Minutes of meeting
Renfrewshire Council · 24 October 2024
Back to Council — 24 October 2024 and its agenda
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Minute of Special Meeting Council Date Time Venue Thursday, 24 October 2024 09:30 Council Chambers (Renfrewshire), Council Headquarters, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN Present: Councillor Jennifer Adam, Councillor Fiona Airlie-Nicolson, Councillor Alison Ann- Dowling, Councillor Stephen Burns, Councillor Jacqueline Cameron, Provost Lorraine Cameron, Councillor Michelle Campbell, Councillor Graeme Clark, Councillor Eddie Devine, Councillor Andy Doig, Councillor Audrey Doig, Councillor Chris Gilmour, Councillor Edward Grady, Councillor Gillian Graham, Councillor Neill Graham, Councillor John Gray, Councillor Anne Hannigan, Councillor John Hood, Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, Councillor Robert Innes, Councillor Alec Leishman, Councillor Bruce MacFarlane, Councillor James MacLaren, Councillor Kenny MacLaren, Councillor Mags MacLaren, Councillor Colin McCulloch, Councillor Janis McDonald, Councillor Cathy McEwan, Councillor David McGonigle, Councillor Jamie McGuire, Councillor Marie McGurk, Councillor Iain McMillan, Councillor John McNaughtan, Councillor Kevin Montgomery, Councillor Sam Mullin, Councillor Will Mylet, Councillor Iain Nicolson, Councillor Jim Paterson, Councillor Emma Rodden, Councillor John Shaw, Councillor Ben Smith, Councillor Andy Steel Chair Provost Cameron, Convener, presided. In Attendance A Russell, Chief Executive; J O’Neill, Director of Children’s Services; G McNeil, Director of Environment, Housing & Infrastructure; A MacArthur, Director of Finance & Resources; L McIntyre, Head of Policy & Partnerships and L Adamson, Communications & Public Affairs Manager (all Chief Executive’s); J Trainer, Head of Child Care & Criminal Justice and J Lochans, Education Manager (Resources) (both Children’s Services); C Dalrymple, Head of Facilities & Property Services (Environment, Housing & Infrastructure); C McCourt, Head of Finance & Procurement, M Conaghan, Head of Corporate Governance, D Campbell, Managing Solicitor (Licensing), D Low, Democratic Services Manager and E Gray, Senior Committee Services Officer (all Finance & Resources); and F Naylor, Finance, Governance & Business Improvement Director (OneRen).
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Also in Attendance G Devlin, Partner & National Head of Internal Audit (Azets). Webcasting of Council Meeting Prior to the commencement of the meeting the Provost intimated that this meeting of the Council would be filmed for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council's internet site. Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest intimated prior to the commencement of the meeting. Transparency Statements Councillor McMillan indicated that he had a connection to items 1 and 2 by reason of his son being employed by BAE Systems. However, he indicated that he had applied the objective test and did not consider he had an interest to declare. Obituary Provost Cameron referred to the recent death of former Councillor Bill Binks and advised members that the Council’s condolences had been sent to Bill's partner Betty. As part of a tribute to his life before, during and after his time as a Councillor, reference was made amongst other things to Bill's willingness to work across party lines to achieve the best outcome for the community both in his role as Councillor and, previously, Community Councillor. Reference was made to his time living in both England and Spain before settling in Scotland. These sentiments were echoed by a number of other Members. 1 Azets Report to those charged with governance - Renfrewshire Council Group Annual Accounts 2023/24 There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the annual audit of the Council’s financial statements which had been undertaken by the Council’s appointed external auditors, Azets. The report intimated that each year the Council's appointed external auditors carried out an audit of the Council's financial statements and provided an opinion as to whether those statements provided a fair view of the financial position of the Council and its income and expenditure for the year and also whether the accounts had been prepared in accordance with the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
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The report advised that in accordance with International Auditing Standards (ISA260) Azets was obliged to report to those charged with the governance of the organisation matters which had arisen in the course of the audit. A copy of the findings from the audit of the 2023/24 Renfrewshire Council accounts was attached as an appendix to the report. The report highlighted that there had been one material adjustment made to the accounts over the course of the audit in relation to the value of the Council’s pension asset disclosed in the 2022/23 Balance Sheet, owing to the exclusion of unfunded liabilities. Further detail was provided within the appendix. In addition, minor and presentational changes had been agreed. It was noted that the Council’s Chief Financial Officer was obliged to provide a letter of representation to Azets, outlining the assurances the Council provided to the external auditor with regards to the annual accounts. A draft of this letter was attached as an appendix to the Annual Audit Report. DECIDED: That, following consideration of the Annual Audit Report from Azets, the draft letter of representation from the Council's Chief Financial Officer be approved. 2 Audited Annual Accounts 2023/24 - Renfrewshire Council Group There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the audit of the Council’s 2023/24 annual accounts, which had been undertaken by the Council’s appointed external auditors, Azets. The report highlighted that the 2023/24 unaudited Renfrewshire Council Annual Accounts had been approved at the meeting of the Council held on 27 June 2024. A copy of the Renfrewshire Council audited annual accounts 2023/24 was appended to the report for consideration. It was highlighted that there had been one material adjustment to the accounts over the course of the audit in relation to the value of the Council’s pension asset disclosed in the 2022/23 Balance Sheet, owing to the exclusion of unfunded liabilities. Further detail in this connection was provided within the Annual Audit Report. In addition, minor and presentational changes had been agreed. DECIDED: That the audited Annual Accounts 2023/24 be approved for signature in accordance with the Local Authority Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2014. 3 Azets Report to those charged with governance - Coats Observatory Trust Annual Accounts 2023/24 There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the annual audit of the financial statements of the Coats Observatory Trust which had been undertaken by the Council’s appointed external auditors, Azets. The report intimated that each year the Council's appointed external auditors carried out an audit of the financial statements of the charity controlled by Renfrewshire Council and provided an opinion as to whether those statements provided a fair and true view of the financial position of the charity and its income and expenditure for the year and whether they had been prepared in accordance with the relevant regulations. The report also stated that in accordance with International Auditing Standards, Azets was obliged to provide a report which highlighted matters that had arisen during the course of the audit. In this connection, a copy of the Annual Audit Report, prepared by Azets, in
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respect of the Coats Observatory Trust was appended to the report which outlined the findings from the audit. DECIDED: That the Annual Audit Report, prepared by Azets, in respect of the Coats Observatory Trust be noted. 4 Audited Financial Statements 2023/24 – Coats Observatory Trust There was submitted a report by the Director of Finance & Resources relative to the audit of the 2023/24 financial statements of Coats Observatory Trust controlled by Renfrewshire Council which had been undertaken by the Council’s appointed external auditors, Azets. The report highlighted that the 2023/24 unaudited financial statements of the charity controlled by Renfrewshire Council had been approved at the meeting of the Council held on 27 June 2024. The report intimated that each year the Council's appointed external auditors carried out an audit of the financial statements of the charity controlled by Renfrewshire Council and provided an opinion as to whether those statements provided a fair and true view of the financial position of the charity and their income and expenditure for the year and whether they had been prepared in accordance with the relevant regulations. The report advised that the audited financial statements had been updated to show an estimated value of capital works undertaken in-year on the refurbishment of Trust properties as part of the Paisley Museum Reimagined project. A copy of the audited Trustees’ Annual Report and Financial Statements 2023/24 for the Coats Observatory Trust were appended to the report for consideration. DECIDED: That the 2023/24 audited financial statements for the Coats Observatory Trust, as appended to the report, be approved.