Committee Report Checklist
Stage 1
Report checklist – responsibility of report owner
|
ITEM |
Yes / No |
Date |
|
Councillor engagement / input from Chair prior to briefing |
Yes |
26/05/26 |
|
Relevant Group Head review |
Yes |
29/05/26 |
|
MAT+ review (to have been circulated at least 5 working days before Stage 2) |
Yes |
29/05/26 |
|
This item is on the Forward Plan for the relevant committee |
Yes |
23/06/26 |
|
Reviewed by |
|
|
|
Finance comments (circulate to Finance) |
AB |
02/06/26 |
|
Risk comments (circulate to Lee O’Neil) |
LO |
29/05/26 |
|
Legal comments (circulate to Legal team) |
LH |
29/05/26 |
|
HR comments (if applicable) |
N/A |
|
For reports with material financial or legal implications the author should engage with the respective teams at the outset and receive input to their reports prior to asking for MO or s151 comments.
Do not forward to stage 2 unless all the above have been completed.
Stage 2
Report checklist – responsibility of report owner
|
ITEM |
Completed by |
Date rec’d |
|
Monitoring Officer commentary – at least 5 working days before MAT |
L. Heron |
29/05/26 |
|
S151 Officer commentary – at least 5 working days before MAT |
T. Collier |
29/05/26 |
|
Commissioner engagement |
|
01/06/26 |
|
|
No issues |
|
|
|
||
|
Confirm final report cleared by MAT |
|
|
|
Title |
Monitoring of revised Improvement & Recovery Plan (IRP) |
|
Purpose of the report |
To inform and assure |
|
Report Author |
Nic Fell, interim IRP Programme Director |
|
Ward(s) Affected |
All Wards |
|
Exempt |
No |
|
Exemption Reason |
N/A |
|
Corporate Priority |
This item is not in the current list of Corporate Priorities but still requires a Committee decision.
|
|
Recommendations
|
Committee is asked to: · note the update on the structure and progress of the revised Improvement & Recovery Plan (IRP) · consider whether arrangements for governance of IRP are sufficient. · consider the need for any changes or amendments to the information on IRP progress and governance being reported to the Audit Committee.
|
|
Reason for Recommendation |
As an integral element of the Council’s governance and assurance apparatus, the Audit Committee has a responsibility to consider progress in delivering the IRP, obtaining assurance that appropriate governance is in place to support IRP delivery. |
1. Executive summary of the report (expand detail in Key Issues section below)
|
What is the situation |
Why we want to do something |
|
• Corporate Policy and Resources Committee approved a revised Improvement & Recovery Plan in February 2026, then in April 2026 agreed high priority outcomes that will be the focus for the remainder of this financial year. |
• The Audit Committee is a significant element of the governance arrangements of the IRP, with the remit to scrutinise assurance arrangements for ensuring progress and mitigating risk. This paper provides details of IRP governance arrangements, including the structure and progress of the IRP. |
|
This is what we want to do about it |
These are the next steps |
|
• Note the update on the structure and progress of the revised Improvement & Recovery Plan (IRP) • Consider whether arrangements for governance of IRP are sufficient. |
• Audit Committee Members consider the need for any changes or amendments to the information on IRP progress and governance being reported to the Audit Committee |
2. Key issues
2.1 This report (see Appendix A) seeks to provide Audit Committee with an update on the structure and progress of the Improvement and Recovery Plan (IRP), including an overview of the themes and workstreams, the various roles (Programme Director, SRO etc) and how the IRP Board interacts with other council committees and officers.
3. Risk implications
3.1 There are no specific risk implications arising from the report, and IRP risk are managed via a dedicated IRP RAID log, which is maintained by the Council’s PMO (Programme Management Office)
3.2 Ensuring there are effective governance arrangements in place to deliver the IRP is one of the 12 Governance Assurance Areas (GAA) which make up the Council’s Governance Assurance Register. This GAA was one of the 6 the Audit Committee has just reviewed (19 May) and this report builds on that information to provide assurance that arrangements are sufficient and being implemented effectively.
4. Financial implications
4.1 There are no procurement implications arising directly from this report. The budget allocated to implementing the plan is c£114k and is being monitored monthly. As well the reporting will be monthly via the budget monitoring report and the dedicated IRB report.
5. Legal comments
5.1 Regular monitoring updates on the progress and continued delivery of the Improvement and Recovery Plan seek to provide assurance to the Audit Committee and the Commissioners that timely action is being taken to address the requirements set out in the statutory directions. Failure to evidence sustained improvement may result in extended intervention or additional regulatory oversight.
5.2 There are no direct legal implications arising from this monitoring report, but the Committee should be mindful of the broader statutory and regulatory context in discharging its oversight role and satisfying itself that the Council has appropriate arrangements (governance, risk management and internal control) in place to deliver the Improvement and Recovery Plan.
Corporate implications
6. Commissioners’ comments
6.1 No issues raised.
7. S151 Officer comments
7.1 The S151 Officer notes that there are no direct financial implications arising from this report. Clearly a key focus of the IRP is around ensuring a sustainable medium-term financial position for Spelthorne/West Surrey and have effective assurance that there are appropriate governance arrangements underpinning the programme management of IRP is important.
8. Monitoring Officer comments
8.1 The Monitoring Officer reiterates comments in section 6 (Legal comments) above. In addition, it should be noted that the Council is under a continuing obligation to act in accordance with its statutory duties and to ensure that all decisions are taken in compliance with the Council’s Constitution and public law principles. .
9. Procurement comments
9.1 There are no procurement implications arising directly from this report.
10. Equality and Diversity
10.1 There are no obvious equality and diversity issues arising from this report to the Audit Committee.
11. Sustainability/Climate Change Implications
11.1 There are no Sustainability / Climate change implications associated with these proposals.
12. Other considerations
12.1 None.
13. Local Government Reorganisation Implications
13.1 While LGR is a workstream with the Council’s Improvement and Recovery Programme, which this report relates to, there are no specific LGR implications associated with this report to the Audit Committee.
14. Timetable for implementation
14.1 Not applicable
15. Contact
15.1 Nic Fell, Interim IRP Programme Director, nic.fell@spelthorne.gov.uk
Please submit any material questions to the Committee Chair and Officer Contact by two days in advance of the meeting.
Background papers: There are none.
Appendices:
APPENDIX A:
Monitoring of Revised Improvement and Recovery Plan June26 2.docx