Agenda item

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property introduced the report. He drew Members attention to the vacant training slots for the September 2024 and May 2025 meetings of the Committee and welcomed Members suggestions for topics for these slots.

Councillor Williamson observed that the Committee had four meetings scheduled for the 2024/25 civic year, which was a decrease from the six meetings held each year until 2022. He asked for clarification if this reduction was due to when the reports could be delivered, or if there was an opportunity to return to more meetings each year, to make each agenda more manageable. He said that the proposed agenda for the January 2025 meeting looked heavy and included budget scrutiny. 

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that the meetings were programmed to fit with the accounts and audit regulations, and when the expected outcomes would be. He reminded Members that draft accounts were expected at the end of May, with audited accounts at the end of July, and that meetings had been timetabled around these dates.

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that the external audit market had since experienced well know national issues with significant delays to audits. He said that the Council was now in a position where they were expecting to receive a disclaimer from their previous external auditor for 2022/23, and that their newly appointed auditors were attempting to get back to the audit timetable. He said that this is why the agenda for January 2025 meeting of the Committee looked heavy, but that the circumstances were beyond his control.  

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that the option of convening a Sub-Committee had been removed as the Committee had previously decided that the accounts should be approved at a full meeting of the Committee.   

Councillor Williamson said that he understood the problems which surrounded external audit and that officers would need to look at the programming of meetings. He said that he also understood that adding in an extra meeting may not work for the reasons explained by the Head of Strategic Finance and Property.

Councillor Deering endorsed the points raised by Councillor Williamson.

Councillor Woollcombe asked if BEAM (formally Hertford Theatre) would feature in the Committee Work Programme.

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that that Leadership Team were currently working with BEAM management, and that the intention was to bring a BEAM annual report to the Committee, which would be in the same format as the report heard tonight from EA. He said that this would be added to the May 2025 meeting agenda, but that as the venue was due to open in August 2024 the report would not cover a full year of operation.

Mr Sharman asked if a Data Protection Update was required for the September 2024 meeting.

Members debated this issue and agreed that the Data Protection Update should be received by the Committee twice per year.

Members debated and agreed that the Data Protection Update which was scheduled for the September 2024 meeting be replaced with a presentation from the Council’s IT Department on cyber security.

The Chair suggested to the Committee that a presentation on the Council’s Transformation Programme could be added to the vacant September 2024 training slot, as the programme was a risk to the Council’s budget.

Members debated and agreed that a presentation on the Council’s Transformation Programme should be given by the Deputy Chief Executive in the vacant September 2024 training slot.  

Councillor Deering asked for clarification/resolution on the previous points raised regarding the number of meetings of the Committee. 

The Chair asked for the implications of moving to six Committee meetings per year.    

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that he would need to consult with the Monitoring Officer and The Democratic and Electoral Services Manager.

The Chair said that this consultation would take place by the September meeting of the Committee. 

Councillor Deering asked if an extra Committee meeting could be arranged before September.

The Committee Support Officer said that this was unlikely due to several factors, and that she again would need to consult with the Head of Strategic Finance and Property, Monitoring Officer and the Democratic and Electoral Services Manager.

The Chair said that this was a fair point.

Councillor Williamson said the principal of an increase to six Committee meetings per civic year was to ease business, but that he understood that some reports were time barred, and that timetabling had been completed for the current civic year. He asked that if therefore a move to more meetings could not be facilitated for the current civic year if this could be a possibility for the next civic year.

Members agreed that the Chairman should explore the possibility of scheduling an extra meeting for the 2024/25 civic year with the Head of Strategic Finance and Property, the Monitoring Officer, the Democratic and Electoral Services Manager and the Committee Support Officer. 

It was moved by Councillor Woollcombe and seconded by Councillor Hart, that the recommendations, as detailed, be approved. After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, this motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that (A) the work programme as set out in the report be approved; and

(B)   that any training requirements be specified.