Minutes of Proceedings

VIA MICROSOFT TEAMS

Present:

Jim Brooks (Chair)

Derek Martin

Keith Buchanan MLA

In Attendance:

Lesley Hogg, NIA

Rodney Allen, NIAO

Tara Caul, NIA

Gareth McGrath, NIA

Richard Stewart, NIA

Paula McClintock, NIA

Eddie Kelly, NIA

Julie Devlin, NIA

Opening/Review

The meeting commenced at 2.00 pm.

1. Apologies

Richard Stewart informed the chair that Paula McClintock would be joining the meeting shortly.

2. Declaration of Interests

No interests were declared.

3. Minutes of Previous Meeting

Minutes of the previous meeting, held on 8 July 2020, were approved without amendment.

Keith Buchanan asked how the lessons learned exercise, in relation to the resumption of normal Assembly business detailed in the action points, had been carried out.

Lesley Hogg advised that Directors had consulted with their Heads of Business (HoBs) and reported back to her with their findings and that she had then discussed the findings with Directors. Lesley advised that the overwhelming response was that the return was extremely well handled.

Lesley said that the main learning was, that there could possibly have been better coordination between the Human Resources Office and HoBs regarding the recall of staff, but that as the decision was made on a Friday evening that the Assembly would sit on the Saturday with immediate resumption of normal business on the Monday, this was not possible. Lesley said that she was very happy with how staff had dealt with the situation.

Jim Brooks commented that it was a tribute to the planning that had taken place to maintain a state of readiness, that made the return to normal business a success. He also acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic, which had followed shortly after the resumption of normal business, could not have happened at a worse time, and the fact that the Assembly was able to carry on was a very positive sign.

4. Matters Arising

There were no matters arising.

5. Internal Audit Activity Update

Eddie Kelly advised SARC thatsince 1 April 2020, Internal Audit had issued five final reports and four follow-up reports, with four reports being issued since SARC last met in July 2020.

Eddie informed SARC that the Review of Members Expenses 2019/20 (Final Testing) had been carried out; that no further issues or recommendations had been identified; and that satisfactory assurance was awarded over Members’ expenses.

Eddie advised that the Review of the Administration of Members’ Expenses, which focussed on the Finance Office’s practices and procedures in the processing and payment of Members’ expenses, had been carried out. He explained that an issue highlighted during the review was no longer applicable following the publication of The Assembly Members (Salaries and Expenses) (Amendment) Determination (Northern Ireland) 2020 (the 2020 Determination) and that substantial assurance had been awarded.

Eddie said that the follow-up Review of Support Services concluded that all of the accepted recommendations had been fully implemented and that substantial assurance had been awarded.

Eddie updated SARC on the Follow-Up of the Cyber-Security Scoping Review. He said that the original report did not include a level of assurance, but made three recommendations which had been accepted by management and were now implemented. Eddie stated that the issues raised during the scoping review would continue to inform the work of Internal Audit.

Eddie provided SARC with an overview of a number of Internal Audit reports that were in progress and said that he had no concerns in relation to delivery of the 2020/21 Internal Audit plan.

Eddie advised that the first draft of the External Quality Assessment report had been received and that following discussion with Lesley and Tara Caul, Lesley had provided feedback to the reviewer and that the reviewed had undertaken to provide more detail around the ‘value-added’ element of the report.

Eddie advised that no cases of whistleblowing or fraud had been reported to Internal Audit to date this year.

Jim thanked Eddie for his report and noted that the range and scope of the reports was good. He said that the Audit Plan was now more like a Resource Plan and praised the ongoing improvement in planning.

Derek Martin commented that there was a substantial amount of work in the 2020/21 plan and asked Eddie if he was content that he had adequate resources to get through all of the work and provide a robust assurance at the end of the year.

Eddie confirmed that he was content with his current resources and explained that while it had been challenging adapting to new working arrangements resulting from COVID-19, the more detailed scoping of reviews would help enable a robust level of assurance to be provided.

SARC noted the Internal Audit Activity Report.

