Agenda item

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the Audit & Governance Committee held on 21^st September 2022.

Lead: Chair

3.1             The minutes of the meeting held on 21 September 2022 were                         considered for their accuracy. The Finance Director updated on the following matters.

·                  Pt 5.2  The Chair believed the plan was informative and highlighted the list of KPIs in the risk register goes through to March 2023 but there are less on the Business Plan. Mr Kelly will review the Plan and provide an update – Review of documents showed that they appear to align. 20 KPI’s in the business plan and in the corporate risk register.

·                  Pt 5.3  Mr Brady raised the issue of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure (EVCI) which has not been discussed by the Committee so far, nor is it on the risk register, even though it is in the Business Plan. Mr Kelly stated that this is an omission and will be picked up –The corporate risk register reflects the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and business objectives outlined in the Business Plan for Financial Year 2022/23. EVCI is managed at project level and has a risk register that is reviewed monthly. There are currently two corporate risks which EVCI links into - TCR 02, 880 and TCR 08 299 as well one opportunity - TCR02 913. Mitigation actions have been added to make this more explicit and align with the 2022/23 business plan.

·                  Pt 5.4 Cllr Little explained that the North of England are behind with regards to EVCI and there is a need for a closer relationship between TfN, LTA’s and the Government on this, in order for the North to catch up. He requested that this be brought back to the November meeting – Same comment as 5.2 and in addition a deep dive is planned for November and will allow members to gain more clarity on EVCI.

·                  Pt 5.7 Members stated that a Northern view and a streamline of regular funding is required. They expressed their frustration with the current process, where Local Authorities bid against each other for money to try and do projects within their areas. They expressed a need to combine resources in order to achieve a northern vision. The Chair requested that these points be revisited at the next meeting – The principle of, and funding required, to position TfN as a centre of excellence is currently being discussed with DfT.  It will be further considered as part of the 2023/24 Business Planning process.

·                  Pt 6.2 The Chair stated that the audit plan focuses on control and effectiveness; more can be done in terms of creating the linkage between risk themes and the audit plan. An area that could be looked at in terms of control, is project and programme level control.  Ms Hire said she and Mr Kelly will look at that area in terms of scoping for an audit review – The scope of the review is currently being considered.

·                  Pt 9.3 Mr Kelly would like to discuss with Chair going forward how the cycle of membership can be implemented to support the delivery of the committee’s remit – To be discussed as part of the recruitment process.

·                  Pt 9.4 The Chair asked that Mr Kelly double check against the Audit Committee Report and the Governance Statement within the accounts, to ensure that terminology and wording is the same in each document

Resolved

That the minutes of the 21 September 2022 be noted.