Audit Committee Assurance Report - May 2025
Meeting: Trust Board – Public Meeting
Date: 7 May 2025
Report Title: Audit Committee Assurance Report
Agenda Item: PUB25/05/3.3
Committee Date: 19 February 2025
Meeting Chair: Victoria Corbishley – Associate Non-Executive Director / Acting Committee Chair
Meeting quorate: YES
Purpose: Assurance
Link to Strategic Objective:
- Be an exceptional place to work, volunteer and learn.
- Provide outstanding quality of care and performance.
- Be excellent collaborators and innovators as system partners.
- Be an environmentally and financially sustainable organisation.
Summary of items considered at the meeting:
| Issue | Consideration | Resolution | Assurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directorate Risk Register deep dive: People Services | Overview of the People Services risk register and the review process in place. | The deep dive considered the priority risks for the directorate which were managing Employee Relations (ER) cases, providing adequate service resources to manage stress and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. The committee noted the recruitment of additional ER resources, and the development of new policies and training regarding culture and sexual safety at work. | Reasonable |
| Board Assurance Framework and Corporate Risk Register | Overview of strategic and corporate risk management of the organisation including specific review of risk monitoring processes. | The revised Board Assurance Framework (BAF) template was reviewed, and benefits of the revised approach were noted. The Committee noted that operational teams were re-aligning their operational risks, with a focus on higher priority risks. | Reasonable |
| Review of Hospitality Register | 6-month review of reported conflicts of interest and gifts. | No policy breaches were reported in the last six months. | Reasonable |
| Governance Review of Board and Committee Sub-Groups | Progress report on the reviews into the workings of the sub-groups underpinning the Compliance and Risk Group, and Audit Committee. | The report noted the transition to the new Transformation Programme Group (TPG) was being implemented. The Committee asked for additional work to be completed on how the effectiveness reviews were being undertaken, to be shared at the next committee meeting. | Moderate |
| Standing Financial Instructions, Scheme of Delegation and Reservations Retained | As part of an annual review, the Standing Financial Instructions, Scheme of Delegation and Reservations Retained by Trust Board were updated and presented for approval. | Minor changes made were noted and the documents were approved. When the Procurement Act is implemented on 01 March, the documents would be reviewed, updated and re-submitted, where appropriate. | Reasonable |
| Risk Management Policy | Annual review of the Risk Management Policy. | The Committee noted the strengthening of the appendices for decision-making and approved the report. | Reasonable |
| Information Governance and Data Security Protection Toolkit (DSPT) updates | Update on the Trust’s current position with respect to: Digital Security Protection Tool compliance Information Governance (IG) breaches and Subject Access Requests and FOIs. | The Committee noted: SARS compliance exceeded 90% across the previous three months. Steady improvements in training compliance, albeit not yet at the target level. Cyber Assessment Framework update, offering reasonable assurance though gaps were identified that are being addressed | Reasonable |
| Information Commissioners Office | Final Audit Report on the Information Commissioners Office. | The Committee noted the report. | Reasonable |
| Freedom of Information Deep Dive | Annual Report on compliance with Freedom of Information requests. | The Committee noted the report. | Reasonable |
| Internal Audit Report | Final Audit Report on Performance Management and Data Quality. | The Committee noted the volume of work undertaken, including the successful replacement of technology in the emergency vehicles. | Reasonable |
| Financial Management – Losses and Special Payments | Quarterly Report on compliance with HM Treasury 2023 publication “Managing Public Money” – (October to December 2024). | Ex-gratia payments were noted. The Committee reviewed the special payment made regarding a long-standing case that had been discussed and agreed by People Committee and Remuneration Committee. The Committee noted the agreement reached on the outstanding debt with a supplier. | Reasonable |
| Financial Management – Tenders and Waivers | Report on Tenders and Waivers (October to December 2024). | The Committee noted that the Trust may achieve its annual target and the work undertaken to provide ongoing support and training to individuals involved in procuring. | Moderate |
| Annual Review of Non-Recurrent Funds | To review the use of non-recurrent funds received in 2024-25. | The Committee noted the funds had been fully utilised in accordance with the conditions placed upon them. | Reasonable |
| Annual Accounts 2024 -25 Timetable | Update on the timeline for producing the annual accounts. | The Committee noted the clear timeline provided. | Reasonable |
| Counter Fraud Progress Report | Update on Counter Fraud activity since the last meeting. | Continuing progress in managing fraud across EEAST was noted, including the importance of progressing small value fraud to the criminal court. | Reasonable |
| Internal Audit Reports | Update on emerging internal audit work against 2024-25 plan, including: Frequent Caller Review (limited assurance), Health and Safety Review (limited assurance), Complaints, Serious Incidents and Safety Alerts (reasonable assurance), Performance Management and Data Quality (reasonable assurance), and Workforce Planning (reasonable assurance) | The Committee noted that limited assurance internal audit reports were submitted to the relevant Committees for their review | Reasonable |
| External Audit Planning | Provisional plans for completing the External Audit. | The Committee noted the plans prepared including the materiality limit. | Reasonable |
Matters for escalation or referral:
| Issue | Resolution | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Risk Management | Board Annual Risk Management Workshop | Audit Committee agreed to refer the approval of the updated BAF template to the Board’s Annual Risk Management Workshop in March. | |
| External Audit | Public Board | Audit Committee to refer the external audit planning to Public Board to ensure the Board are aware of key timelines and dependencies. |
