Agenda and minutes

Members of the Council will declare any interests they may have in any item to be considered at this meeting, prior to any discussion taking place on that item.

The other registrable interests of Councillors of Devon County Council, arising from membership of City, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes: A list of county councillors who are also district, borough, city, parish or town councillors.

The Chair reminded Members that they should declare any interests they may have in any item to be considered, prior to any discussion taking place on that item. A list of county councillors who are also district, borough, city, parish or town councillors.

Minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2024, attached.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 November 2024 be signed as a correct record.

Items which in the opinion of the Chairman should be considered at the meeting as matters of urgency.

There was no item raised as a matter of urgency.

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/25/36), attached.

The Committee received the Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/25/36) on the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS)  External Quality Assessment and accompanying presentation.

The PSIAS and the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Audit mandate that an external quality assessment of internal audit activities should occur at least once every five years, to be carried out by a qualified, independent assessor outside of the organisation.

It was the independent assessor’s overall opinion that Devon Assurance Partnership (DAP) internal audit ‘Generally Conforms’ with the Standards and the Code of Ethics.  His assessment covered 45 points listed in Appendix A, revealing ‘General Conformance’ in all but three areas, namely:

- Standard 1300 - Quality assurance & Improvement Programme QAIP

- Standard 2040 - Policies and Procedures

- Standard 2500 - Monitoring Progress

These three points exhibited ‘Partial Conformance’, but were not significant to impact the overall opinion and Recommendations to address areas for improvement were made.

Questions and discussion points included:

• Risk Management: an independent audit was advised to prevent conflicts of interest, and DAP was suggested for consistent risk management across the Partnership.
• Induction: that structured training was available for staff and the incoming Chair, including 1:1 guidance and online resources.
• Monitoring Progress: audit tracking sometimes lacked robustness, but follow-ups helped ensure completion.

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/25/33), attached.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/25/33), which indicated the proposed budget for the Devon Assurance Partnership for the financial year 2025/26.

Points of highlight included:

-       Core salary costs had increased by around 6% on 2024/25, due to a high turnover of staff in recent years, with many still to achieve increments in coming years.

-       Other external costs including ad hoc specialist staffing had increased, but work was ongoing to develop capacity internally.

-       Compared to last year, an additional £54,087 was sought in year of new work, achievable based on prior years’ experience.

It was MOVED by Councillor Norman, SECONDED by Councillor Czaplewski and

RESOLVED that the Devon Assurance Partnership budget for 2025/26 be endorsed.

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/25/34), attached.

The Committee noted the Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/25/34), which summarised activity to March 2025 and provided progress and updates on Finance, New Business, Staffing and Performance.

There followed a brief discussion around LGR and its implications on DAP.

Next meeting – 25 July 2025 (in person).