Agenda and minutes

Councillor Kaur Saini, as Chair, welcomed all those present to the meeting.

Apologies for absence was noted from Councillor Rae Bhatia, who was substituted by Councillor Westley.

Members were asked to declare any interest they had in the business to be discussed on the agenda.

Councillor Moore declared an interest relating to a family member who had taken work stress related leave from their employment at the Council in relation to the Health and Safety Annual Report Item. However, they retained an open mind.

The minutes of the meeting held on 17 September 2025 are attached and Members will be asked to confirm them as a correct record.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 17 September 2025 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Director of Finance submits a report to the Governance and Audit Committee which presents the Independent Member report.

The Governance and Audit Committee is recommended to note the appointment, by the Monitoring Officer, of Seema Jaffer and Mohammed Chunara as Independent Members of the Governance and Audit Committee for a period of 2 years.

Director of Finance, Amy Oliver, introduced and welcomed the two newly recruited Independent Members, Seema Jaffer and Mohammed Chunara, to the Governance and Audit Committee.

It was noted for the sake of clarity that Independent Members are non-voting members but could provide an additional layer of oversight and perspective to the Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the appointment of the two new Independent Members to the Governance and Audit Committee be noted.

The Director of Corporate Services submits a report to the Governance and Audit Committee which presents the Health and Safety Report 2024-25

The Governance and Audit Committee is recommended to note the report.

The Director of Corporate Services, Andrew Shilliam introduced the item, welcoming Vicky Deacon as the newly appointed Assistant Director of People and Corporate Services.

Vicky Deacon presented the item and provided an overview of the report, highlighting the following points:

• The overall Health and Safety audit score had reached 83% for 2024/25, with 49% of audits being first-time audits.
• Year on year improvement had been noted, including a 5% increase overall since the program began.
• Significant improvements were noted in Adult Social Care (58% to 83%), Children’s Services (up to 73%) and Environmental and Sports Services (83%).
• Adverse accidents had been reduced by 9%, with staff work-related ill-health having decreased by 40%.

Members of the Committee discussed the report, and the following points were noted:

• Member’s raised concern regarding lone working compliance, particularly in relation to frontline services. Following discussion, the Committee requested further breakdown and Council engagement with Trade Union representatives, with the extension of an invite to a future Committee meeting, when the report is received next year.
• Concerns and queries were raised regarding the working from height safety scores, which were noted to have dropped to 64% from 90%. It was noted that working from height training related to ladder training as well as scaffolding. Areas of significant reduction had been advised to undertake training.
• Members discussed the risk to staff members when undertaking home visits to residents’ properties. It was noted that Safety Management Standards set out what the Council expected from staff in such instances, which did sufficiently cover lone working and violence processes. It was further noted that services have their own ways of flagging concerns that relate to service users and/or addresses. For example,  the Housing Team have a flagging and cautionary contact system which notifies of risks.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted alongside comments and recommendations made by Members of the Committee.

The Director of Corporate Services submits a report to the Governance and Audit Committee which presents the Risk Management Update.

The Governance and Audit Committee is recommended to note the report.

The Director of Corporate Services presented the report and provided an overview of the update to the Strategic Risk Register, noting that no new strategic risks had been identified, and only one risk (3.2 - Less healthy and health resilient population) had changed, having reduced. 

Members discussed the report, and the following points were raised:

• Significant concern was raised by Members regarding perceived stagnation of risk scores, where actions to treat the risks do not appear to improve scoring. It was noted that a significant amount of information regarding what risk controls are in place, how they’re performing, and whether the risk itself had evolved during the period of reporting which itself might impact on the score were not reported, leading to a partial understanding. Officers would consider how to present additional information in a clearer manner in future meetings.
• Members queried that some risks had been removed altogether, such as the presence of reinforced concrete in school building. In response it was explained that these risks had not necessarily ceased to be a concern, rather the reduced score meant that they had been removed from the Operational Risk Register but remained on the Divisional Risk Register.
• Members questioned the meaning of risk 3.5 regarding social activism, which was considered to be a positive feature of society. It was clarified that an increasing level of negative social activism across the country could have a significant impact on some of our communities.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted and for officers to take into consideration comments made by Members of the Committee.