6. Outstanding Audit Recommendations Schedule

Jim noted that audit recommendations continued to be responded to by management in a timely and professional manner.

Keith asked for an update regarding the overdue recommendation to develop a maintenance register and Derek inquired whether the Assembly Commission used any building maintenance software.

Richard advised that Properties Division was installing new maintenance management software called Concerto; that implementation was expected to be completed in January 2021; and that Building Services would be given full access to the system.

SARC noted the update on the outstanding audit recommendations.

Paula McClintock joined the meeting

7. Draft Report to Those Charged with Governance

Rodney Allen advised SARC that the audit was now complete; that it was proposed that the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) would certify the 2019/20 Annual Report and Accounts with an unqualified audit opinion; and that an “emphasis of matter” paragraph would be included in the audit certification to highlight uncertainty regarding property valuations as a result of COVID-19.

Rodney acknowledged that while the audit was not completed within the original timeframe, the revised timeframe was within the guidance provided by the Department of Finance and complied with statutory requirements.

Rodney advised that the Annual Report was consistent with the other information provided in the financial statements; that there were no issues with accounting estimates or the timing of transactions; that the Governance Statement fairly reflected the internal control environment within the Assembly Commission; and that some suggestions had been made to improve the narrative disclosures to ensure completeness of the disclosures required under FReM.

Rodney advised that two Priority 2 and one Priority 3 audit recommendation had been made in relation to the internal control environment and that no significant risks had been identified either before or during the audit. He then outlined the detailed the findings in the report.

Rodney also said that considerations were complete in relation to an anonymous complaint received regarding payments made to MLAs.

Jim thanked Rodney for his report, acknowledged the points that had been made and congratulated NIAO staff for completing the audit on time and under the restrictions imposed by COVID-19.

Lesley confirmed that the Financial Assistance for Political Parties Scheme would be reviewed, and that recommendations would be made to the Assembly Commission for consideration.

SARC noted the content of the Report to Those Charged with Governance.

8. Annual Report and Accounts for the Year Ended 31 March 2020

Paula McClintock advised SARC that, since it reviewed the draft Report and Accounts in July, a small number of adjustments had been made. She thanked her team for their work on the Report and Accounts and acknowledged that it was an achievement to get them completed because of the COVID-19 restrictions.

Paula explained that some modest changes had been made to the narrativeto adhere to the disclosures required under FReM and to give better clarity to the reader, and that two adjustments had been made to the figures. She then outlined these.

Paula advised that the Governance Statement had also been updated, to reflect the fact that the Assembly had recently conferred powers on the Assembly Commission to make determinations in relation to Members’ allowances, but explained that the financial impact would commence in 2020/21.

Jim welcomed the changes made and said that they had significantly improved clarity for the reader. He stated that he was content with the Report and Accounts and that there was an excellent tone to them. Jim noted that he had also raised some queries with Paula before the meeting and had received comprehensive answers to these.

Jim congratulated Paula and her team for preparing the accounts while the Assembly was returning to normal business, and then managing the difficult conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated that it was evident that there was a good working relationship between the NIAO and the Assembly Commission. Derek agreed with these comments.

SARC noted the accounts and recommended that the Clerk/Chief Executive sign the Annual Report and Accounts.

Action Lesley to sign the Annual Report and Accounts.

It was agreed that SARC would discuss the Corporate Risk Register as the next item of business.

9. Corporate Risk Register (CRR)

Julie Devlin advised SARC that a quarterly review of the CRR had been carried out by SMG in September 2020. She then outlined the main changes

Derek asked Lesley to confirm that staff levels were appropriate with the combined use of agency workers and the planned recruitment. Lesley confirmed that she was content that rapid progress was being made to fill vacancies.

SARC noted the Corporate Risk Register.

John Gibson joined the meeting for agenda item 10

10. Procurement Activity Report

John Gibson presented the Procurement Activity Report to SARC and highlighted relevant activities that had taken place during 2019/20. He stated that staff resources had been reduced during the year due to temporary redeployment and retirement, but that additional resources had subsequently been obtained.

