Cross Room, Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland PR25 1DH
Present:
Councillor Bradley (Chorley BC) in the chair
Councillors Jarnell (Chorley BC), Leadbetter (Chorley BC), Mullineaux (South Ribble BC) (as substitute for Councillor Hamman) and P Smith (South Ribble BC) as substitute for Councillor Robinson)
In attendance:
Garry Barclay (Head of Shared Assurance Services), Carol Eddleston (Democratic Services Officer), Susan Guinness (Head of Shared Financial Services), Gary Hall (Chief Executive ? Chorley BC) and Mike Nuttall (Chief Executive ? South Ribble BC)
Public attendance:
0
Other Officers:
0
Item
Description/Resolution
Status
Action
OPEN ITEMS
1
Appointment of Chairman
RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
Councillor Bradley be appointed chairman for the municipal year 2014/15.
?
Agreed
2
Appointment of Vice-chairman
RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
Councillor Hamman be appointed vice-chairman for the municipal year 2014/15.
?
Agreed
3
Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Hamman (South Ribble BC) and Robinson (South Ribble BC).
Noted
4
Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
Noted
5
Minutes of the Last Meeting
Minutes attached
RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
the minutes of the meeting held on 27 January 2014 be signed as a correct record.
?
The Heads of Shared Assurance and Financial Services presented the annual report for their areas, providing the final out-turn position on the actions taken to deliver planned service improvements and performance targets specified in the 2013/14 Business Improvement Plan.
Of the 29 projects in the Business Improvement Plan, 27 had either been completed or overtaken by events; of the remaining two, the review of management accountancy processes post FMIS implementation was considered to have a red status at year-end and development of the current level/programme of financial training packages for members and budget holders to include use of systems, process improvement and financial management techniques was considered to have an amber status.
The Heads of Shared Financial and Assurance Services responded to questions and observations from the committee.
Workload and personnel changes had impacted on the progress of the red project but it had now been incorporated into the Business Improvement Plan for 2014/15. Some initial work had been done on the amber project to identify what self-serve modules might be available for members and budget holders but more would now be done to take this forward. There was broad acknowledgement that attending Learning Hours and council meetings was an excellent source of learning open to all members but, although online learning would not suit everybody, it would provide members with a source of learning that they could access at their own convenience.
Of the 29 performance indicators in the Business Improvement Plan, 21 had either been met or exceeded. Although the target relating to % variation between the forecast out-turn at month 6 and the actual out-turn at month 12 was not always within the direct control of the service it was considered appropriate to retain it as it was useful management information and it also maintained focus on accurate budget forecasting performance. Although the KPI was relating to returns in 2013/14 the committee was informed in advance that the Whole of Government Accounts returns for 2014/15 would also be submitted late. This was due to a combined impact of the new Business Rates Retention scheme and also the new earlier deadline. Despite the returns being slightly late, their accuracy had been assured. Fortunately there would be no impact or penalty as a result of the late submission but the level of inaccurate submissions made nationally had received recent public criticism from the Audit Commission. The committee enquired about the increasing use of The Chest. This was dependent on the procurement activity timetable, capital projects and contract renewals and therefore variable. The efficiency savings made by this new system as opposed to the previous manual process were noted.
RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
the Financial and Assurance Shared Services Annual Report 2013/14 be noted.
The Head of Shared Financial Services presented the report seeking approval from the committee for the chairman to sign the 2013/14 annual return for the shared services partnership which contained the 2013/14 accounting statements and Annual Governance Statement. The return was in the same format as last year. In signing the return the committee acknowledged that due to the fact the service did not maintain its own bank account the figure in 8 could not be reconciled directly to other records.
RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
the 2013/14 Annual Return for the Financial and Assurance Shared Services Partnership be approved and signed off by the committee chairman.
?
The committee noted its forward plan and agreed that reports on current projects within the Systems Development Plan and procurement activity would be brought to the 6 October meeting.
RESOLVED (unanimously) that:
The forward plan be amended as outlined above.
