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Audit Committee 13 June 2008
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority
Minutes of a Meeting of the Audit Committee held at Fire Service Headquarters, Birkenshaw on 13 June 2008
Present: Councillor V Binney (in the chair),
S Armitage (as substitute, agenda items 6 – 16 only Min nos. 52 – 62 refer), D Hollingsworth,M Khan
and B Smith
In attendance : Paul Lundy - Audit Commission
47 Minutes of the Last Meeting
Resolved
That the Minutes of the meeting held on 4 April 2008 be signed by the Chair as a correct record.
48 Urgent items
None.
49 Exclusion of the Public - Section 100A, Local Government Act 1972
There were no items which required the exclusion of the public and press.
50 Disclosures of Interest
There were no disclosures of interest in any matter under discussion at the meeting.
51 Annual Governance Statement
Consideration was given to a report of the Chief Fire Officer / Chief Executive and all members of the Management Board which sought approval for the
Annual Governance Statement.
Members were advised that the statement was a new requirement for inclusion in the statement of accounts, the purpose of which was to set out formal procedures for governance within the Authority and to report upon their effectiveness and any significant issues arising therefrom. It was reported that steps had been taken to address the following issues, as highlighted by the statement;
• Standards Committee – revised structure, appointment of independent members and formal training
• Environmental footprint – impact of the Authority’s services
• Comprehensive Area Assessment – response to change in emphasis,
contribution towards the wider wellbeing of the area
A copy of the draft statement was attached as an annex to the report now submitted.
Resolved
That, subject to an amendment at paragraph 4.1, the Annual Governance Statement for the Authority be approved for inclusion in the Statement of Accounts to be submitted to the full Authority on 27 June 2008 for approval.
52 Statement of Accounts 2007 / 8
The Chief Finance Officer presented a detailed report covering :-
• The revenue and capital outturn for the year
• The formal statement of accounts for 2007 / 2008
• The treasury management report for 2007 / 2008
• Members’ allowances outturn for 2007 / 2008
The Chief Finance Officer reported that overall there had been an underspend of £1.4m on the revenue account which had been as a result of the changes
to the firefighter pension arrangements and number of retirements, additional income from special service charges and additional monies from grants and secondments. Members were advised that the Authority’s balances stood at £6.3m as at 31 March 2008.
In terms of capital expenditure it was noted that total expenditure of £6.8m against an approved plan of £12.9m meant that the Authority had achieved
53% of its capital investment plan for 2007 / 2008. The relatively low proportion of completed capital schemes had been due to delays in progress with the five towns scheme and the USAR planning application delays.
The Chief Finance Officer then reported on the formal statement of accounts.
The Committee’s attention was drawn to the key statements within the accounts and an explanation of the details of the various statements was provided. Particular attention was again drawn to the accounting requirements for firefighters pensions and its impact on income and expenditure and the balance sheet.
Members offered a robust challenge to the statement of accounts and commented specifically on the following issues;
• Supplies and service overspend of £274,000
• Funding of Young firefighters’ scheme
• Fire Safety Publicity / staff advertising costs
• Internal borrowing and use of revenue balances
The Committee then considered the Treasury Management report and the Members’ allowances outturn for 2007 / 2008.
Resolved
(i) That the Revenue Outturn for 2007 / 8 be noted;
(ii) That the Statement of Accounts for 2007 / 2008 be recommended to the full Authority for approval;
(iii) That the Treasury Management report for 2007 / 2008 be noted; and
(iv) That the outturn for Members’ Allowances 2007 / 8 be noted.
53 Local Area Agreement Targets 2007 / 8 – Outcome
Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Fire Safety and Community Relations which informed Members of the progress made towards achieving the targets of the Local Area Agreements (LAA) for 2007 / 8.
Members were advised that 10 of the 13 LAA targets had been met with the exception of the following;
• Bradford – deliberate fires
• Leeds – accidental dwelling fire deaths
• Calderdale – secondary fires
It was reported that work was continuing to improve on these specific areas of concern with additional staffing and proactive work (Bradford), involvement
in Adult and Healthier Communities Board and operation of high risk intervention teams (Leeds) and operation of Arson Task Force (Calderdale).
Resolved
That the report be noted.
54 Chartermark Assessment 2008
The Director of Corporate Resources submitted a report which updated Members on the Chartermark Assessment 2008.
It was reported that the Authority had achieved full compliance with five awards of Best Practice in the following areas;
• Performance monitoring
• Use of technology (for improved accessibility)
• Performance improvement (planning, organisation and service delivery)
• Corporate support for community involvement
• Positive community involvement for a period of six months or more
Resolved
(i) That the report be noted; and
(ii) That the relevant personnel be congratulated on the achievement of the
Chartermark award in respect of 2008.
55 Corporate Priorities 2007 / 8 - Update
Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which updated Members of the progress against priorities 2007 / 8.
Members were advised that there had been a 40% completion rate during the course of the year and that work was ongoing on improving the level of performance against the agreed priorities.
Details of the progress against the specific priorities were attached as an annex to the report now submitted.
Resolved
That the report be noted.
56 Corporate Priorities 2008 / 2011
The Director of Corporate Resources submitted a report which sought approval for the proposed Authority Priorities for 2008 / 2011.
Resolved
That the Corporate Priorities for 2008 / 2011, as detailed in the report now submitted, be approved to form the basis of the Corporate Plan (to be published by 30 June 2008).
57 Improvement Plan 2008 – Update
Members considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which updated Members on
the progress made to date on the Authority’s
Improvement Plan 2008.
A copy of the current Plan was attached as an annex to the report now submitted.
Resolved
(i) That the report be noted; and
(ii) That those areas of work that had been completed be removed from future update reports in order that the Committee receive reports only on
those priorities which are defined as “ongoing”.
58 Best Value Performance Indicators – Outturn Figures 2007 / 8
Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which advised of the performance indicators outturn figures for 2007 / 8.
It was reported that thirteen of the indicators were used by the Audit Commission to determine performance for Comprehensive Performance Assessment purposes and it was reported that, in these particular areas, the Authority had achieved or were exceeding the majority of targets.
Resolved
That the report be noted.
59 Best Value Performance Indicators - Amendments to Outturn Figures 2006 / 7
The Director of Corporate Resources submitted a report which informed Members of the revised Best Value performance indicator outturn figures for 2006 / 7.
It was reported that Communities and Local Government had revised the original figures following an audit of FDR1 return and updated estimates
regarding population size and the number of non-domestic properties in West Yorkshire.
Resolved
That the report be noted.
60 Corporate Plan 2008 / 9 – Publication
Consideration was given to a report which sought Members’ approval for the publication of the Corporate Plan 2008 / 9.
Resolved
(i) That the report be noted; and
(ii) That Members be invited to give feedback and comment upon the draft
content by 18 June 2008.
61 Quality of Service Survey 2007 / 8 – Feedback
The Director of Corporate Resources submitted a report which advised Members of the feedback from the Quality of Service survey 2007 / 8.
It was reported that, overall, the feedback had been positive with 98% of respondents (domestic) and 100% of non-domestic respondents expressing satisfaction with the service they received.
Resolved
That the report be noted.
62 Performance Management Activity Report
The Director of Corporate Resources submitted a report which informed Members of the performance of the Authority against national and local targets for the period 1 April 2008 to 30 April 2008.
Resolved
That the report be noted.
Chair
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