260604 Minute
North Ayrshire Council · 27 August 2026
Back to Audit and Scrutiny Committee — 27 August 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Audit and Scrutiny Committee 4 June 2026 At a Meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee of North Ayrshire Council at 10.00 a.m. involving participation by remote electronic means and physical attendance within the Council Chambers, Irvine. Present (Physical Participation) John Bell, Donald Reid and Cameron Inglis. Present (Remote Participation) Tom Marshall, Davina McTiernan, Donald L Reid and John Sweeney. In Attendance R. McCutcheon, Executive Director; L. Cree, Head of Sustainability, Transport & Corporate Property); and G. Wilson, Senior Manager (Engineering Services) (Place); D. Hammond, Executive Director (Communities and Housing); A. McClelland, Head of Service (Education); A. Johnson, Principal Manager (Business Support) (Health & Social Care Partnership); M. Boyd, Head of Service; A. Fenton, Team Manager (Audit); and A. Fitzharris, Team Manager (Risk) (Finance); F. Walker, Head of Service; and F. Carlyle, Team Manager (HR) (People & ICT); R. Lynch, Senior Manager (Legal); S. Wilson, Committee Services Officer, and E. Reid, Marketing & Digital Assistant, (Communications) (Democratic Services) (Corporate Services). Chair Councillor Reid in the Chair. 1. Declarations of Interest In the absence of the Chair, and in terms of Standing Order 6.6, the Members unanimously appointed Councillor Reid to the Chair. There were no declarations of interest by Members in terms of Standing Order 11 and Section 5 of the Code of Conduct for Councillors. Councillor Bell joined the meeting at this point. 2. Minutes The accuracy of (a) the Minutes of the Meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee held on 12 March 2026 and (b) the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee held on 14 April 2026 were confirmed and the Minutes signed in accordance with Paragraph 7 (1) of Schedule 7 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
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3. Corporate Fraud Team Annual Report 2025/26 Submitted report by the Head of Finance providing an update on the work of the Corporate Fraud Team during 2025/26. Officers responded to Members’ questions and the Committee agreed to note the work carried out by the Corporate Fraud Team. 4. Internal Audit Annual Report 2025/26 Submitted report by the Head of Finance providing an annual report on the work of Internal Audit during 2025/26 and providing an opinion on the governance, risk management and internal control environment of the Council. The Internal Audit Annual Report 2025/26 was attached at Appendix 1 to the report. Officers responded to Members’ questions and the Committee agreed to note the content of the annual report on the Council’s governance, risk management and internal control environment. 5. Internal Audit Reports Issued Submitted report by the Head of Finance informing of the findings of Internal Audit work completed since March 2026. Further information on the Key Findings and Action Plans in regard to Capital Monitoring, Payroll Transaction Testing and Building and Estates Maintenance were attached at Appendix 1 to the report. Officers responded to Members’ questions and the Committee agreed to consider the outcomes from the Internal Audit work completed. 6. Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud Action Plans: Quarter 4 Update Submitted report by the Head of Finance advising on the progress made by Council Services in implementing the agreed actions from Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud reports as of 31 March 2026. Officers responded to Members’ questions and the Committee agreed to note the current position with the implementation of Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud actions. 7. Annual Governance Statement 2025/26 Submitted report by the Head of Finance seeking approval of the Council’s Annual Governance Statement for 2025/26 which will be included within the draft Annual Accounts. The Committee agreed to approve the draft Annual Governance Statement as outlined at Appendix 1 to the report.
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8. Strategic Risk Register 2026/27 Submitted report by the Head of Finance informing of the Council’s agreed Strategic Risk Register for 2026/27 attached at Appendix 1 to the report. Officers responded to Members’ questions and the Committee agreed to note the Strategic Risk Register for 2026/27 attached at Appendix 1 to the report. 9. Accounting Policies 2025/26 Submitted report by the Head of Finance seeking approval of the accounting policies which will be adopted in the preparation of the Council’s annual accounts for the year to 31 March 2026. The proposed Accounting Policies 2025/26 was attached at Appendix 1 to the report. Officers responded to Members’ questions and the Committee agreed to approve the proposed Accounting Policies 2025/26 attached at Appendix 1 to the report. 10. External Audit Action Plan Update 2024/25 Submitted report by the Head of Finance providing an update on the actions identified in the 2024/25 External Audit Action Plan attached at Appendix 1 to the report. Officers responded to Members’ questions and the Committee agreed to note the actions identified in the 2024/25 External Audit Action Plan attached at Appendix 1 to the report. 11. Disclosure Scotland Act Submitted report by the Head of People & ICT providing an overview of the recent legislative and procedural changes to the PVG Scheme and outlining how North Ayrshire Council has implemented and are managing these changes. The Service agreed to provide a copy of the presentation delivered by the Team Manager (HR), a list of regulated posts which require a PVG check as identified by Disclosure Scotland and the percentage of North Ayrshire Council employees who were subject to a PVG check under the Disclosure Scotland Act (2020). The Service agreed to undertake to arrange an Elected Members development session to provide all Members with an update on the work carried out as a result of the change of legislation. Officers responded to Members’ questions and the Committee agreed to note the content of the report.
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12. Roads Maintenance and Repairs: Policies and Procedures Submitted report by the Executive Director informing of the arrangements for monitoring and control of utility works on the public road network and for planning, scheduling and undertaking Council operations. Officers responded to Members’ questions and the Committee agreed to note the processes in place for undertaking, co-ordinating and monitoring street works. 13. Standing Item of Business : Consideration of Future Business for Scrutiny There were no future reports requested by the Committee. Councillor Sweeney thanked the Executive Director (Communities and Housing) for the briefing paper provided to Members on North Ayrshire Council Housing Policy which was requested at the meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee held 12 March 2026. 14. Urgent Items There were no urgent items. 15. Investigation Reports Issued Submitted report by the Head of Finance informing of investigation reports finalised since the last meeting. The Committee agreed to note the outcomes of the investigations carried out. The meeting ended at 12.00 p.m. The full meeting proceedings can be viewed at https://north-ayrshire.public-i.tv/core/portal/home