Minutes

Minutes of the Audit Panel held on 8 February 2001 held in Room AG23, Romney House, 43 Marsham Street, Westminster SW1P 3PY.

Present

Members

• Sir John Quinton (Chair)
• Roger Evans (Deputy Chair)
• Elizabeth Howlett

MPA staff

• Peter Martin (Treasurer)
• Peter Tickner (Director of Internal Audit)

Also in attendance: Jon Hayes (Audit Manager - District Audit), Kevin Murphy (Director - KPMG), Kash Pandya (District Auditor - District Audit), Marcine Waterman (Performance Management District Auditor - District Audit)

Plus two members of the press and public.

Part 1

13. Apologies

(Agenda item 1)

Apologies were received from John Biggs (MPA Member).

14. Minutes of meeting of audit panel held on 29 September 2000

(Agenda item 2)

The District Auditor requested that the third bullet point, paragraph 2, item 4 be amended to read ' - external audit had wide powers of reporting'. The third paragraph, item 8 was amended to read 'Members expressed concern that the funding for additional staff would affect the precept'. With these changes, the minutes were agreed.

Resolved:
that the minutes of the last meeting be agreed.

15. External audit – audit plan 2000/1

Members received a report prepared by District Audit setting out the external audit plan for the 2000/2001 audit. The District Auditor said that its principal objective was to provide an audit that met the Audit Commission's Code of Audit Practice, and would be directed towards those areas of greatest financial and operational risk. With regard to performance management this audit would cover the best value plan and processes to deliver best value, the systems for governing performance information, a review of services and financial planning, a review of arrangements for overtime procedures (for both police and civil staff), early retirement for police officers and arrangements for managing Employment Tribunals (ETs).

The Director of Resources reported that the MPS's Management Board was concerned about possible overlaps between the District Audit and HMIC. It also felt that District Audit could look at prisoner's property in preference to ETs. The Director of Resources reported that many new measures were being deployed around the handling of possible ET cases, and it was felt the new processes should settle before further review. Internal Audit had identified problems with prisoner's property, and it was felt that District Audit's new approach might hasten a solution. The District Auditor responded by saying that overlap between different inspections was being avoided. The Treasurer was happy with areas identified by District Audit, but there would need to be coordination with the review of effectiveness and efficiency. He welcomed an examination of ET procedures, as he had been unable to obtain insurance for the MPS, covering ETs. The proposed programme of work was agreed.

Members discussed the suggested fee of £500,000. They were informed that it was based on the fee scale set by the Audit Commission and no longer based on hours worked. The suggested fee was at the top end of the scale, because the audit risk was high. Members wanted more information about how the suggested fee had been arrived at. It was proposed that an special meeting of the Audit Panel be held to discuss a further report that would provide more information about the fee and proposed outputs.

Resolved:

1. the proposed external audit programme for 2000/01 be agreed; and
2. the external audit fees be discussed at a further meeting (8 March).

16. Internal audit progress report

(Agenda item 4)

Members received a report on progress with the agreed programme of work, and the staffing and budget of Internal Audit from 3 July 2000 to 31 January 2001. The Director of Internal Audit asked for comments on its format. Members felt more exception reporting was required and there followed a discussion of timescales in which such reports should be made. The Treasurer suggested that the Director of Internal Audit prepare a paper dealing with these issues for the special Audit Panel meeting.

Questions were asked about steps taken to recover the costs of police and civil staff deployed to outside organisations. The Director of Resources explained that the MPS culture was to give assistance where required, but it was not always rigorous in recouping this expenditure. This was being raised with the departments concerned. He also went on to explain the efforts already being made to recover overpayments made to an outsourced contractor. In further reports, Members asked for updates on these cases and on audits of high risk systems where high risk recommendations had been identified.

Resolved:

1. progress to date with the programme of Internal Audit work for 2000/2001 be noted and endorsed; and.
2. the extraordinary meeting of the panel receive a timetable for exception reports.

17. Internal audit need and provisional plan 2001/2002

(Agenda item 5)

Members received a report, which set out the proposed plan for the use of Internal Audit resources from April 2001 to March 2002. The plan was based on an updated Audit Needs Assessment for the coming five years. The required coverage of audits had been identified in risk priority order, and the plan took into account that which could be audited with the staff available.

Resolved:
that the provisional plan be approved, subject to final confirmation at the next Audit Panel meeting.

18. Exclusion of press and public

(Agenda item 6)

A resolution was put to exclude the press and public from the meeting during agenda item 6 'Minutes (Part 2): 29 September 2000' as they would be likely to disclose exempt information as described in Schedule 12a(9) of the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended) relating to:

'any item proposed, or to be proposed by or to, the Authority in the course of negotiations for a contract for the acquisition or disposal of property or the supply of goods or services'

Resolved:
that under section 100a(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for item 15, on the grounds that it involved disclosure of exempt information as detailed in the paragraph of Schedule 12A(9) of the above Act.

Summary of exempt items: 19. Confidential minutes of the audit panel held on 29 September 2000

(Agenda item 6)

The confidential minutes of the last meeting were agreed.

Resolved:
that the minutes of the last meeting be agreed.

Send an e-mail linking to this page

Feedback