2006-2007 - Annual Audit and Inspection Letter - Redditch BC v1.0

Phoun - J-Gaskell

Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe
Tout savoir sur nos offres

14 pages

English

Le téléchargement nécessite un accès à la bibliothèque YouScribe
Tout savoir sur nos offres

A propos
Informations
Extrait

Description

Informations

Publié par	Phoun
Nombre de lectures	24
Langue	English

Extrait

Performance Summary Report
March 2008

Annual Audit and
Inspection Letter
Redditch Borough Council
External audit is an essential element in the process of accountability for public money and
makes an important contribution to the stewardship of public resources and the corporate
governance of public services.
Audit in the public sector is underpinned by three fundamental principles.
• Auditors are appointed independently from the bodies being audited.
• The scope of auditors' work is extended to cover not only the audit of financial
statements but also value for money and the conduct of public business.
• Auditors may report aspects of their work widely to the public and other key
stakeholders.
The duties and powers of auditors appointed by the Audit Commission are set out in the
Audit Commission Act 1998, the Local Government Act 1999 and the Commission's
statutory Code of Audit Practice. Under the Code of Audit Practice, appointed auditors are
also required to comply with the current professional standards issued by the independent
Auditing Practices Board.
Appointed auditors act quite separately from the Commission and in meeting their statutory
responsibilities are required to exercise their professional judgement independently of both
the Commission and the audited body.

Status of our reports
This report provides an overall summary of the Audit Commission’s assessment of the
Council, drawing on audit, inspection and performance assessment work and is prepared
by your Relationship Manager.
In this report, the Commission summarises findings and conclusions from the statutory
audit, which have previously been reported to you by your appointed auditor. Appointed
auditors act separately from the Commission and, in meeting their statutory
responsibilities, are required to exercise their professional judgement independently of the
Commission (and the audited body). The findings and conclusions therefore remain those
of the appointed auditor and should be considered within the context of the Statement of
Responsibilities of Auditors and Audited Bodies issued by the Audit Commission.
Reports prepared by appointed auditors are:
• prepared in the context of the Statement of Responsibilities of Auditors and Audited
Bodies issued by the Audit Commission; and
• addressed to members or officers and prepared for the sole use of the audited body;
no responsibility is taken by auditors to any member or officer in their individual
capacity, or to any third party.

Copies of this report
If you require further copies of this report, or a copy in large print, in Braille, on tape, or in
a language other than English, please call 0844 798 7070.
© Audit Commission 2008
For further information on the work of the Commission please contact:
Audit Commission, 1st Floor, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4HQ
Tel: 020 7828 1212 Fax: 020 7976 6187 Textphone (minicom): 020 7630 0421
www.audit-commission.gov.uk Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ Contents 3
Contents
Key messages 4
Action needed by the Council 4
Purpose, responsibilities and scope 5
How is Redditch Council performing? 6
The improvement since last year - our Direction of Travel report 7
The audit of the accounts and value for money 11
Looking ahead 13
Closing remarks 14
Availability of this letter 14
Redditch Borough Council 4 Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ Key messages
Key messages
1 One of the key ways of measuring the performance of the Council is through
comparison of national performance indicators. Using this measure indicates that
Redditch's rate of improvement slowed in 2006/07 and was below the national
average. Whilst progress as measured using the Council's locally determined
indicators linked to its priorities was better it remains inconsistent across all key
areas.
2 The Council has made improvements in priority areas. Examples where
outcomes for local people have improved include recycling, access to housing,
community safety and recent investment in leisure facilities. In other areas such
as council tax collection, the Council recognises the need to respond to a decline
in performance and is developing action plans to drive performance.
3 The Council has begun the process of agreeing a long term vision for the
borough. Member and officer workshops have been held including a visioning
evening centred round the priority of community safety. This was a positive and
well attended event and many of the Council's key partners were represented. A
decision was agreed to aim to make Redditch the safest urban district in the
country by 2017.
4 KPMG, the Council's auditors in 2006/07 issued an unqualified opinion on the
financial statements and an unqualified value for money conclusion on
27 September 2007. They have not yet been able to agree the Whole of
Government Accounts (WGA) pack as being consistent with the financial
statements and are in discussions with officers to resolve the issue.
5 The Council's overall score for Use of Resources remained as 2 which equates to
adequate performance, although the score for the Financial Management theme
improved from a 2 to a 3 (performing well).
Action needed by the Council
6 Having begun the key task of deciding and agreeing a long term vision for the
Borough, Members must ensure that the momentum built up through the recent
workshops is maintained. Key decisions such as the rationalising of priorities and
re-aligning of resources to match these will need to be made by Members in the
coming months.
7 Members should continue to ensure that there is greater consistency of approach
across the council, particularly in the area of performance management. Agreed
targets need to be challenging, outcome focused and consistently applied across
services.
Redditch Borough Council Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ Purpose, responsibilities and scope 5
Purpose, responsibilities and scope
8 This report provides an overall summary of the Audit Commission's assessment
of the Council. It draws on the most recent Comprehensive Performance
Assessment (CPA), the findings and conclusions from the audit of the Council for
2006/07 and from any inspections undertaken since the last Annual Audit and
Inspection Letter.
9 We have addressed this letter to members as it is the responsibility of the Council
to ensure that proper arrangements are in place for the conduct of its business
and that it safeguards and properly accounts for public money. We have made
recommendations to assist the Council in meeting its responsibilities.
10 This letter also communicates the significant issues to key external stakeholders,
including members of the public. We will publish this letter on the Audit
Commission website at www.audit-commission.gov.uk.
11 Your appointed auditor is responsible for planning and carrying out an audit that
meets the requirements of the Audit Commission’s Code of Audit Practice (the
Code). Under the Code, the auditor reviews and reports on:
• the Council’s accounts;
• whether the Council has made proper arrangements for securing economy,
efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources (value for money
conclusion); and
• whether the Council's best value performance plan has been prepared and
published in line with legislation and statutory guidance.
12 This letter includes the latest assessment on the Council’s performance under the
CPA framework, including our Direction of Travel report, and the results of any
inspections carried out by the Audit Commission under section 10 of the Local
Government Act 1999. It summarises the key issues arising from the CPA and
any such inspections. Inspection reports are issued in accordance with the Audit
Commission’s duty under section 13 of the 1999 Act.
13 We have listed the reports issued to the Council relating to 2006/07 audit and
inspection work at the end of this letter.

Redditch Borough Council 6 Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ How is Redditch Council performing?
How is Redditch Council performing?
14 Redditch Borough Council was assessed as Fair in the Comprehensive
Performance Assessment carried out in 2004. These assessments have been
completed in all district councils and we are now updating these assessments,
through an updated corporate assessment, in councils where there is evidence of
change. The following chart is the latest position across all district councils.
Figure 1 Overall performance of district councils in CPA

Source: Audit Commission
Redditch Borough Council Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ How is Redditch Council performing? 7
The improvement since last year - our Direction of
Travel report
15 The Council’s overall rate of improvement slowed in 2006/07. Whilst in 2005/06
improvement in performance indicators (PIs) included in the Commission’s basket
of PIs was above the national average for district councils, in 2006/07,
improvement fell below the national average. Performance towards the Council’s
locally measured basket of PIs linked to its priorities is better although
improvement is no