Agenda and minutes
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PDF 144 KBVenue: Committee Room - Council Offices, London Road, Saffron Walden, Essex CB11 4ER. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services Email: committee@uttlesford.gov.uk
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Apologies for Absence and Declarations of Interest To receive any apologies for absence and declarations of interest. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Light, the Leisure and Performance Manager and the Assistant Director – Facilities.
Councillor Jones declared a non-pecuniary interest as a member of the Essex Pension Fund.
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Minutes of the Previous Meeting To consider the minutes of the previous meeting. Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 26 July were received and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.
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Annual Audit Letter 2017/18 To consider the Annual Audit Letter 2017/18. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered the report which summarised the key findings from the 2017/18 audit.
The Assistant Director – Corporate Services said the Aspire accounts had now been fully audited.
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Internal Audit Strategy and Work Programme 2018/19 To consider the Internal Audit Strategy and Work Programme 2018/19. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered the report which provided information about the review and updating of the programme.
RESOLVED to approve the revised Internal Audit Strategy and Work Programme 2018/19.
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Internal Audit Progress Report 01 May - 31 August 2018 To consider the Internal Audit Progress Report 01 May - 31 August 2018. Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee considered the report which gave account of work undertaken by Internal Audit since the last report to the Committee on 17 May 2018.
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General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance Progress Report - 27 September 2018 To consider the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance Progress Report. Minutes: The Committee considered the report which gave details of work being undertaken towards compliance with EU General Data Protection Regulation and the UK’s Data Protection Act 2018.
The Internal Audit Manager said that only 3 of the 54 tasks were still outstanding.
In response to questions from Members, the Internal Audit Manager said the Council had only had 4 subject access requests since the implementation of GDPR. A higher amount of data breaches had been reported, but nothing had been serious enough to report to the Information Commissioner’s Officer.
Members discussed concerns about confidential data on their personal IT systems. The Assistant Director – Governance and Legal Services said officers were aware of the matter and it was under consideration.
The Internal Audit Manager left the meeting.
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To consider the report on the PFI overview. Minutes: The Committee considered the report which gave an overview of the arrangements with regards to the Leisure PFI Contract that UDC holds.
B. Balfour and R O’Callaghan from Linteum, the Council’s PFI partner, attended the meeting to take questions on the operation of the contract.
The Assistant Director – Corporate Services said the Council’s contract would expire in 2035, and it would be necessary to begin considering what to do after this date.
In response to a question from Members, the Assistant Director - Corporate Services said from an officer point of view, the contract was working well.
Members asked that officers keep them informed about the PFI contract so that it had a greater amount of visibility. Members expressed their appreciation of the attendance by Messrs Balfour and O’Callaghan on behalf of Linteum.
B Balfour and R O’Callaghan left the meeting.
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Report of the Aspire Directors To consider the report from the directors of Aspire. Minutes: The Chairman moved Item 9 forward in proceedings.
Members considered the report which summarised developments since Aspire was incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Uttlesford District Council.
The Director – Corporate Services said after taking into account the cost of borrowing, the Council in the year ending 31 March 2018 made a surplus of £1,427,000 from its investment in Aspire (CRP) Limited. This was in line with previous forecasts.
M Lines attending the meeting as a Non-Executive Director of Aspire said the Directors and Non-Executive Directors all had a positive relationship. The Director – Corporate Services said the Non-Executive Directors had been helpful in both challenging assumptions and reassuring officers.
M Lines left the meeting.
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Ombudsman Annual Review 2017/18 To consider the Ombudsman Annual Review 2017/18. Additional documents:
Minutes: The Committee considered the report which contained the annual review letter from the Local Government Association, summarising the complaints relating to the Council’s services dealt with by the Ombudsman’s Office for the year ended 31 March 2018.
In response to a Member question, the Assistant Director – Corporate Services said the letter would also be seen by the Scrutiny Committee.
Members asked for further information to be provided specifying which complaints had had what action taken.
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Voting by Ballot at Council Meetings To consider the report on voting by ballot at Council meetings. Minutes:
The Committee considered the report which proposed changes to the Constitution to provide for contested appointments made by the Council to be decided by way of ballot.
Councillor Sell said he thought the proposed change would result in a lack of transparency and he would not support it.
RESOLVED to recommend to Council the proposed changes to the Constitution set out in the Appendix to the report. |
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Local Plan Costs 2017/18 (to follow) To consider the report on Local Plan costs (to follow). Minutes: The Committee considered the report which summarised the annual costs of the Local Plan.
The Leader of the Council said local plans were expensive, and it was fundamental to have it done well.
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Date of Next Meeting Minutes: The Assistant Director – Corporate Services said there would be an extraordinary meeting of the Committee on 9 October at 5.30pm
The meeting closed at 8.45pm.
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