internal audit and fraud progress reportcompleted the fair processing notification compliance. we...

CLACKMANNANSHIRE COUNCIL

Report to Resources and Audit Committee

Date of Meeting: 25 September 2014

Subject: Internal Audit and Fraud Progress Report

Report by: Internal Audit and Fraud Team Leader

1.0 Purpose

1.1. This report provides an update on work completed from the Internal Audit and Fraud Annual Plan 2014/15, which was recommended to full Council for approval by the Resources and Audit Committee on 11 March 2014, in accordance with the Financial Regulations.

1.2. The report also provides a final update on outcomes from the 2012/13 National Fraud Initiative resulting from the initial data matching exercise and an update on the progress of implementation of recommendations by Officers from previous Internal Audit Reports.

2.0 Recommendations

2.1. The Committee is asked to note, comment on and challenge the report and progress made on the Internal Audit and Fraud Annual Plan 2014/15 and the outcomes of the 2012/13 National Fraud Initiative.

3.0 Considerations

Progress Against 2014/15 Plan

3.1. Progress on completion of the Assurance element of the Annual Plan 2014/15, is summarised in the table below, with more detail being provided in Appendix A. The team has also been involved in a number of pieces of contingency work across a variety of services including Economic Development, Strategy and Customer Services and Criminal Justice.

Status of Audits % To be Commenced 9 53%

Onsite/On going 5 29%

Draft Report Issued 2 18%

Final Report Issued 0 0%

Total 17 100%

THIS PAPER RELATES TO ITEM 06

ON THE AGENDA

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3.2. To provide members with more information on progress of the plans we have provided terms of reference for audits that are currently ongoing or are due to start in the near future and have been agreed. These are provided at Appendix B and cover the following reviews;

• Absence Management

• Budget Management and Monitoring.

3.3. Work on the data submission phase of the 2014/15 National Fraud Initiative has also started. We have confirmed data sets with Audit Scotland and completed the Fair Processing Notification Compliance. We are now working closely with IT and responsible officers to prepare for upload of data, which is required to be done by 15 October. The Plan for this exercise is provided at Appendix C

Final Reports- Assurance

3.4. The following reports from the 2014/15 plan are provided for:-

• Housing Allocations Policy (Substantial Assurance) (Appendix D)

• Health and Safety (Reasonable Assurance) (Appendix E).

Fraud

3.5. The Internal Audit and Fraud Team continues to investigate benefit fraud having received 41 referrals since 1st April 2014 with over 25 investigations commenced up to the end of July. In that time investigations have identified over £22,673 of over payments with 5 sanctions issued.

3.6. The team is currently involved in a number of potentially very significant benefit investigations. These investigations were initiated and are being led by Clackmannanshire Council fraud investigators and have expanded to include Department for Work and Pensions investigators, Financial Crime Unit of DWP and the National Crime Agency. A small number of cases are now being considered under Serious Crime Protocol by the Serious and Organised Crime Division of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

3.7. All of these cases have proceeded in line with the Clackmannanshire Council Benefit Fraud Sanctions and Penalties Policy and the Corporate Prosecutions Policy.

National Fraud Initiative 2012/13

3.8. The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) is a bi-annual counter-fraud exercise currently undertaken in Scotland as part of statutory audit. The initiative is managed by the Audit Commission and administered in Scotland by Audit Scotland on behalf of councils and other public bodies.

3.9. The NFI uses computerised techniques to compare information about individuals held by different public bodies and on different financial systems to identify potential inconsistencies or circumstances between data held that requires further investigation. Inconsistencies between datasets (matches) are

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then investigated to identify possible fraud and/or error, stop overpayments and, where possible recover the sums involved.

3.10. The data matching identified 1,645 matches of which 1,469 were rated as high and medium risk. An early decision was taken to investigate all matches issued. Of the 1645 matches identified, all have now been investigated and closed. This resulted in 13 housing benefit frauds being identified amounting to £91,727.11 and 3 creditor errors identified totalling £9510.74. These monies include an estimated figure of £9906.00 which represents weekly reduction of benefits savings. The balances are in the process of being recovered.

3.11. The recent Audit Scotland report on the NFI 2012/13 exercise outcomes identified Clackmannanshire Council as the third top performing Council in Scotland in relation to yield in terms of benefits outcomes to total housing benefit expenditure. Further information is provided at Appendix F.

