CITY REGION DEAL AUDIT PLAN 2024-2030
Executive summary
In accordance with the City Region Deal Heads of Terms, Deal Agreement and annual Grant Offer Letter, the Joint Committee are asked to approve the City Region Deal Audit Plan 2024-2030 (see Appendix 1).
This will enable the necessary scheduled audit activities outlined in Appendix 2 of the Assignment Brief to take place and provide assurance to the City Region Deal Joint Committee on arrangements and controls that operate at, or may impact upon, the City Region Deal at the overall partnership level.
Lena Schelling, CRDRegional Programme Management Office, Programme Analyst
Email address: schellingl@stirling.gov.uk
City Region Deal contact: Brian Roberts, Chief Operating Officer, Stirling Council
Email address: robertsb@stirling.gov.uk
Recommendations
The Joint Committee is asked to:
1. Approve the City Region Deal Audit Plan 2024-2030, as detailed in Appendix 1 and 2.
Legal & Risk Implications and Mitigation
It is a requirement of the City Region Deal Heads of Terms, Deal Agreement and annual Grant Offer Letter, that the partnership has an agreed audit plan in place. The terms and conditions of grant are clear that the Internal Audit service must be provided in compliance with Public Sector Audit Standards. These Standards are clear that ‘The Internal Audit activity must be independent from the officers directly involved in the delivery of the deal, and Internal Auditors must be objective in performing their work. The audit plan will be delivered in compliance with this requirement for independence.
Considerations
- The draft City Region Deal Audit Plan 2024-2030 for has been reviewed and considered by the Chief Officer Group, and in now presented to Joint Committee for approval.
- Stirling Council’s Internal Audit Team will undertake the audits and will report back to the Chief Officer Group and Joint Committee. The officers carrying out the audit are not involved in the delivery of the deal and are independent from the delivery teams.
- The audit plan, once agreed, will be shared with Government as part of the governance processes. The outcomes and actions from audits will also be shared with Government once these have been considered by Joint Committee.
- This is a requirement of the City Region Deal Heads of Terms, Deal Agreement and annual Grant Offer Letter.
Resource Implications
Financial Details
Finance Officers have been consulted and have agreed the financial implications
as set out in the report. Yes
Staffing
The full implications on staffing are set out in the report. Yes
Exempt Reports
Is this report exempt? No
Equalities Impact
Have you undertaken the required equalities impact assessment to ensure that
no groups are adversely affected by the recommendations? n/a
Legality
It has been confirmed that in adopting the recommendations contained in this report,
the Joint Committee is acting within its legal powers.
The Joint Committee is empowered to approve this by the Standing Orders in place, the signed City Region Deal agreement and City Region Deal Heads of Terms. Yes
Sustainability and Environmental
It has been confirmed that sustainability and environmental issues have been
considered within the report. n/a
Policy Implications
None.
Consultations
The document has been shared in draft, pending approval by Joint Committee. Officers from Government have advised that the plan is in line with the expectations of the deal requirements.
Background
This audit is a requirement of the City Region Deal Heads of Terms, Deal Agreement and annual Grant Offer Letter. Stirling Council as the Lead Authority are required to conduct an audit across the whole City Region Deal every 2 years. It is recommended that partners conduct audits of their contribution to the City Region Deal with similar frequency.
The CRD Assurance Framework commits the RPMO to prepare a bi-annual audit plan which will be approved by Joint Committee and implemented by the partners within their current statutory audit functions.
Outcomes from partner’s audits will inform the scope of the overall City Region Deal audit every 2 years. Actions from partner audits will be managed through their own internal audit processes and committees. Outcomes from the City Region Deal audit will be reported to Joint Committee and Stirling’s Audit Committee and actions managed through the Audit Committee.
Appendices
- City Region Deal Audit Plan 2024- 2030
- Audit Assignment Brief
Approved by:
Brian Roberts, Chief Operating Officer, Stirling Council.
Email address: robertsb@stirling.gov.uk
Kevin Wells, Strategic Director: Place, Clackmannanshire Council.
Email address: kwells@clacks.gov.uk
John Craig, Head of the City Region and Growth Deal Programme, University of Stirling
Email address: j.c.craig@stir.ac.uk