Agenda and draft minutes

No apologies for absence were received for the meeting.

No declarations of interests were made.

[For approval]

Resolved:

            That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 2 February 2015 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes]

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

[To receive the report on current counter fraud activities]

Mark Wilkes, Client Lead Auditor presented a report which updated the Sub Committee on the current counter fraud activities undertaken by the Counter Fraud Unit within Audit Services.

Peter Farrow, Head of Audit informed the Sub Committee that the counter fraud report would be the last it would receive in its present format.  At the end of May 2015 employees within the relatively small Benefits Fraud Investigations team would transfer to the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP’s) Single Fraud Investigations Service.  The council would be kept informed on some cases relating to benefits fraud as there would continue to be joined up working with the DWP.

The Sub Committee reiterated the concerns expressed at the last meeting, that the transfer of the local authority benefit fraud investigators to the DWP was a retrograde step and the benefits of local knowledge and efficiencies of working in a small team would be a loss to the city.

Cllr Dr Mike Hardacre asked that the joined up working arrangements with the DWP provide the Council with the fullest exchange of information on benefit fraud within Wolverhampton.  The Audit Manager undertook to relay this message to DWP.

Mark Taylor, Director of Finance informed the Sub Committee that the Council would retain some fraud resource to carry out non benefit fraud investigations.

In light of the abovementioned change to future reporting on counter fraud activities and the knock on effect on the work of the Sub Committee, it was recommended that the terms of reference of the Sub Committee be subsumed into that the Audit Committee and the Sub Committee be disestablished.  The Sub Committee which included the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Audit Committee who were present, and supported the suggestion.

Resolved:

1.    That the report be noted.

2.    That the Sub Committee place on record its thanks and appreciation to the staff of the Benefits Fraud Investigations team for the excellent work they undertaken in benefits fraud detection.

3.    That the recommendation that the Sub Committee not be reconstituted for the 2015/16 municipal year and the terms of reference of the Sub Committee be incorporated into the terms of reference for the Audit Committee, be forwarded for consideration with the governance and Constitutional changes to be proposed to Annul Council in May 2015.

[To pass the following resolution:

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business as they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information on the grounds shown below.]

Resolved:

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business as they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within the paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the Act set out below:

[To receive the update]

The Sub Committee received updates on current audit investigations.

Resolved:

That the current position with regard to the audit investigations be noted.

The Sub Committee placed on record its thanks and appreciation to the Chair (Cllr Christine Mills) for the able and courteous manner in which she had conducted the business of the Sub Committee during the Municipal Year.