Agenda

RECOMMENDED that the minutes of the meeting held on 19 July 2023 be approved and signed by the Chair as a correct record.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to detail the outcomes of the review of polling districts and polling places recently undertaken and to invite members to consider the recommendations made.

Recommendations

That the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee Recommends to Full Council:

(i)             That the changes to the current polling scheme recommended in paragraphs 5.2 to 5.5 are approved and implemented on publication of the 2024 Register of Electors; and

(ii)           That it be reconfirmed that the Returning Officer has delegated authority to make such variations to polling places as may be necessary arising from the availability of premises for use at a particular election.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to inform the Committee of any Data Security Breaches and enable them to determine whether any trends appear and whether any further actions should be recommended.

Recommendation

RECOMMENDED that the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee notes the breaches that have arisen.

Purpose

To bring to the attention of the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee the Annual Review of Complaints by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) dated 19^th July 2023, regarding complaints it has considered against Portsmouth City Council for the year 2022/23, and to provide an overall review of complaints.

Recommendation

RECOMMENDED that the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee notes the report.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to bring to the attention of the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee a new policy around managing unreasonable customer behaviour. 

The purpose of the new policy is to set out clearly what the council considers to be unreasonable customer behaviour and the process the council will follow in responding.

The aim of the policy is to ensure the council can still respond to enquiries from customers whose behaviour has become unreasonable, but without the demands of individual customers taking a disproportionate amount of time to manage and impacting negatively on the ability of staff to handle enquiries from other customers.

Recommendation

RECOMMENDED that the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee notes the report.

Purpose

The purpose of this report is to update members on progress on delivery of the improvement plan set out in item 10 of the most recent Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement.

Recommendation

RECOMMENDED that the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee notes the report.

Purpose

To report significant performance issues, arising from Q1 2023-24 performance monitoring, to Governance and Audit and Standards Committee and highlight areas for further action or analysis.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the Governance and Audit and Standards Committee:

(i)         notes the report in the revised format; and

(ii)       agrees if any further action is required in response to performance issues highlighted.

Purpose

This report is to update the Governance and Audit and Standards Committee on the Internal Audit Performance for 2023/24 to 8^th September 2023 against the Annual Audit Plan, highlight areas of concern and areas where assurance can be given on the internal control framework.

Recommendations

RECOMMENDED that the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee NOTES:

(i)             The Audit Performance for 2023-24 to 8^th September 2023; and

(ii)           The highlighted areas of concern in relation to audits completed from the 2023/24 Audit Plan, including follow up work performed.

Purpose

The purpose of the report is to inform members and the wider community of the Council's treasury management activities in 2022/23 and of the Council's treasury management position as of 31 March 2023.

Recommendation

RECOMMENDED that the actual prudential and treasury management indicators based on the unaudited accounts, as shown in Appendix B, be noted (an explanation of the prudential and treasury management indicators is contained in Appendix C).

Purpose

The purpose of the report is to inform members and the wider community of the Council’s Treasury Management position, i.e., its borrowing and cash investments as of 30^th June 2023 and of the risks attached to that position.

Whilst the Council has a portfolio of investment properties and some equity shares which were acquired through the capital programme; these do not in themselves form part of the treasury management function.

Recommendations

(i)       That the Council's Treasury Management activities have remained within the Treasury Management Policy 2023/24 in the period up to 30th June 2023; and

(ii)     the actual Treasury Management indicators as of 30^th June 2023 set out in Appendix A be NOTED

In view of the contents of the appendices to 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 contains 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 appendices are shown below. (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 asked to dispose of exempt documentation as confidential waste at the conclusion of the meeting.

Item Exemption                                                                                Para No.*

15. Procurement Management Information                                           3

(Exempt Appendices 1, 2, & 3)

*3. Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information.

Purpose

The purpose of the report is to provide evidence to allow the committee to evaluate the extent that Portsmouth City Council is producing contracts for goods, works and services in a legally compliant value for money basis.

Recommendation

RECOMMENDED that the Governance & Audit & Standards Committee notes the report.