Joint Audit Committee Meeting
Friday 22nd September 2017
09:00, FF33, Kelvedon Park
PRESENT:-
Members: Chair: Jonathan Swan (JS); Simon Faraway (SF); Julie Parker (JP); Alan Hubbard (AH)
Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC): Police and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst (RH); Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Gardner (JG); Chief Executive Susannah Hancock (SH); Treasurer Charles Garbett (CG); Abbey Gough (Minute Taker);
Essex Police Force: Mark Gilmartin, (MG); Denise Breckon (DB); Will Newman (WN)
RSM: Dan Harris (DH); Anna O’Keefe (AO)
Ernst & Young: Martina Lee (ML)
1. Apologies for absence: Debbie Martin (DM); Vicki Harrington (VH); Mark Hodgson (MH); Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh (SK)
2. Declaration of Interest
None
3. Minutes of the meeting held on 22nd September 2017
Minutes of the meeting were approved.
4. Risk Register
a. OPCC Risk Register
SH introduced the updated OPCC risk register to the committee and noted that there were two new risks which were linked to the capacity and capability for the OPCC following the launch of the fire governance. This reflects on the need to upskill members of the team. Additional risk was linked to the integrated health and justice work whereby a number of funding streams will be pooled together.
JS asked if there are staff within the fire & rescue service who are qualified to provide capacity and skills following the 1st October. SH said that the OPCC were considering the skills available however there will still be a need to provide RH with independent expert advice such as legal services.
The JAC members asked about the mitigating factors of risk 008 – budget and financial management. CG said that mitigation is taking place and that there has been particular attention given to the savings and benefits which are being achieved. This has enabled a more focus approach to business cases.
SF asked how the relationship with Kent Police was following the ongoing collaboration with ECFRS. It was noted that good working relationships are being maintained between the two forces with recognition that there would need to be continued focus on the shared service facilities going forward. In Kent there is already significant collaboration between police and their fire & rescue service.
It was noted that the OPCC risk register continues to be a good quality document.
b. EP Risk Management Report
WN introduced the force risk register and noted that this was based on the same format as the PCC register. There are now 11 strategic risks, the new risk is cyber security. This is the threat to the force from cyber-attack.
NW said that the balance scorecard does link to the risk management process; however the risk management process is currently out of sync with the audit committee. WN noted that the risk register being discussed is from June and the next meeting to re-evaluate the risk levels was due to take place following the JAC. The scheduling issues were noted and that it was for Essex Police to look into the risk management meeting schedule.
AH asked whether Essex Police had given further thought to mapping the priorities of the Police and Crime Plan against the risks. MG said that all the risks do arise from the Plan on a Page and the Police and Crime Plan. JAC members asked if it would be possible to format the report so that this was shown. This would improve the alignment between the two risk registers.
ACTION - Essex Police to format the risk register to show how risks align to the Police and Crime Plan and Plan on a Page
MG provided and overview of the six strategic Athena. Discussion was held regarding the operational and financial benefits of Athena. CG noted that the original business case focused more on service rather than financial benefits, however there were financial benefits anticipated following the switch off of legacy systems.
WN noted that the cyber security risk was initially low however it would be subject to its first full review shortly. MG said that regular system patching takes place following risk assessment.
JS asked about the changes in data collection regulation which come into effect from May 2018 and the preparation which had taken place for both the force and the OPCC.
MG said that the DCC was the senior information owner for the force and that the duty is discharged by members of his team. A refresh of the structure is currently taking place and there is professional development with staff to follow.
SH said that the OPCC was due to have a briefing ahead of the change which would help to inform the OPCC requirement. DH said that RSM would be willing to assist if required and ensure that the organisations were data protection ready, which could include a training course. There is also an internal audit which was due to take place however this could be moved to quarter four following the delivery of support and training.
5. Internal Audit
a. Progress Report
DH said that there were some draft reports which had negative assurance opinions. RSM are currently working with Essex Police regarding these reports. DH confirmed that he had met with CG and DM to ensure that the internal audit plan still focused on the right areas.
DH noted that the KPI data has now been separated out. SH asked if there has been any improvement in in management response times. DH said that there was an improvement in the response times.
MG said that an audit masterclass was being organised which was help improve staff response to internal audit. This includes setting reasonable completion dates and querying recommendations when they are first made, rather than once reports are finalised.
AO provided an overview of the finalised reports. Pay progress was awarded a reasonable assurance opinion and two medium recommendations linked to withholding increments and new starters beginning on a higher pay spine point.
