Scrutiny Committee - 29/06/2016

At a MEETING of the SCRUTINY COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 29th June, 2016.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Councillor Kevin KEENAN, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 20th April, 2016 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I DECLARATION OF INTEREST

No declarations of interest were made.

II EXTERNAL INSPECTION REPORTS FOR WHICH GRADES ARE GOOD OR BETTER

There was submitted Report No 238-2016 by the Executive Director of Children and Families providing a summary of recent external inspection reports which do not require in-depth scrutiny.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the summaries of the inspection reports on Millview Cottage, Gillburn Road and Fairbairn Street Young People's Houses all of which received grades of good or better in all areas covered by the inspections; and

(ii) remitted to the Executive Director of Children and Families to ensure that the areas for improvement, requirements and recommendations included in the reports were acted upon, both in relation to the particular services inspected and as guidance on good practice for other services.

III ANNUAL REPORT ON COMPLAINTS

There was submitted Report No 198-2016 by the Chief Executive on complaints statistics and satisfaction results for 2015/2016, with comparisons to previous periods, and on the action which continued to be taken to ensure that complaints were handled well and to learn from complaints.

The Committee noted:-

(i) the key performance indicators on complaints closed between 1st April, 2015 and 31st March, 2016, with trends from previous periods;

(ii) the latest update from the Complaints Review Group which met quarterly to check the quality of complaints handling and to promote learning and process improvements from complaints; and

(iii) the results of the satisfaction survey sent to everyone who made a complaint closed during each quarter of 2015/2016, with trends from previous surveys.

IV KPMG INTERIM MANAGEMENT REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 2016

There was submitted Report No 234-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services regarding the Interim Management Report for the year ended 31st March, 2016 prepared by the Council's External Auditor KPMG.

The Committee noted KPMG's report and approved the management actions in response to KPMG's recommendations.

V LOCAL SCRUTINY PLAN 2016/2017

On a reference to Article V of the minute of meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee of 9th May, 2016, there was submitted Report No 169-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services providing elected members with a summary of the Local Scrutiny Plan 2016/2017 that was recently issued by Audit Scotland on behalf of the various regulatory inspection bodies responsible for scrutinising the services provided by the Council.

The Committee noted the information contained within the report and the Local Scrutiny Plan 2016/2017 appended thereto.

VI MAJOR CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN COUNCILS - AUDIT SCOTLAND FOLLOW-UP REPORT

On a reference to Article VIII of the minute of meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee of 9th May, 2016, there was submitted Report No 168-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services informing members of the above national study prepared by Audit Scotland on behalf of the Accounts Commission and to provide an overview of the issues raised and how these were being addressed by Dundee City Council.

The Committee noted the information contained within the report and the Audit Scotland Study.

VII INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS

There was submitted Report No 231-2016 by the Senior Manager, Internal Audit providing the Committee with a summary of the internal audit reports finalised since the last meeting of this Committee.

The Committee agreed to note the information contained within the report.

VIII INTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER

There was submitted Report No 232-2016 by the Senior Manager, Internal Audit intimating that the Internal Audit Charter had been updated to reflect relevant changes in the Council and incorporate reference to the revised Public Sector Internal Audit Standards.

The Committee approved the revised Internal Audit Charter appended to the report.

IX AN OVERVIEW OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN SCOTLAND 2016

On a reference to Article VIII of the minute of meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee of 13th June, 2016, there was submitted Report No 187-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services providing elected members with a summary of the above national report that had been undertaken by Audit Scotland on behalf of the Accounts Commission.

The Committee noted the key message arising from the Audit Scotland overview report and noted the action points for elected members arising from the Audit Scotland overview report.

The Convener agreed that the undernoted items be considered as a matter of urgency in terms of Standing Order No 17(b) in view of the timescales involved.

X 2015/2016 INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL REPORT

There was submitted Report No 230-2016 by the Senior Manager, Internal Audit summarising the activities of the Council's Internal Audit Service during the above period and providing an independent annual opinion on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the organisation's governance, risk management and control framework based on the work undertaken.

The Committee noted the contents of the report.

XI ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR TO 31ST MARCH, 2016

There was submitted Report No 239-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services presenting the Annual Governance Statement for approval and inclusion into the Unaudited Annual Accounts for the year ended 31st March, 2016.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the contents of the report;

(ii) approved the Annual Governance Statement which was included as an Appendix to this report; and

(iii) instructed the Executive Director of Corporate Services to include the Annual Governance Statement in the Annual Accounts for the year to 31st March, 2016.

XII DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL - UNAUDITED ANNUAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 2016

There was submitted Report No 242-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services providing some additional commentary on the Council's unaudited Annual Accounts for the year ended 31st March, 2016.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the contents of the covering report;

(ii) noted the unaudited Annual Accounts which had been submitted along with the report;

(iii) instructed the Executive Director of Corporate Services to submit the Annual Accounts to the Council's External Auditor; and

(iv) noted that they key assumptions underpinning the independent actuaries calculation of the Council's IAS 19 liability had been reviewed and accepted by the Council as administering authority for the Pension Fund.

XIII TAYSIDE PENSION FUND ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT 2015/2016

There was submitted Report No 247-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services detailing the governance arrangements of the Tayside Pension Fund for the period 1st April, 2015 to 31st March, 2016 which were the responsibility of Dundee City Council as the Scheme Manager and administering authority for the Fund.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the contents of the Tayside Pension Fund Annual Governance Statement;

(ii) instructed the Executive Director of Corporate Services to arrange for the Annual Governance Statement to be signed as necessary; and

(iii) noted that the Annual Governance Statement would be considered in due course within the Audited Statement of Accounts of Tayside Pension Fund.

XIV TAYSIDE PENSION FUNDS UNAUDITED 2015/2016 ACCOUNTS

There was submitted Report No 241-2016 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services providing some additional commentary on the unaudited Annual Accounts 2015/2016 which were being submitted to this Committee along with this report.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the contents of the covering report;

(ii) noted the unaudited Annual Accounts which had been submitted along with the report;

(iii) instructed the Executive Director of Corporate Services to arrange for the unaudited accounts to be signed as necessary; and

(iv) instructed the Executive Director of Corporate Services to submit the Annual Accounts to the Fund's external auditor.

Kevin KEENAN, Convener.