Scrutiny Committee - 23/06/2021

At a MEETING of the SCRUTINY COMMITTEE held remotely on 23rd June, 2021.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Bailie Kevin KEENAN, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 28th April, 2021 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I DECLARATION OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

II SCOTTISH ATTAINMENT CHALLENGE - PROGRESS REPORT FROM EDUCATION SCOTLAND

Reference was made to Article II of the minute of meeting of the Children and Families Services Committee of 10th May, 2021, wherein the Committee considered and approved Report No 153-2021 by the Executive Director of Children and Families Service relative to the above.

The Committee, for their interest:-

(i) noted the progress, success and impact to date; and

(ii) instructed the Executive Director of Children and Families Service to monitor progress towards meeting the future priorities outlined in the report and to continue to provide regular updates with regard to the funding allocation and the implementation of the Scottish Attainment Challenge in Dundee.

III LOCAL GOVERNMENT BENCHMARKING FRAMEWORK - PUBLIC PERFORMANCE REPORT FOR 2019/2020

Reference was made to Article II of the minute of meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee of 7th June, 2021, wherein the Committee considered and approved Report No 106-2021 by the Chief Executive relative to the above.

The Committee, for their interest:-

(i) noted the results contained in the report;

(ii) remitted the Council Management Team to review the selected areas of improvement in Section 7 of the report; and

(iii) agreed to the publication of the Local Government Benchmarking Framework report on the Councils website.

IV ANNUAL REPORT ON COMPLAINTS

There was submitted Report No 158-2021 by the Chief Executive reporting on complaints dealt with in 2020/2021, with comparisons to previous periods, and on action which continued to be taken to learn from complaints.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the key performance indicators on complaints closed between 1st April, 2020 and 31st March, 2021, with trends from previous periods;

(ii) noted examples of the volume of transactions the Council had with customers and citizens during the year, as a context for the number of complaints;

(iii) noted examples of how complaints had been used to improve services;

(iv) noted results of the satisfaction survey sent to people who made complaints in 2020/2021, with trends from previous periods; and

(v) noted examples of compliments received about Council services.

V INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS

There was submitted Report No 186-2021 by the Senior Manager, Internal Audit providing a summary of the Internal Audit Reports finalised since the last meeting of this Committee.

The Committee noted the information contained within the report.

VI INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN PROGRESS REPORT

There was submitted Report No 187-2021 by the Senior Manager, Internal Audit providing an update on the progress towards delivering the 2020/2021 Internal Audit Plan.

The Committee noted the information contained within the report.

VII 2020/2021 INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL REPORT

There was submitted Report No 188-2021 by the Senior Manager, Internal Audit submitting the 2020/2021 Internal Audit Annual Report. The report provided an independent annual internal audit opinion on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the organisations governance, risk management and control framework and a summary of the key activities of the Councils Internal Audit Service during the period from which the opinion was derived.

The Committee considered and noted the contents of the report.

VIII ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR TO 31ST MARCH, 2021

There was submitted Report No 183-2021 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, 2021.

The Committee:-

(i) noted the contents of the covering report;

(ii) approved the Annual Governance Statement;

(iii) instructed the Executive Director of Corporate Services to include the Annual Governance Statement in the Annual Accounts for the year to 31st March, 2021;

(iv) noted that a copy of the approved Annual Governance Statement would be submitted to the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership for assurance purposes; and

(v) noted the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Councils corporate governance as detailed in the Annual Governance Statement.

IX AUDIT SCOTLAND - INTERIM AUDIT TESTING 2020/2021

There was submitted Report No 195-2021 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services submitting the Management Letter on Interim Audit Testing 2020/2021 prepared by the Councils External Auditor, Audit Scotland.

The Committee noted the contents of Audit Scotlands Management Letter and approved the management responses to Audit Scotlands findings.

Kevin KEENAN, Convener.