud, Members noted that in October 2020, a resident was issued with a caution for failing to provide correct information when declaring themselves homeless; the investigation resulted in the housing application being cancelled before a tenancy was offered.

The Information Governance Manager, Veritau drew the Committee’s attention to appendix C of the report which provided an update on Information Governance matters, to include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) action plan along with data breaches.  Members were informed that a new privacy notice for the Self-Isolation Payment for Covid-19 had been finalised and published and the main Covid-19 privacy notice has also been amended to include elements of Track & Trace processing; and an overall Information Sharing Agreement (ISA) had been put in place with North Yorkshire County Council for Covid-19 related sharing.

RESOLVED:

To note progress on delivery of internal audit, counter fraud and information governance work, and the plans for work to be completed in 2020-21.