3.12. In March 2014 a final set of data was uploaded from Council Tax records and Electoral Roll to check Single Person Discount. Resultant matches were issued in May 2014 and are currently being investigated as a discreet project by Revenues service who will provide information on outcomes at a later date.

Progress of Follow Up

3.13. Within Action Plans from previous Internal Audit Reports, there were 50 recommendations arising from 17 reports which were due for implementation by 31 July 2014. This covers all previous reports where there is at least one recommendation to be implemented. Of these, 9 recommendations have been implemented, 40 are in progress and 1 is no longer applicable. Recommendations are considered no longer applicable if they cover issues that have either been superseded by other events and are therefore dropped or have been carried forward in other reviews.

3.14. The progress made by Officers on these recommendations is summarised in Appendix G and where not sufficiently implemented, progress to date and revised completion dates have been agreed.

Conclusion

3.15. Work on the 2014/15 Internal Audit and Fraud Plan is progressing. Further progress has been made on implementing and addressing recommendations from previous reports.

3.16. With the exception of Council Tax Single Person Discount matches, Clackmannanshire Council has completed the 2012/13 National Fraud Initiative. The Council has been recognised as one of the top performers in Scotland in relation to yield in terms of benefits outcomes to total housing benefit expenditure

3.17. Members are asked to note the report and progress made.

4.0 Sustainability Implications

4.1. There are no sustainability implications.

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5.0 Resource Implications

5.1. Financial Details

5.2. The full financial implications of the recommendations are set out in the report. This includes a reference to full life cycle costs where appropriate. No

5.3. Finance has been consulted and have agreed the financial implications as set out in the report. Yes

6.0 Exempt Reports

6.1. Is this report exempt? Yes (please detail the reasons for exemption below) No

7.0 Declarations The recommendations contained within this report support or implement our Corporate Priorities and Council Policies.

(1) Our Priorities (Please double click on the check box )

The area has a positive image and attracts people and businesses Our communities are more cohesive and inclusive People are better skilled, trained and ready for learning and employment Our communities are safer Vulnerable people and families are supported Substance misuse and its effects are reduced Health is improving and health inequalities are reducing The environment is protected and enhanced for all The Council is effective, efficient and recognised for excellence

(2) Council Policies (Please detail)

Financial Regulations.

8.0 Equalities Impact

8.1 Have you undertaken the required equalities impact assessment to ensure that no groups are adversely affected by the recommendations? Yes No

9.0 Legality

9.1 It has been confirmed that in adopting the recommendations contained in this report, the Council is acting within its legal powers. Yes

10.0 Appendices

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10.1 Please list any appendices attached to this report. If there are no appendices, please state "none".

Appendix A - Progress on 2014/15 Internal Audit and Fraud Annual Plan

Appendix B - Terms of Reference

Appendix C - 2014/15 National Fraud Initiative Plan

Appendix D - Housing Allocations Policy

Appendix E - Health and Safety

Appendix F- National Fraud Initiative 2012/13 Outcome Report

Appendix G - Progress Of Follow Up Of Internal Audit Reports

11.0 Background Papers

11.1 Have you used other documents to compile your report? (All documents must be kept available by the author for public inspection for four years from the date of meeting at which the report is considered) Yes (please list the documents below) No

Author(s)

NAME DESIGNATION TEL NO / EXTENSION

Iain Burns

Internal Audit and Fraud Team Leader

226231

Approved by

NAME DESIGNATION SIGNATURE

Nikki Bridle Depute Chief Executive Signed: N Bridle

Elaine McPherson Chief Executive Signed: E McPherson

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PROGRESS ON APPROVED INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL PLAN 2014/15 APPENDIX A

Audit Audit Weeks

Annual Plan Service Progress

Governance Annual Assurance Report 8 2014-15 Corporate To Be Commenced Assurance Absence Management 6 2014-15 Corporate and Governance Ongoing Health and Safety 6 2014-15 Corporate and Governance Draft Report Issued Community Planning 5 2014-15 Corporate & Strategy and Customer

Services Ongoing

Social Housing Charter 5 2014-15 Services To Communities- Housing and Community Safety

Ongoing

Housing Allocations Policy 6 2014-15 Services To Communities- Housing and Community Safety

