Agenda item

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the Joint Independent Audit Committee Annual Report 2020/21.

The PFCC commented that the Joint Independent Audit Committee (JIAC) supported the effective operation of the OPFCC and the two services, whilst also assisting him to hold to account the Chief Constable and Chief Fire Officer. It was good practice to bring the JIAC’s Annual Report to the Panel. 

The Chair of the JIAC then presented the Annual Report and highlighted the following points:

·         The JIAC had reviewed its terms of reference in 2020/21. These followed national guidance and it was not proposed to make any changes to them at this point.

·         Poor performance by external audit was a key issue that had been highlighted by the JIAC’s work in the past year. Members of the public should expect to be able to see audited accounts by the appropriate time. The national approach to external audit meant that there was limited scope for local action to address current issues.

·         The JIAC had welcomed the decision that services delivered through the Multi-Force Shared Services (MFSS) partnership would be brought back
in-house and delivered jointly for the force and NFRS. The phased transition proposed represented a positive approach. The change would involve challenges and the JIAC would monitor the progress made.

·         The JIAC had been pleased with the way that the force and NFRS were beginning to work together. He had been involved in the development of the legislation supporting joint working and it was good to see Northamptonshire making use of the opportunities it provided.

·         He commended the officers who supported the JIAC’s work for their open and transparent approach. He also particularly commended the way in which the finance teams and statutory officers had dealt with challenges experienced during the year resulting from uncertainty about the timing of external audits.    

The Panel considered the Annual Report and members made the following points during the course of discussion:

·         The decision to bring shared services back in-house was welcomed.

·         The detailed oversight carried out by the JIAC gave the Panel confidence.

·         Delays in the completion of external audits were also causing significant issues for local authorities but there seemed to be no way to address this. It was questioned whether a more locally-led approach to external audit would provide more control.

·         The JIAC was a relatively small body and it was questioned whether all members made a full contribution to its work.

·         It was questioned whether members of the public could attend JIAC meetings.

·         It was questioned what action was being taken in response to concerns about the quality of some external audit work.

The Chair of the JIAC made the following additional points during the course of discussion:

·         The next national external audit tendering process was likely to involve some strong challenge about the respective benefits of a collective or local approach.

·         The JIAC was a manageable size and members worked both in- and outside its formal meetings. Before the COVID-19 pandemic the JIAC had met at force headquarters. It welcomed public attendance and had a process for members of the public to ask questions at JIAC meetings. Information about the JIAC was available on the web.

·         The JIAC had sought to broaden its skills base in the latest round of recruitment carried out in 2019.

·         Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) had provided some assistance to Northamptonshire on negotiating with external auditors about fees and timescales for the completion of work. The Chair considered that audit fees should be linked more to the quality of work and that authorities were not very well served by PSAA in this respect.

The Chief Finance Officer provided additional information in response to points raised by members during the course of discussion as follows:

·         PSAA was due to commission the next national external audit period in March 2022. The Chief Finance Officer was looking at future options for Northamptonshire, including speaking with counterparts who had not been part of the national scheme in the current five-year period.

·         The PFCC had made representations to the external auditor about the timing of the latest audits, which had resulted in the NFRS audit being moved forward to autumn 2021. However, the force audit was not due to take place until spring 2022.

·         Voice was not subject to arrangements with the PSAA and the OPFCC had confirmed that it could use an alternative external auditor.

·         The scale fees for the force and NFRS audits were £45,000 and £25,000 respectively. The external auditor was seeking to increase these fees by £6,000 and £10,000 for Northamptonshire and its counterparts were being asked to pay even more.

[Councillor Smith left the meeting during the preceding discussion].

The Chair thanked the Chair of the JIAC for his attendance. The PFCC went on to thank the Chair and other JIAC members for their previous work, which had provided challenge and counsel that was very helpful for the PFCC.

RESOLVED that: the Panel notes the Joint Independent Audit Committee Annual Report 2020/21.