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Scrutiny and Audit

What is the Scrutiny and Audit Committee?

The Scrutiny and Audit Committee is a central Committee of Aberdeenshire Council. 

Who are the Scrutiny and Audit Committee?

The Scrutiny and Audit Committee is made up of 12 Councillors, working in a non-political, cross party way. The Committee is Chaired by Councillor Peter Bellarby and Councillor Amanda Allan is Vice-Chair of the Committee. Other members are Councillors Nan Cullinane, Sandy Duncan, Tom Fleming, Ian Gray, Fergus Hood, Andy Ritchie, Debra Storr, Mike Sullivan, Ian Tait and Robert Thomas.

What it does

The Committee reviews the performance of the Council, looking at the effectiveness of Council policies and Service delivery and identifies any potential improvements.

Part of the Committee’s work involves carrying out an annual programme of reviews or investigations into aspects of the Council’s policy implementation and service delivery.  In order to carry out its work successfully, the Committee needs to seek information from Councillors, Council employees, external witnesses and services users.

The Committee has adopted the following principles of operation:-

Open, Transparent, Investigative, Deliberative, Evidence-based, Accountable, Responsive, Inclusive, Influencing, Flexible, Proactive, Non-partisan and Outward Looking.

The Committee has formal audit responsibilities which include:

  • Reviewing financial statements and compliance with relevant codes of practice
  • Reviewing the activities of Internal Audit including its annual work programme
  • Managing all aspects of the Council's relationship with the External Auditors
  • Reviewing internal control systems and risk assessment procedures.

What we do not do

The Committee does not make policy and does not take decisions about the operation of Council Services, but it may make recommendations to Council on policy matters.

Contact
committee.services@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Committee Dates

View the Scrutiny and Audit Committee Dates

Programme of Work, 2008/09 and 2009/2010

The second investigation of 2008/09, Policy Led Budgeting, was been concluded in June 2009. It was reported to Council in November, 2009, following the conclusion of a parallel piece of work the Finance section were pursuing with the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accounting (CIPFA). Council approved the action plan prepared by the Management Team which formed part of the report on 26 November and work will now be undertaken to advance the recommendations made by the Scrutiny and Audit Committee.

The Committee is currently working to conclude three overlapping investigations: the first, which began in February, 2009, focuses on the provision of care to the elderly, directly by the Council and also through a commissioning role. The evidence gathering for this has been concluded, by and large, although the Committee is to meet again with officers from the lead service to consider recent publications and guidance relevant to the topic. After this, the report will be concluded.

The second, as agreed by Aberdeenshire Council on 11 February, 2009, is a consideration of the effectiveness of the actions taken as a result of the investigations of the Committee. This mini-investigation took place in May and June, 2009. This report is in the process of being finalised.

The third investigation being concluded, also prompted by discussion at Council in February, 2009, updates the application of the outcomes of Investigation 10, the Decentralisation of Decision-Making in Aberdeenshire Council. The review of the previous investigation into the Decentralisation of Decision-Making in Aberdeenshire began in June 2009 and evidence sessions have been concluded, and a meeting is to be held with the Area Chairs to consider all the evidence submitted. This has been delayed to allow the tracking of Area Committee consideration of, and input to, policy matters to be completed - it is expected that the items tracked will be submitted to the Education, Learning and Leisure Commmittee and Grants Sub-Committee in early December, 2009.

 

In respect of the 2009/2010 work programme, the Committee met on 1 May, 2009 to decide which areas would be iinvestigated and which are matters on which a report would be sufficient. The outcome of these deliberations was considered at the formal meeting of the Committee on 13 May, 2008, where the Committee agreed that the undernoted be topics for investigation in 2009/2010:

  • Waste (August – December, 2009);
  • Housing Provision – challenges and obligations (January – April, 2010); and
  • A third area, merging several proposed topics, for which detailed consideration is still to take place (April – June, 2010).

Since that meeting, the timescale orginally proposed has been altered given the commitments to ongoing investigations, and the investigation into waste only started in late November, with a knock-on effect on the other indicative timings.

At the meeting in May, 2009, the Committee also agreed that reports be sought on the undernoted matters:

Kaizen – What’s been happening on the ground and the impact that this has had;

Travel and Associated Arrangements – the work of the travel section – what the revised system involves, how it is done and the benefits which have accrued from this;

Staff travel expenses – how the use of Worksmart, increased use of video-conferencing and car sharing impacts on this; to include mapping how alternatives to physical travel are considered in planning work; and pose the question, is all travel necessary?;

Inspections and Licences – what is being done now and by whom?  What is the potential, if any, for combining inspection visits?;

Cost benefit of Council controlled visitor attractions – what work has already been considered by the Policy Budget Steering Group in this regard;

Maintenance of roadside verges – what policies are in place for primary and B class roads?  To include information about maintenance of outlets, drains and ditches and grass cutting regimes for junctions and roundabouts;

Landscape services – to include joined up cross service working, issues on resourcing and budget, any health and safety issues and the use of landscaping initiatives to drive community engagement at a local level and highlighting good practice; and

Flooding – planning policies – a report on progress on the new flooding bill, reporting how current planning policies accord with SEPA and EC guidelines, how consistent the application of flood prevention measures across the shire, budget implications of any obligation to meet damage repairs to residents’ property (if any), the obligation of private householders to pay for riparian works and the Council’s long-term view on flooding policy.

Reports have been received on several of the above and form part of the agendae for the formal meetings of the Committee, and are available, online, at Aberdeenshire Council - Committees and Meetings - Scrutiny and Audit Committee

 

Investigation Reports to date

 

Further Information