· To receive a verbal update on the Performance Work Programme.
· To receive a verbal update on the certification of grants work.
Minutes:
5.1 Mr Andy Bruce, WAO reported verbally on the progress and status of items of work under the Performance Work Programme as follows –
• Fieldwork for the Corporate Assessment of the Authority is currently underway. The Corporate Assessment supersedes the Annual Improvement Report in 2015 and will take into account the Authority’s Self-Assessment and the WAO local reviews on the management of financial resources, governance and the effectiveness of Joint Local Service Board arrangements. A draft report is expected to be issued in April with the definitive report to follow in June.
• The national report on the Safeguarding review is being drafted and is expected to be issued in March.
• The draft national report with regard to the Financial position review which will give an all Wales picture of financial resilience is currently going through the internal clearing process. The methodology for the review is being considered for a follow-up review in 2016.
• The public survey with regard to Delivering with Less – Leisure Studies study has closed and the results are being analysed to feed into a national report.
• The fieldwork in relation to the study of joined up working to address health and social care demand in relation to the independence of older people has been completed. The Authority in Anglesey was not directly involved in this study and the output will be in the form of a short national summary of findings to be issued in March 2015.
• Consultation on the seven study options for the 2015/16 Performance Work Plan has closed and the definitive work programme will be selected on the basis of the feedback received and published in April, 2015.
The Committee noted the information without further comment.
5.2 Mr Joe Hargreaves, PwC provided a verbal update on the status of the certification of grants work. Grant claims are certified in accordance with a series of deadlines and all work in relation to claims for 2013/14 is complete and all grants certified apart from the Learning Pathway Grant. For those grants certified the Grants Co-ordinator will have available the certification letters which provide details of the nature of the certification. In relation to the February deadline, work on WEFO grants certification (North Wales Local Investment Fund and Strategic Infrastructure Grant) is ongoing and those grants are expected to be certified by the end of the month. In total 18 grants have been certified of which 6 are unqualified with no amendments, 7 are unqualified with some amendments; 2 required qualification on the audit certification and 3 were qualified and required additional amendments to the final figures.
The Committee considered the information and acknowledged the improvement as regards the number of grants certified without qualification. The Committee raised a general point regarding what appeared to be the proliferation of grants in recent years both from the Welsh Government and other sources. It was suggested and subsequently agreed, that it would be informative for the Audit Committee to receive a schedule of available grants both in terms of gaining an impression of the bigger picture with regard to grant funding and in terms of ensuring that the Authority is making the most of grant funding opportunities that may be open to it.
The Chief Executive said that most of the grant funding offers to the Authority are received via the Chief Executive’s Office and are looked at by the Chief Executive before being forwarded to the relevant service directorate. A Finance Service Officer also oversees the grants for compliance with funding criteria. Not all grant offers received are applied for and consideration is given to whether they identify with the Council’s corporate priorities and whether the resources expended in drawing up an application is justified given that the application process for many grants is competitive. There is a wide range of grants available and services in the Authority are sustained by grant funding of over £60m meaning that there are implications if or when that funding ceases. The timing of the confirmation of grant funding can also influence and/or delay service planning.
The Interim Head of Resources said that there is an element of risk attached to the grant funding regime in so much as with the availability of so many grants both Welsh Government and EU, the pursuit of grants can become an objective in itself rather than the delivery of a service to the community. Given that many grants are awarded on a match funding basis, services can spend 50% to match fund a grant without sufficient regard to whether those funds could be better spent elsewhere. Grant funding is also very fluid with new grants emerging as current grants cease so any survey of grants available will only capture the situation at a particular time.
It was resolved to note the position to date is relation to the certification of grants.
ACTION ARISING: The Interim Head of Resources and Section 151 Officer to provide the Committee with a report on the grants available to the Authority and how the Authority maximises the take up of grants.