Draft Report Issued

Social Work Joint Review 3 2014-15 Social Services To Be Commenced Procurement 5 2014-15 Finance and Corporate Services To Be Commenced Education Joint Review 3 2014-15 Education To Be Commenced Adult Care- Commissioning of Care 4 2014-15 Social Services To Be Commenced Information Governance 3 2014-15 Corporate To Be Commenced External Funding Arrangements including ALEOs

4 2014-15 Corporate and across selected services

Ongoing

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction Scheme

6 2014-15 Revenues and Payments. To Be Commenced

Budget Management and Monitoring 5 2014-15 Corporate & Accountancy Ongoing Treasury Management 4 2014-15 Accountancy To Be Commenced General Ledger 6 2014-15 Accountancy To Be Commenced

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PROGRESS ON APPROVED INTERNAL AUDIT ANNUAL PLAN 2014/15 APPENDIX A

Audit Audit Weeks

Annual Plan Service Progress

Change Management 6 2014-15 Corporate To Be Commenced ICT Asset Management Plan and IT Contract Management.

6 2014-15 Corporate & IT To Be Commenced

Fraud Fraud Risk Assessment / Prevention 6 2014-15 All Services To Be Commenced Fraud Detection 48 2014-15 Internal Audit and Fraud Ongoing Review Fraud and Whistleblowing policies 2 2014-15 Corporate Ongoing National Fraud Initiative 6 2014-15 All Services submitting data Ongoing Data matching 4 2014-15 All Services Ongoing Fraud Awareness and Training 5 2014-15 Corporate and all services Ongoing Other Follow Up 4 2014-15 All Services Ongoing

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ISSUED TERMS OF REFERENCE APPENDIX B

INTERNAL AUDIT TERMS OF REFERENCE

SERVICE: Corporate & Governance AUDIT AREA: Absence Management

AUDIT YEAR: 2014/2015

INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE

In March 2012 Clackmannanshire Council approved the Maximising Attendance & Employee Wellbeing Policy. The purpose of the Policy is to promote employee wellbeing and in doing so reduce absence levels. Underlying procedures have also been put in place, the purpose of which is to provide a framework for both managers and employees to implement the principles contained within the Policy. The Council's new Employee and Manager Self Service portal, iTrent, is used to record absences including sickness, holiday and other absences.

Clackmannanshire operates a Flexible Working Hours Scheme, which is commonly referred to as flexi time, which allows flexibility in the working day for an individual and for managers, who are responsible for ensuring consistent service delivery.

The scope of our audit will be to review absence management arrangements across the Council. This will focus on management, monitoring and reporting of sickness absence and operation of the flexible working hours scheme.

RISKS

The following risks could prevent the achievement of the objectives of absence management systems, or result from the non-achievement of the objectives, and have been identified as within scope for this audit;

• Lack of corporate compliance with absence management procedures.

• Lack of corporate compliance with flexible working hours scheme

• Reported absence figures are not accurate.

AUDIT OBJECTIVE: Our audit work will be designed to evaluate whether appropriate systems are in place and operating effectively to mitigate the risks identified above.

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ISSUED TERMS OF REFERENCE APPENDIX B

INTERNAL AUDIT TERMS OF REFERENCE SERVICE: Corporate & Accountancy

AUDIT AREA: Budget Management & Monitoring

AUDIT YEAR: 2014/2015

INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE

Clackmannanshire Council Financial Regulations section B outline requirements for monitoring budgets. This review will focus on the arrangements in place for monitoring and managing budgets at a Corporate level and within individual Services to ensure compliance with the Financial Regulations and consider against best practice. The effective management and monitoring of budgets is critical in light of the increasing pressure on budgets and structural changes within the Council.

The scope of our audit will be to assess budget management and monitoring arrangements across the Council including virement arrangements. We are not considering budget setting arrangements as part of this review.

RISKS

The following risks could prevent the achievement of the objectives of budget management and monitoring, or result from the non-achievement of the objectives, and have been identified as within scope for this audit;

• Roles and responsibilities are unclear, compromising accountability;

• Failure to robustly manage and monitor expenditure against budgets resulting in material overspend;

• Absence of agreed policies and procedures and a clear system of delegated authority, leading to uncontrolled spend and potentially, the risk of inconsistent service provision;

• Lack of necessary financial skills may lead to budget holders not fully discharging budget responsibility, resulting in overspend; and

• Failure to implement clear and effective management information systems (for officers and elected members), leading to absence of robust monitoring and challenge.

