The report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management is enclosed.

The Committee considered the report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management which provided the Head of Audit and Risk Management’s annual assurance opinion and report on the Council’s system of governance, risk management and internal control. The annual opinion of the Head of Audit and Risk Management’s with a summary outturn of the work of the Internal Audit Section for the 12 months April 2019 to March 2020. Quarterly updates on progress, including assurance opinions and executive summaries of reports, have been provided to Audit Committee during the year.

The audit opinion focused on the year to March 2020 however, the events of the evident last six weeks of the year indicate that that there would be likely significant implications for the UK in relation to the Coronavirus (Covid19) outbreak.

The Head of Audit and Risk Management provided a moderateassurance that the Council’s governance, risk and control framework is generally sound and operated reasonably consistently in the year.

The Chair invited questions for the Committee.

Reference was made to paragraph 2.28 of the report and the Head of Risk Management was that in view of the number of limited and no assurance opinions listed on the table, what level of assurance would be given to Adult Services.

The Committee was advised that reporting on a directorate basis Adult Services could have a limited assurance on the basis of the audits carried out. It should be noted however, that the department had been open on the areas of concern identified and there had been a lot of subsequent work carried out to address these through new processes and procedures and through the resetting of the improvement plan work as the service moves forward through the past three months during the Covid outbreak.

A member referred to Adult Services and sought assurance that reports listed on the Audit Plan scheduled for the year would be completed and not lost during the year.

It was reported that officers would continue to follow up on all limited assurance opinions with work already taking place to address risk. This would be addressed in the Audit Monitoring Report.

A member referred to Executive Summaries and when members of the Committee would receive them. It was reported that the outstanding summaries would be circulated in time for the September meeting of the Committee as part of the Quarterly Assurance Update report.

A member referred to the way in which Adult Services had reacted to the Covid crisis and made the point that the process of planning by central government during this time could have been better. The reaction of the NHS and Local Authority to the crisis had been commendable and it would be difficult to reflect the individual efforts of staff within an audit opinion. It was therefore important to consider how much of a reactive service the Council should be.

It was noted that the response by the services for adult services and adult social care to the challenges of Covid19 on Manchester had been amazing. The point was made that a holistic review of services was required. It was noted that from the comments received three main themes had been picked up that areas relating to procurement, social care and homelessness will be included within the Audit Plan.

The Committee was advised that the Annual Accounts would be submitted to the October meeting of the Committee.

Decisions

1. To note the report and the comments received.

2.    To note and acknowledge the work of Council Adult Care and Adult Service staff and NHS staff in responding to the challenge of Covid19 for their dedication in ensuring services continued to be maintained.