There were no apologies.

There were no disclosures of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9th January 2008 were submitted and signed

At the March 2007 Audit Committee meeting it was agreed that Health & Safety would be reported every quarter culminating in an annual report. The Committee received a report on the period October-December 2007.

The Health & Safety Officer presented the report. He stressed the need for departments to ensure that staff received appropriate training and completed and monitored their risk assessments.

Members expressed concern that the Health & Safety Officer was retiring in April but there appeared to be no arrangements in place to appoint a successor. The Chair agreed to take this up with the Head of HR. A Member added that Health & Safety was a legal requirement and the Council could be exposed to claims if it failed to have adequate arrangements in place.

Another Member referred to the number of outstanding assessments and asked when they would be done. The Health & Safety Officer explained that the process should be ongoing; forms could be completed on line so there was no excuse not to do them. He confirmed that the Council could be at risk if assessments were not carried out.

A Member said there was a need to flag up those people who had not been assessed and impose a timescale for the assessments to be completed. It was also important to include new starters and temporary staff.

The Portfolio agreed and said that agency staff was an area where employers were at particular risk from potential claims.

In response to a Member question about whether the risk assessments related just to health & safety issues, the officer explained that all activities were covered including Display Screen Equipment, outside visits and other general areas.

The Committee wished the Health & Safety Officer a happy retirement.

The Committee received a report recommending approval of the updated Anti Fraud and Corruption Strategy and the Whistle-blowing Policy.

The Audit Manager introduced the report. He explained that there had been little change since the last report.

The Chair asked about the situation with regard to the Fraud Manager. The Audit Manager responded that the current interim manager was leaving the following day but the role would be taken over by the Three Rivers District Council Manager as part of the shared services arrangements.

A Member referred to an incident involving a request for information about an informant under Freedom of Information. The Audit Manager stressed that Data Protection applied in these circumstances and the name of an informant would not be divulged.

A Member stressed the need for people to know they were protected. She added that she was pleased that the Council had discretion about whether it took people to court and that individual circumstances were taken into account.

The Chair asked how many calls were received in relation to the Whistle blowing Policy, to which the Audit Manager responded that there were very few. People did, however, report concerns in other ways and there was a Fraud Hotline for external informants.

The Committee received a report on the work undertaken by Internal Audit for the period 1st December 2007 to 29th February 2008.

The Audit Manager introduced the report and pointed out a few areas of specific interest. He informed Members that the last member of his staff to take his exams had recently passed and he now had a fully qualified team.

The Chair noted the improvements in the accuracy of record keeping and reconciliations in the Parking Shop. The Portfolio Holder added that this had been an area of weakness for some time and it was important to be rigorous about procedures

A Member asked about the inconsistent application of agreed risk management arrangements across all services and why this was such a problem. The Audit Manager responded that each service had a risk register but the problem was keeping it updated. Consideration was being given to the format of the Risk Management Group to give it more authority.

A Member referred to Appendix 1 in the report and commented that good progress appeared to have been made in most areas. The Audit Manager said that some of the bigger audits had run over but there were contingency arrangements in place.

A Member asked about the position in respect of budget variations. The Audit Manager responded that this particular audit had not yet been completed. He added that there appeared to be a reluctance to declare the year end position and finance staff did not appear to have sufficient time to back check variations. Another possible issue arose from predictions on interest from investments.

The Portfolio Holder gave a detailed explanation about the method of accounting used by local authorities and how it differed from commercial accounting. Local Government financing was based on a cash accounting system and officers needed to be trained in how to make predictions which gave a more accurate assessment of over/under-spends.

In response to a question about whether a Treasury Management Review was taking place, the Audit Manager said that they were in the process of carrying one out.

The Chair asked whether the accounts were calendarised. The Audit Manager explained that profiling was still in its early stages at Watford and needed to be developed.

The Portfolio Holder advised on the need for officers to be good at contract management where contracts were not signed off until the end of the year and could have an impact on the final figures.

The Committee received a report presenting the Benefit Fraud Investigation Team's Business Plan for 2008/09.

The Chair asked about the impact of shared services. The Audit Manager explained that the two teams would be brought together under one manager after the Easter break.

In response to a question about the Data Matching Initiatives referred to in the report, the Audit Manager said that this situation related to the loss of discs by HMRC. The DWP was endeavouring to introduce safe means of communication with encryption protocols.

The Committee received a report on the Internal Audit's Service Plan and setting out the proposed work programme for the Internal Audit Service for the coming financial year.

The Audit Manager introduced the report and said that planning this year had been affected by the Shared Services initiative and the Managing Director's proposed restructure.

The Chair asked whether the new auditors, Grant Thornton, had yet given any indication on their expectations of internal audit. The Audit Manager said that this would develop over time but he did not anticipate any major differences between what was expected from Grant Thornton compared with the Audit Commission. He added that it was common practice to change auditors every few years and the appointments were made by the Audit Commission.