Agenda and minutes

None.

Members are requested to indicate at this stage in the proceedings any items on the agenda in which they intend to declare an interest. Members are reminded that if the interest is a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest (as defined in the Members’ Code of Conduct) they must leave the room for the whole of that item. If the interest is not a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest, but is such that a member of the public could reasonably regard it as being so significant that it is likely that it would prejudice their judgment of the public interest (as explained in the Code of Conduct) then they may make representations, but then must leave the meeting for the remainder of the item.

There were no declarations of interest.

Draft minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2023 attached.

Resolved: That the minutes of the meeting held on 26 September 2023, be agreed and signed as a correct record.

Report of the External Auditor, Grant Thornton attached.

Matt Derrick, External Auditor (Grant Thornton) presented the draft Audit Findings Report 2022-23.

Mr Derrick reported that there would need to be an adjustment to the accounts arising from the fact the pension fund valuation was now a £12.5m net asset (i.e. pension assets were now exceeding pension liabilities). Following a recent external assessment by the fund actuary, it had now been confirmed that the pension fund would not be categorised as an asset and a decision would need to be taken as to how this should be represented in the final Statement of Accounts.  

It was noted that it was unusual for a pension fund to be in surplus. It was highlighted that pension investments were particularly sensitive to interest rates, so the value may have actually fallen since March 2022. Mr Derrick indicated that the Lancashire Pension Fund was revalued every 3 years.

Louise Mattinson, Director of Finance indicated that the Final Audit Findings Report 2033-23 with full Management Responses (including progress with regard to procurement recommendations), would be submitted to Governance Committee in January 2024.

Arising from a query in relation to a formal policy for cyber security (page 17), Louise Mattinson indicated that she had passed on the matter to the Director of Customer and Digital, Asim Khan, for a response.

Resolved – That the report be noted.

Report of the Director of Finance attached.

Jean Waddington, Principal Financial Accountant, presented a report of the Director of Finance for approval of the Statement of Accounts 2022-23.  As the external audit had not yet been fully completed, the report recommended that the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Chair of the Governance Committee, should approve any further non-material amendments to the Statement of Accounts, if necessary. However, if the Director of Finance is of the opinion that the amendments are material to the financial position of the council, Governance Committee should be reconvened to approve the new Statement of Accounts.

Ms Waddington explained that unfortunately, it would not be possible to meet the statutory deadline of publishing the Audited Statement of Accounts by 30 November 2023, however, it was hoped that would be actioned in December/January.

With regard to the pie charts on page 81 (“Where the money was spent” and “Where the money came from”), members requested that the actual figures be included rather than percentages.

With regard the financial risks identified arising from the Government’s annual financial settlement, Louise Mattinson stressed that the Council was lobbying central government for a longer term financial settlement.

Arising from a query regarding the financial standing of the council compared to other councils, Louise Mattinson indicated that she would circulate a copy of the CIPFA Resilience Report that provides comparison between South Ribble BC and it ‘nearest neighbour’ comparators – including Chorley Council. The report was based on the data published by CIPFA for 2021/22 and had been presented to the Committee on 23^rd May 2023 – the same data was expected for 2022/23 around March/April 2024 which would be brought to Committee for review and information.

It was noted that New Longton had been omitted from the breakdown of geographical areas within the Narrative Report section of the Annual Statement of Accounts and would be included in the final report.

Resolved:

Report of the Director of Finance attached.

Jean Waddington, Principal Financial Accountant presented a report of the Director of Finance on Treasury Management performance and compliance with Prudential Indicators for the period end 30 September 2023. 

Report of the Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer attached.

The Director of governance, Chris Moister, presented a report informing members of  proposed and consequential amendments to Part 2: Governance – how we run the Council and decisions in the Council’s Constitution.

Resolved: That the Committee notes the proposed changes detailed in the report and recommends them to Full Council for approval.