• Non compliance with corporate governance arrangements and Financial Regulations.

AUDIT OBJECTIVE: Our audit work will be designed to evaluate whether appropriate systems are in place and operating effectively to mitigate the risks identified above.

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NFI 2014/15 PHASE ONE PLAN APPENDIX C

Clackmannanshire Council National Fraud Initiative 2014-15 Plan for Exercise Roles and Responsibilities Internal Audit and Fraud are responsible for co-ordinating the NFI exercise and reporting the progress of investigations to Audit Scotland. Internal Audit and Fraud will also liaise with services and provide guidance, where necessary. Responsible Officers are responsible for the data export and upload and for investigating data matches and forwarding comments and outcomes of investigations to Internal Audit on a timely basis. There are two phases of the exercise with Phase 1 being data export and upload and Phase 2 being investigation. • Responsible Officers are reminded of their data protection, confidentiality and security

obligations when handling data. Information provided to Local Authorities through the data matching process can be personal and/or sensitive and therefore covered by the Data Protection Act 1998.

• All contracts of employment state that all official information provided to employees in the course of their duties is confidential and must not be disclosed to third parties except as required by law or by express authority of Clackmannanshire Council. This is not just a contractual responsibility but also a requirement of the Data Protection Act 1998. To comply with this, Responsible Officers should ensure that all:

o personal data is protected against unauthorised access or misuse; o paper records containing personal data are stored securely in a locked cabinet or

cupboard; o electronic records containing personal data are controlled by limited access to

designated individuals; o computers are password-protected when unattended; o documentation removed from the office when, for example, working from home, is

treated in the same way as in the office; o documentation containing personal data is disposed of securely by shredding or

placing in confidential waste sacks; o personal data is kept strictly confidential; o personal data is stored in a suitable location, e.g., fireproof, damp proof etc.; and

personal data is removed from all computers before disposal.

Managers are responsible for ensuring their staff receive appropriate and adequate data protection training and for making them aware of the requirements for confidentiality. Phase 1 - Data Export and Upload The data extracts will be exported by the responsible officers within the relevant services and are to be passed to the ICT Development Officer, IT. Where appropriate test data can be exported in advance and passed to IT. Note that other datasets will be provided by other organisations i.e. Housing Benefits data by the DWP and pensions by Falkirk Council.

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NFI 2014/15 PHASE ONE PLAN APPENDIX C

Proposed Timetable for Phase 1 The dates given are the deadlines we are proposing.

Phase 1- Proposed Timetable Action Date Date Completed 1. Confirm list of Datasets

("DFU") by Internal Audit and Fraud

Friday, 29 August 2014

13 August 2014

2.

Test data to be forwarded to ICT Development Officer

Friday, 12 September 2014

3. Due date for data submission

back to ICT Development Officer


4. Completion of Fair Processing

Compliance by Internal Audit and Fraud


13 August 2014

5. Data must be passed to ICT

Development Officer for uploading


A plan for the investigations process of data matches from the data sets will be forwarded towards the end of the calendar year.

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HOUSING ALLOCATIONS POLICY APPENDIX D

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This report details the findings of the Internal Audit review of the Housing Allocation Policy. The review forms part of the Internal Audit and Fraud Plan for 2014/15, which was recommended to full Council for approval by the Resources and Audit Committee on 11 March 2014. 1.2 Clackmannanshire Council currently owns and manages around 4,950 properties of various sizes and types. At any one time, the demand far exceeds the supply of available properties. Given the difference between the supply of and demand for Council houses, the Council has recently introduced a revised Housing Allocations Policy. It has been developed to take account of the different circumstances and housing needs of Council Housing applicants and to prioritise according to these needs, while increasing the opportunities and choice for current and prospective tenants to ensure best use is made of Council Housing Stock. 2. SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES 2.1 The scope of the audit was to review the implementation of the new Housing Allocation Policy. 2.2 Internal Audit, in conjunction with Housing senior management, identified the key risks relating to the audit. In our opinion there is a robust control environment operating in relation to the Housing Allocation Policy and the proposed arrangements for their management going forward. We can provide overall significant assurance that risks are being adequately mitigated.

