Agenda item

Members are asked to consider and note the Annual Report of the Head of Internal Audit 2020-21, along with the counter fraud and information governance work undertaken during the year.

Also, to note the outcome of the internal audit quality assurance and improvement programme and the confirmation that the internal audit service conforms with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards

The Committee received the report, presented by the Audit Manager, Veritau, which provided a summary of the internal audit work carried out since April 2020, and the counter fraud and information governance work carried out during the year 2020-21.

The Audit Manager confirmed that the overall opinion of the Head of Internal Audit on the governance, risk management and control framework operated by the Council was that it provided Reasonable Assurance.  It was further confirmed that this opinion was however qualified, in light of the current pandemic and the impact of this on the Council. 

The Committee heard that the report included the conclusion of Veritau’s internal audit Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme (QAIP), it was explained that the Internal Charter set out how internal audit at the Council would be provided in accordance with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS); a detailed self-assessment to evaluate performance against the Standards was undertaken in November 2018 which concluded that the internal audit activity provided by Veritau generally conformed to the PSIAS.  

In response to a query regarding the validity of the applications received for grant support, it was confirmed that most of the applications received had been genuine, and the robust checking arrangements in place within the Council, supported by the work of the Veritau counter fraud team, helped to minimise and recover incorrect payments. 

The Corporate Fraud Manager, Veritau presented the section of the report related to the Council’s counter fraud activity in 2020-21, which highlighted that actual savings of £12k had been achieved through fraud investigation; in addition, 30k of Covid-19 grant fraud had been prevented.

The Committee heard that there had been a 16% drop in the number of suspected fraud referrals in 2020-21, compared to 2019-20, this was attributed to Covid-19 and less social interaction between members of the public, which may have resulted in less suspicions being raised.

Members acknowledged that Veritau’s resources had been reprioritised to support the Council’s Covid-19 response, primarily through supporting Covid grant administration.    

The Committee noted that in addition to the fraud work carried out, a new counter fraud strategy had been developed on behalf of the Council, and the counter fraud policy was updated.

Members queried once investigations had taken place and fraud had been proven, were the culprits prosecuted, it was confirmed that Veritau would recommend pursuing the matter through the court system, and that Selby District Council took fraud very seriously.  It was further confirmed that warnings and cautions were also issued to ensure there was a formal paper trail to be followed.

The Audit Manager, Veritau presented the section of the report related to the information governance work carried out during 2020-21, which highlighted that Veritau had provided advice and support to officers in respect of the Information Asset register, the Information Governance Policy framework, and surveillance and law enforcement policies.

Members noted that a number of meetings had taken place to progress work on overt surveillance activities, along with a review of the current Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) policy; it was confirmed that once finalised all the surveillance documentation would be presented to the Audit and Governance Committee for consideration.

RESOLVED:

To note the reports.