A discussion then took place in relation to the Public Services (Social Value) Act and John advised that SMG would determine how it would affect the Assembly Commission.

Tara Caul advised that an overarching Procurement Policy had now been implemented which would be useful going forward.

Derek noted the increase in the programme of work planned for 2020/21 and asked if the Assembly Commission had the resources and expertise to complete it.

John confirmed that he had appropriate resource and that external technical expertise would be sought where required.

Jim stated that there had been an impressive range of activities undertaken during the year.

SARC noted the Procurement Activity Report

John left the meeting

11. SARC Terms of Reference (Annual Review 2020)

Julie advised that SARC’s Terms of Reference (ToR) had been reviewed against the HM Treasury Audit Committee Handbook 2016 and the Department of Finance Audit and Risk Committee Handbook 2018 and that they were in line with these. She proposed that the provision of management assurance reports and reports on major incidents and near misses be moved from the list of items provided at each meeting to the list of items provided as and when required.

SARC agreed that it was content for this change to be made and noted that the revised Terms of Reference would be presented to the Assembly Commission for approval.

Action Julie to make the agreed changes to the ToR and arrange for them to be presented to the Assembly Commission for approval.

12. Financial Assistance for Political Parties (FAPP) Scheme 2016 - audit report 2019/20

Paula presented the management letter received from the independent auditor. She stated that the audit had not resulted in any new or additional recommendations and that certificates had been received for all parties who received payments under the Scheme during 2019/20. She also explained the reference in the letter to the 2018/19 management letter.

Keith asked how often the contract for the independent auditor was awarded and Paula advised that it was awarded last year for a period of three years, with the possibility of extension.

SARC noted the content of the management letter received in relation to the 2019/20 audit of the FAPP Scheme 2016 and confirmed that it was content that the accepted audit recommendations from 2018/19 had been implemented.

13. Stewardship Statements

Jim invited Directors to highlight the main issues covered in their stewardship statements.

Tara advised of the measures, dealt with in the CRR, put in place in response to COVID-19 pandemic and that staff in her directorate had adopted a blended approach between working in Parliament Buildings and working from home as appropriate. Tara said that her staff were facing significant challenges and measures had been taken to put extra staff in the Examiner of Statutory Rules Office to deal with the increase in secondary legislation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and UK exit from the EU; and that additional staff had also been allocated to the Legal Services Office.

Gareth advised SARC that in his directorate, the resumption of normal business followed shortly by the COVID-19 restrictions, had proven extremely challenging and remained so and that staff were working very hard. He added that some vacancies were currently being filled by agency staff and that a recent recruitment competition for IS staff had received a much greater number of high calibre applications in comparison to the unsuccessful recruitment process held earlier in the year.

Keith asked if the Assembly was now seen as a more secure and financially attractive place to work.

Gareth stated that the upcoming pay and grading exercise would provide insight regarding the salaries offered by the Assembly Commission and that the COVID-19 pandemic had increased the attractiveness of the security of public sector roles.

Richard said that the main development to highlight in his directorate, was the recent Assembly Commission decision to install a partial electronic access system in Parliament Buildings, which would help mitigate a long-standing risk identified in the CRR.

Jim thanked the directors for their statements.

SARC noted the Stewardship Statements

14. Key Guidance from Department of Finance

Julie advised SARC that since the last meeting two Dear Accounting Officer letters had been received, neither of which were applicable to the Assembly Commission.

SARC noted the key guidance that had been issued by the Department of Finance since the July 2020 SARC meeting.

15. AOB

There were no other items of business.

16. Date of Next Meetings

It was agreed that the next meeting would be held in late January 2021, date to be confirmed.

It was also noted that one meeting had been missed due to COVID-19 and the delay in compiling the Annual Report and Accounts. Given the circumstances, SARC was content that the full extent of its annual business had been covered in the three meetings held during 2020 and that a further meeting was not necessary.

The meeting ended at 3.25pm