Key Risk Assurance Assessment The revised Housing Allocations Policy does not comply with legislative requirements and good practice guidelines.

Significant

The different circumstances and housing needs of applicants are not assessed and treated consistently and fairly in line with the requirements of the policy.

Significant

Increased opportunities and choice for current and prospective tenants is not achieved.

Reasonable

Effective and appropriate use is not made of the Council’s available housing stock.

Significant

Appropriate arrangements are not in place to monitor the implementation of the policy resulting in its aims and objectives not being achieved.

Significant

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3. FINDINGS 3.1 We can provide significant assurance that the revised Housing Allocations Policy complies with legislative requirements and good practice guidelines. We reviewed the Housing Allocations Policy against the main requirements of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 to confirm that requirements are properly covered. We also confirmed that the policy is aligned to the outcomes of the Scottish Social Housing Charter with the main points within the Good Practice Guide for Social Housing Allocations included within the policy. However, protocols are still to be put in place for people leaving long-term hospital and people leaving prison. The Allocations and Lettings Team has plans in place to develop these.

3.2 We can also provide significant assurance that the different circumstances and housing needs of applicants are assessed and treated consistently and fairly in line with the requirements of the policy. The Housing service complies with a statutory requirement to offer every homeless person, or those at risk of homelessness, an assessment of their housing support needs.

3.4 Testing found that housing applications are assessed in line with the revised Housing Allocation Policy. The revised Housing Allocation Policy has also minimised the number of cases that cannot be assessed and prioritised with only one direct allocation request received since the implementation of the policy. Action taken to deal with the direct allocation request complied with the policy with the application approved by the Head of Housing and Community Safety and the Governance Manager.

3.5 The Housing Allocation Policy states that there should be an annual review of information submitted by applicants and a review is planned to be carried out this year. The review exercise in July 2013 was carried out over a number of months as reminder letters were required to be sent to applicants who did not respond to the first letter. In addition, there are ongoing checks carried out by Housing Officers when applicants contact Housing to update the information submitted by these applicants. All applicants who have not had their application reviewed during the last twelve months have been identified for the purposes of the review in 2014.

3.6 We can provide reasonable assurance that increased opportunities and choice for current and prospective tenants is achieved. The revised Housing Allocation Policy details that the Council is to develop an approach to operate a Choice Based Lettings system for allocating vacant properties. A pilot is currently being trialled with an action plan being prepared. The introduction of Choice Based Lettings is in line with the Scottish Government's recommendation that landlords maximise choice for applicants when letting houses and is one of the key priority actions set out in the Corporate Plan. 3.7 A Common Housing Register has been developed with Ochil View and Paragon Housing Associations. This means that applicants only need to fill in one application form and can choose which landlord they want to apply to. A Housing Options service was launched in March 2014 with advice and information given from the Housing Options Shop in Kilncraigs. A 'personal housing plan' geared to personal circumstances can be provided. This is in order to give the applicant as many housing options as possible depending on their circumstances. A Housing Preference sheet is completed with the applicant advised to select as many areas as possible. Advice is also given on the size and type of accommodation in each area and the turnover of properties. 3.9 We can provide significant assurance that effective and appropriate use is made of the Council's available housing stock. The Council has introduced transfer led allocations, which has released urgently required housing. We included cases where urgently needed one bedroomed properties had been released within our testing to ensure these are being considered as a priority. Our testing provided assurance around this. The Council has adopted the standards of occupancy in line with Welfare Reform as the occupancy levels for allocation of the housing stock. 3.10 Mutual exchange processes comply with the Housing Allocation Policy and the Mutual Exchange Policy. The processes assist to maximise the effective use of the Council's housing stock and promote choice with a national web based system called HomeSwapper used by tenants.

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3.11 Testing provided assurance that the average relet time (40.41 days) reported for all relets for 2013-14 is accurate and this only just missed the target number of 40 days. This is also only slightly over the average Scottish Housing Best Value Network average of 39.7 days. The void time is affected by other parties carrying out necessary work to relet the properties. Weekly meetings were set up in 2014 between the Tenancy Services Coordinator and the Service Delivery Team Leader, PCU in order for PCU to complete the work required on void properties more promptly. This has contributed to the number of void properties recorded at the end of each month reducing from 124 in October 2013 to 86 in March 2014. It is expected that the introduction of Choice Based Lettings will further speed up the relet time with other initiatives to improve the relet processes being considered.

