This report was introduced by the Deputy Head of Finance.

In addition to the reports detailed in Appendix A, a number of decisions were made during the meeting that would be captured in the Forward Work Programme.

In terms of the next meeting in November the proposed agenda items were outlined in paragraph 3.2 of the report. Members were asked to note that the Disabled Facilities Grants report, that had been due to come to the September meeting, would be added to the agenda of the next meeting. In addition, the final draft of the Committee’s Annual Report would be added to the agenda.  

It was possible that the special meeting scheduled for December to sign off the statement of accounts would need to be cancelled.

The Chairperson asked about a possible presentation by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and it was confirmed that they are willing to come and give a general briefing which would include the issues discussed at the last meeting. It was felt that the briefing should be open to all Members.

A member raised an issue about the frequency of two reports that didn’t have a frequency against them. In response, the Deputy Head of Finance suggested they could be reviewed and brought back to the Committee annually.

Another member, building on the earlier discussions about building and fleet safety, asked if the committee was confident that matters of health and safety are adequately covered by their work. The Chairperson responded by indicating that the Committee had a very specific role and that some of the matters raised should be picked up by a scrutiny committee. He asked if the Chief Officer – Finance, Performance and Change could consider the issues raised.

RESOLVED:

The Committee considered and approved the updated Forward Work Programme for 2023-24, subject to some amendments to take account of decisions made in the meeting.