The follow up report was noted as little progress, this was due to there being one outstanding high recommendation which was related to firearms. The JAC members noted that this level of progress appeared to be harsh considering the number of completed recommendations. DH said that in future reports they may just provide a factual conclusion.
The Partnership audit was completed at the request of the OPCC and received six medium recommendations and reasonable assurance. It was noted that this was a very useful report which looked into the partnership risk registers and performance measures.
AO said that the Fire Collaboration report was a historic report which was produced prior to the acceptance of the governance business case. At the time there were three medium recommendations.
The leavers and movers report received partial assurance. There was one high recommendation and two medium recommendations. Some of these weaknesses had been highlighted in a previous audit; this included the return of equipment when a member of staff leaves employment with the force.
JAC members raised concerns that warrant cards not being returned. MG assured members that assets, especially warrant cards are returned and computer access is cancelled on the day of leaving. Warrant cards are returned to line managers however they are not allways returned to stores or logged. MG said that further work will take place to ensure that the correct processes are in place going forward.
The procurement improvement plan received reasonable assurance which included two medium recommendations. AO noted that the contract register was being developed and that the standard procedures needed to be updated however the procurement team were awaiting an update to the financial regulations.
b. Benchmarking Report
The JAC members noted the benchmarking report.
6. Essex Police Internal Tracker
MG noted that CG has been active in ensuring that many recommendations have been closed. MG said that there will be some focus on the recommendations arising from the leavers and movers report. MG said that he would look to lead the force response to these actions.
AH noted the improvements in the tracker however he asked if it would be possible in the future for the details to include more concise updates such as action taken, by whom and expected date.
ACTION – More concise details to be included within the Essex Police Internal Tracker
7. Single Tender Actions
The reduction in the number of STAs was noted. MG said that the current STAs reported are linked to the eastern region site. RH asked if it would be possible to have more pre-approved suppliers which could be drawn upon in order to reduce the number of STAs.
MG noted that Essex Police do not receive funding for this site as Bedfordshire is now the lead force and the national grant is sent directly to them. RH said that better governance processes are required for such bodies.
8. Police/Fire Collaboration
RH provided an update on the police/fire collaboration work. RH confirmed that he takes over the governance of the fire and rescue service on 1st October. RH said that there has been a positive reception from staff. RH confirmed that he expects there to be significant press interest in the governance change.
9. JAC Options Post Joint Governance
CG said that there are two constitutions, one for the police and one for fire which details the relevant boards and arrangements in place. CG summarise the three options which are available regarding the set-up of the audit committee.
Option 1 - Establish a separate Audit Committee with new independent members
Option 2 - Establish a Joint Audit Committee with the Police, utilising existing meeting dates and existing independent members
Option 3 - Establish a Joint Audit Committee with the Police, utilising existing independent members, however holding separate meetings
JS said that the members had an appetite to be the audit committee for the fire & rescue service as well as the police service and noted that there were benefits of having one committee, however he noted that it may be sensible to start with two separate committees with the view to merge them in the future.
RH and MG agreed that there were benefits from having one audit committee however that the convergence of the committees should not take place too quickly.
It was agreed that the option 3 approach would be taken initially with a view to moving to option 2 in the future.
JS said that there was the potential to recruit new members to the audit committee which could allow for individuals with fire expertise to join the committee and also to provide more resilience to the committee and maintaining a quorum.
10. Self-Assessment
CG said that the JAC members completed the self-assessment which was based on the National Audit Office (NAO) checklist and guidelines. JS said that the report was very broad and not specific regarding the role of the audit committee.
The members said that the committee was effective however they felt that some of the 29 recommendations were not appropriate for the committee and their role. CG said that there was a journey to follow in order to work up to the production of an annual report. CG said that a training and induction programme could be agreed and that improvements highlighted in the report could contribute to the annual report.
ACTION – JAC members to provide comments to CG on the report for CG to redraft.
DH said that RSM could provide a more relevant checklist to CG and the JAC members which would allow for a more appropriate assessment.
11. Appointment of External Auditor
Consideration was given to the appointment of the external auditor to the Essex Police Fire & Crime Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority (referred to as ‘Commissioner’). CG said that Ernst and Young have been allocated to Essex Fire Authority by PSAA Ltd but this arrangement does not transfer to the Commissioner. CG has entered into conversations with PSAA regarding the Commissioner appointment and the options available to the OPCC. CG is to seek legal advice on the options available.
ACTION – CG to seek legal advice regarding the appointment of external auditor to the Commissioner and arrange an early meeting of the Auditor Panel.
12. Any Other Business
13. Date of Next Meeting
15th December 2017