The Director of Finance submits a report to the Governance and Audit Committee which presents the Counter-Fraud Mid-Year Update.

The Committee is asked to note the contents of this report and make any comments to the Director of Finance.

Daniel Clubb, Assistant Director – Corporate Fraud for Veritau, presented the Counter Fraud report update, and provided an overview, noting that the report spanned up until the end of the financial year in September 2025.

Attention was drawn to review undertaken of the long-term empty properties owned by the Council, of which 92 had been identified as occupied. It was noted that the Council benefitted from the National Fraud Initiative and accompanying Strategy, which shared fraud alerts across the country from other authorities.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.

The Director of Finance submits a report to the Governance and Audit Committee which presents the Anti-Fraud, Corruption and Bribery Policy report.

The Governance and Audit Committee is recommended to approve the updated Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy included at Appendix 1.

Daniel Clubb, Director of Corporate Fraud for Veritau, introduced himself and presented the updated Anti-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy. It was noted that work was conducted around six other local authorities including Leicester City Council, and information regarding related anti-fraud and bribery matters were shared across all authorities.

It was further noted that they would be in attendance in the new year to provide an awareness session for Committee Members.

Members discussed the report, and the following points were noted:

• While Members questioned the speed and efficiency of the Veritau team due to them undertaking work spanning six authorities. It was noted that the same approach was undertaken at all authorities and recognised the importance of acting quickly. A scale of priority was used when addressing reports from member authorities and the most crucial were addressed first by officers local to the authority.
• Amy Oliver, Director of Finance, noted no detrimental changes since moving to Veritau, having already received a significant amount of support from the team with Council processes, gaining access to information and learning from other authorities such as the City of York Council, deepening resilience within Leicester City Council processes.
• It was noted that it was cheaper to the Council to source external providers, such as Veritau, than it was to provide an in-house service.
• Members raised concerns regarding conflicts of interest in Social Care and contracting arrangements, specifically regarding those who are already employed by the Council who enter a contract with the Council. The Director of Finance noted that they were happy to investigate any cases that were potentially identified.
• Members questioned whether another report could be provided to the Committee detailing the number of incidents investigated. It was noted that the Committee would be provide with a mid-year report and could provide further information if requested by the Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the Anti-Fraud, Corruption and Bribery Policy located at Appendix 1 of the report be approved and noted.

The Director of Finance submits a report to the Governance and Audit Committee which presents the Anti-Money Laundering Policy.

The Governance and Audit Committee are recommended approve the Anti-Money Laundering Policy included at Appendix 1.

The Director of Finance submitted a report to the Governance and Audit Committee which presented the Anti-Money Laundering Policy.

Daniel Clubb, Director of Corporate Fraud for Veritau presented the report and provided Members with a brief overview.

Members discussed the report and highlighted the following points:

• Members expressed concern whether the three-year review cycle was sufficient given the increasing level of sophistication in money-laundering methods.  It was confirmed that if there was any required changes the reports would be bought sooner.
• Members questioned which authority’s jurisdiction it was where members of the public held concerns about money laundering in local businesses. It was noted that concerns about local businesses would be Leicestershire Police’s domain, as the Council’s Anti-Money Laundering policy related only to matters directly involving the Council, such as high-value transactions like the purchase of properties.
• Members queried the Council’s current stance and future intentions regarding the use of cryptocurrency. It was noted that the Council was not currently looking into using or investing cryptocurrency.

RESOLVED:

That the Anti- Money Laundering Policy included at Appendix 1 be approved.

There being no other urgent business, the meeting closed at 6:39pm.