Agenda item

Report from the S.2151 Officer attached

The Senior Auditor presented a report on behalf of the Section 151 Officer detailing the work undertaken by Internal Audit during the period 1 July to 30 September 2026. The report provided an update on progress against both the 2025/26 and 2026/27 Internal Audit Plans and enabled Members to monitor the performance of the Internal Audit Service, raise any matters for further consideration and identify any areas where additional assurance or follow-up work may be required.

Members were advised that:

• Work on the 2025/26 Audit Plan was now in its final stages and expected to be completed shortly. Of the 20 audits carried forward into 2026/27, 18 had been finalised and two reports remained at draft stage.
• Delivery of the 2026/27 Audit Plan had commenced, with one audit completed, one draft report issued, nine audits currently in progress and six audits allocated.
• Seven final audit reports had been issued during Quarter 2.
• Seven first follow-up reviews and four second follow-up reviews had been completed during the period 1 July to 30 September 2026.

Members were given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments:

Councillor Gartside referred to the 12 outstanding fundamental recommendations and sought clarification regarding how overdue these actions were and whether Executive Directors should be required to attend the Committee to provide explanations.

Officers advised that all outstanding recommendations continued to be monitored through the Governance Assurance Board and were subject to regular review and follow-up. Members were informed that a number of actions were due to be considered by the Governance Assurance Board during the current week.

Councillor Gartside further queried whether unresolved recommendations should be escalated directly to responsible officers rather than being repeatedly subject to follow-up reviews and asked how the Committee would be informed once recommendations had been implemented.

In response, Neil Kissock suggested that future reports could provide additional information showing how many recommendations had been closed since the previous reporting period and how many new recommendations had been raised. Members agreed that understanding the overall trend was important, particularly in relation to the 35 outstanding recommendations identified within the report.

Ben Thomas queried how often implementation dates for recommendations could be revised.

Officers advised that implementation dates were reviewed on a case-by-case basis. It was explained that a number of recommendations within the Digital, Data and Technology service had been delayed due to resource pressures and competing priorities associated with the implementation of new systems and applications. Revised implementation dates had therefore been agreed with the relevant Executive Director and the Executive Director of Digital, Data and Technology.

Councillor Green emphasised the importance of ensuring recommendations were implemented and asked what escalation measures were available where agreed actions were not delivered.

Officers advised that matters could be escalated to the Chief Executive and, where appropriate, brought to the attention of the Leader of the Council through corporate governance arrangements.

Ben Thomson suggested that where implementation continued to be delayed, the Audit Committee should consider inviting the relevant Executive Director to attend a future meeting to provide assurance and explain the reasons for non-compliance.

It was agreed:

1. That the report be noted and the work undertaken by Internal Audit during the reporting period be acknowledged.