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Agenda

Agenda

Venue: Conference Room B - Civic Offices. View directions

Contact: 023 9283 4058  Email: Vicki.plytas@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

2.

Declarations of Members' Interests

3.

Minutes from the meeting held on 15 September 2017 pdf icon PDF 173 KB

RECOMMENDED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 15 September 2017 be confirmed and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

4.

Updates on actions identified in the minutes

5.

External Audit Annual Results Report 2016 - 17 (Update) pdf icon PDF 3 MB

Chair to sign the Letter of Representation.

 

The External Auditor's report (originally marked "to follow") is now published on the website (23 October 2017) and their written consent has been obtained to do so.

6.

Audit Performance Status Report to 29 September 2017 pdf icon PDF 165 KB

This report is to update the Governance and Audit and Standards Committee on the Internal Audit Performance for 2017/18 to 29th September 2017 against the Annual Audit Plan, highlight areas of concern and areas where assurance can be given on the internal control framework.

 

RECOMMENDED that Members

 

(1)  Note the Audit Performance for 2017/18 to 29th September 2017.

(2)  Note the highlighted areas of control weakness from the 2017/18 Audit Plan.

 

 

 

Additional documents:

7.

Compliance with the Gifts and Hospitality Protocol pdf icon PDF 139 KB

The purpose of the report is to update members on any issues regarding compliance with the Gifts and Hospitality protocol and to advise on remedies.

 

RECOMMENDED that

(1)  The Committee considers whether or not to make any recommendations for change

(2)  in the absence of any changes, the report is noted

 

 

 

Additional documents:

8.

Review of Members' Allowance Scheme pdf icon PDF 318 KB

The purpose of the report is

(1)  To seek approval for the review process from the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee

(2)  To recommend to Council the findings of the Independent Remuneration Panel for adoption into the Members' Allowances Scheme.

 

RECOMMENDED

 

To Governance & Audit & Standards Committee

 

That it approves the review process.

 

To Council  (via Governance & Audit & Standards Committee)

 

That

 

(1)  No change should be made to any of the various elements comprising the Members Allowances Scheme ("the Scheme") except that,

 

(a)   the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor are to be included in the Scheme with a Special Responsibility Allowance (SRA)  multiple of Basic Allowance of 0.7 and 0.1 respectively making the positions index-linked and if the recommendation is agreed by Council, to be effective from the date of that Council Meeting.

 

Note 1 This is not an additional allowance for the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor but is simply to bring their allowance formally within the scheme and particularly within the Index Linked regime rather than be permanently fixed as they have been. The proposed changes result in broadly similar allowances currently paid for these positions outside of the scheme which are - Lord Mayor allowance is currently £7,100 and the Deputy Lord Mayor is currently £923.

 

 

Note 2  A footnote would be added to the relevant  section as follows "Recognising the roles of Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor are greater than is required normally of a councillor, as per The Local Authorities (Members' Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003, Special Responsibility Allowances"

 

(b)  a note would be added to the Scheme to clarify that any remuneration received through representing the Council on any Outside Body sits outside the Scheme.

 

(c)  the wording in the section on Carers' Allowance is amended to link it to the "Portsmouth Living Wage" (currently £7.85 per hour)

 

(d)  the wording of the first paragraph of section B (1) Travelling Allowances is amended to add the following wording

That "Travel claims to a destination outside the City must be from a member's Portsmouth registered address, (or from the Council's Civic Offices if that is the member's starting point and is nearer to the destination).  Claims from another location can be made if it is nearer to the destination outside the City."

 

(2)  Notwithstanding the index-linked arrangement, a further review of the Scheme be carried out to be completed in time for the start of the 2021-2022 financial year to meet the 4-yearly review requirement.

 

(3)  The existing Independent Review Panel be retained as a Standing Panel in the interim period, whose members (with a quorum of three for any decision to be taken) can consider issues that arise in connection with the Scheme before the next review, either by email or in meetings.

 

The Scheme incorporating the above revisions is attached as Appendix 1 for approval

 

(4)  The members of the Independent Review Panel be thanked for their time and attention in undertaking the Review.

 

9.

Update on the council's compliance with its Equality Impact Assessment Process pdf icon PDF 283 KB

 

The report that had been marked "to follow" was added on 20 October 2018.

 

The purpose of the report is to update the Committee on the compliance of council services with the council's Equality Impact Assessment process since the last meeting held on 4 November 2016.

 

RECOMMENDED that the Committee

(1)  Notes the contents of the report;

(2)  Continues to monitor the compliance of the council services with the Equality Impact Assessment process adopted by the Council, on an annual basis.

 

10.

Exclusion of Press and Public

That in view of the contents of the following item on the agenda the

Committee is RECOMMENDED to adopt the following motion:

“That, under the provisions of Section 100A of the Local Government

Act, 1972 as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information)

Act, 1985, the press and public be excluded for the consideration of the

following item on the grounds that the appendices to the report contain information defined as exempt in Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act, 1972”.

The public interest in maintaining the exemption must outweigh the

public interest in disclosing the information.

Under the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and

Access to Information) England Regulations 2012, regulation 5, the

reasons for exemption of the listed item is shown below.

Members of the public may make representation as to why the item

should be held in open session. A statement of the Council’s response

to representations received will be given at the meeting so that this can

be taken into account when members decide whether or not to deal with

the item under exempt business.

(NB The exempt/confidential committee papers on the agenda will

contain information which is commercially, legally or personally

sensitive and should not be divulged to third parties. Members are

reminded of standing order restrictions on the disclosure of exempt

information and are invited to return their exempt documentation to the

Senior Local Democracy Officer at the conclusion of the meeting for

shredding.)

Item Exemption Para No.*

11. Procurement Management Information report 1, 2 and 3

1. Information relating to any individual

2. Information that is likely to reveal the identity of an individual

3. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any

particular person (including the authority holding that information).

11.

Procurement Management Information pdf icon PDF 686 KB

(INFORMATION ONLY)

(NB Appendices 1 and 4 are exempt and provision has been made on the agenda for the meeting to be moved into exempt session if required)

 

The purpose of the report (which is for information and noting only) is to provide evidence to allow the committee to evaluate the extent that Portsmouth City Council is achieving value for money in its contracts for goods, services and works.

 

Additional documents: