Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutions.

To confirm the minutes of the meetings held on 23 June and 23 July 2026.

To receive any disclosures of interest from Councillors in accordance with the Council’s Code of Conduct for members.

To note the Internal Audit Progress Report – August 2025 (Appendix A); and approve the adjustments to the internal audit plan 2025-26.

Appendix B contains exempt information within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 Paragraph 3 – Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information because, disclosure to the public would compromise the effectiveness of the Council’s cyber security safeguards and weaken its risk mitigation.

To acknowledge the report and the draft unaudited 2025/26 statement of accounts which were published on the Council’s website on 4 September 2026.

To note the overall assurance level for the 12 Governance Assurance Areas, which will form the new Governance Assurance Register and review the following six Governance Assurance Areas:

·       Ensuring and maintaining our Organisational Resilience

·       Ensuring our programme and change management arrangements are effective to support the successful transition to the new unitary council.

·       Ensuring we meet our zero carbon targets and wider environmental responsibilities

·       Ensuring effective Procurement and Contract Management arrangements

·       Ensuring our arrangements against the threat of fraud and maintaining assurance that our anti-fraud arrangements are robust and effective

·       Ensuring our arrangements for Cyber Resilience and manage the threat of a cyber-attack are effective (Attached as Appendix C)

Appendix C contains exempt information within the meaning of Part 1 of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972, as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985 and by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 Paragraph 3 – Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information) and in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information because, disclosure to the public would compromise the effectiveness of the Council’s cyber security safeguards and weaken its risk mitigation.

To receive the draft report at Appendix A to be informed and assured about the work of the Audit Committee in 2025-26; and recommend the report to the next available full Council for endorsement.

To consider and approve the work programme for the municipal year