Agenda and minutes

The Chair and Vice-Chair are held on a rotational basis with each Council having a Member serve alternately for one year.

It is the turn of Torridge District Council and Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service to hold the posts of Chair and Vice-Chair respectively for one year from the date of this meeting.

The Chair and Vice-Chair should be held on a rotational basis with each Council having a Member serve alternately for one year. It was therefore the turn of Torridge District Council and Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service to hold the posts of Chair and Vice-Chair respectively for one year from the date of this meeting.

However there were no representatives from either of these organisations present for this item so it was therefore agreed to elect a Chair for this meeting only and to defer the election until the next meeting.

It was MOVED and was duly SECONDED that Cllr Norman be elected as Chair for this meeting. 

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

There were no declarations of interest raised.

Minutes of the meeting held on 13 July 2023, attached.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 13 July 2023 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/24/76), attached.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/24/76) on the Devon Audit Partnership Annual Report and Budget Outturn 2023/24.

The Annual Report described the performance of Devon Audit Partnership during the financial year 2023/24 and noted some of the key achievements during that period.

The Report also provided an overview of the partnership's budget and financial health, indicating a balanced budget with a surplus and plans for future income generation to support growth and sustainability.

The discussion also covered the importance of managing staffing costs and the impact of external income on financial stability and clarity on the pro rata split of the partnership agreement.

The Committee endorsed the report.

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/23/111), attached.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/23/111) on the Devon Audit Partnership (DAP) Committee Update.

The report provided the performance position for delivery of work across Partners. In addition it outlined other key activity and staffing changes during this period, and contain examples of customer feedback and also areas of new business.

Members were informed that it had been a year of continued and sustained change and evolution for the Partnership as it moved to Assurance from Audit which had gained momentum adding further value to the work it undertook.

The partnership's achievement in customer service excellence and the positive client feedback received was highlighted and the partnership's commitment to delivering high-quality services to clients.

The importance of continuous improvement in customer satisfaction and service delivery was also discussed.

The Report was noted.

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/24/42), attached.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/24/42) on the Devon Audit Partnership (DAP) 2024/25 Budget.

The Report provided the proposed budget for 2024/25 for the delivery of services to partners and external clients. In setting the budget it was acknowledged that there was still uncertainty on pay levels within the public sector for the year ahead and both national and international issues could have an impact on both costs and demand for services.

There had been challenges around workforce but good progress was being made, there were ongoing rationalisation of premises, additional work was being sought to mitigate income avenues which were coming to an end. There were no issues to highlight to the meeting in respect to performance.

There was some discussion about office space and remote working and the move now was towards releasing space not required and operating a hybrid working policy to maximise wellbeing and enabling access to premises for all staff. Supporting apprenticeships was an important factor.

It was MOVED by Councillor Allen and SECONDED by Councillor  Brook and

RESOLVED that annual DAP budget as set out in the Report be approved.

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DPV/23/114), attached.

The Committee considered the Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/23/114) on the Partnership’s Strategy and Risks.

The document set out the high level strategic aims designed to ensure that the Partnership could build on its existing success in the coming years and be fit for purpose moving forward, and items had been colour coded to give an indication of current progression.

There were three key areas - People, Quality and Growth and Sustainability. The strategic aims are supported by notable elements and detailed risk description activity using the Cause, Event, Impact model.

The mitigations within these can inform and underpin broader business/operational plans that can evolve. The scoring of the risks will change over time and includes an indication of a target risk score.

There was discussion about the Carbon Reduction/Net Zero under Growth and Sustainability section which had been flagged as red. This was because this area had not been fully discussed across the partnership and was yet to be fully understood and explored.

Members were content with the transparency and reassurance provided and the Report was noted.

Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DFP/24/43), attached.

The Committee considered the Reports of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DF/24/43) on proposed governance arrangements.

This was necessary due to challenges with meeting attendance and the need for operational flexibility.

It was suggested that the Partnership Agreement be modified to reflect the following:

• a quorum would be achieved when a majority of Partners were represented at a committee meeting:
• and at least one of those present represent the Host Authority; and
• should any Partner only have one attendee, that person will hold and cast both votes for that Partner Authority.

This would require a minimum of four of the Partners to be represented and would result in a minimum of eight votes being cast on any decision, action or motion.

Members were content with this suggestion.

There was also a Report of the Director of Finance and Public Value (DF/23/113) on the update to the name of the Partnership. This highlighted  the changing profile of the Partnership’s work driven by successful growth in both volume and diversity.

The change links directly to the future strategy and vison for success to be a provider of broader assurance services. The change would be a move from “Devon Audit Partnership” to Devon “Assurance Partnership”.

The name change was linked to the celebration of the partnership's 15 years of operation, marking a significant milestone and was supported by Directors of finance and Section 151 officers.

There were a lot of activities planned for celebrating the 15 years of Partnership.

The Reports were noted.

To agree future meeting dates:

25 March 2025, 10.30am (remote)

25 July 2025, 10.30am (in person)

25 November 2025, 10.30am (remote)

Next meeting: 14 November at 10.30am (remote)

Next meeting 14 November 2024 (remote)

Future dates agreed:

- 25 March 2025, 10.30am (remote)

- 25 July 2025, 10.30am (in person)

- 25 November 2025, 10.30am (remote)