3.12 Testing also provided assurance that the selection process used to identify the applicant to offer a vacant property to, complied with the Housing Allocation Policy. Supervisory checks are carried out by the Tenancy Services Co-ordinator on 50% of processed applications however these checks are not being evidenced. Similarly the Tenancy Services Co-ordinator had discussed all offers with the allocations officers but again does not always evidence this. The reasons recorded on some Match Reports when it was necessary to vary from the rota used to match vacant properties were not always clear.

3.13 We can provide significant assurance that appropriate arrangements are in place to monitor the implementation of the policy resulting in its aims and objectives being achieved. The outcomes of the Housing Allocation Policy is recorded and monitored in accordance with the Scottish Social Housing Charter. The information on lettings and the housing list within the Scottish Social Housing Charter returns is included in an annual Housing Statistics return to the Scottish Government. This council is part of the Scottish Housing Best Value Network Benchmarking Group with performance data not included in the Scottish Housing Charter recorded on an annual return. The data includes information on re-lets.

3.14 Indicators, actions and related comments relating to Housing Allocations are included in the Housing and Community Services Business Plan. These are monitored on a monthly basis through Covalent with the performance reported to the HMT and the Housing, Health and Care Committee on a quarterly basis.

3.15 Key actions, which relate to Housing Allocations, are also monitored through the Clackmannanshire Housing Strategy (CHS) 2012-2017. The CHS is annually reviewed with a summary of progress against the priorities of the CHS reported to the Housing, Health and Care Committee. A recent review was carried out in May 2014. The Audit Scotland Clackmannanshire Council Assurance and Improvement Plan assessed Housing and Homelessness scrutiny risk as no scrutiny required for 2014/15.

3.16 The Housing and Childcare Services Protocol states that Child Care and Housing Services will meet bi/monthly to discuss progress of current cases. The protocol also details that the Tenancy Services Manager will present a report to HSMT on an annual basis. As the volume of cases was not as high as anticipated Child Care and Housing are now meeting on a case-by-case basis as required and a report is not now planned to be completed. All cases are discussed at Housing Service Managers Meetings. The protocol should be updated to reflect actual practice.

3.17 The contents of this report have been discussed with relevant officers to confirm factual accuracy. The co-operation and assistance we received during the course of our audit is gratefully acknowledged.

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4. RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 A summary of the recommendations raised from this audit is included in a Management Action

Plan. Management comments, the date for implementation and Responsible Officer have been reflected within the Action Plan.

4.2 The Management Action Plan contains the following priority of recommendations.

Priority Assessments Number Priority 1 - Priority 2 1 Priority 3 2 Priority 4 -

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MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN

Ref Finding Risk Priority Agreed Management Action

Responsible Officer Target

Date 5.1 The Good Practice Guide for

Social Housing Allocations recommends that protocols for people leaving long-term hospital and people leaving prison be set up. The Guide states that the protocols should be set up with partners to give details of how they will work together in a coordinated way to make sure that applicants leaving long-term hospital and prison have their needs assessed and addressed. The focus of these protocols should be on planning ahead and preventing a housing crisis. Protocols for Clackmannanshire are not yet set up.

Requirements of certain vulnerable groups are not properly provided for.

3 Consult with Social Services and Criminal Justice and develop protocols for these groups.

Team Leader Allocations and Lettings

March 2015

5.2 The Housing Allocation Policy includes that the Council is to develop an approach to operate Choice Based Lettings system for allocating vacant properties but this has not yet been fully developed.

While a pilot is in place, a Scottish Government recommendation and key priority action within the Council's Corporate Plan not yet implemented.

2 Implement Plan to launch Choice Based Lettings System.


January 2015

5.3 Supervisory checks, including discussions held with allocation officers are not always documented. Similarly, reasons for varying from rotas was not always clearly documented.

Lack of a full audit trail could lead to difficulty in fully evidencing/justifying decisions if challenged.

3 Put procedure in place to ensure all offers to applicants for permanent or temporary lets, have a audit trail signed by the Tenancy Services Co-ordinator or Team Leader.


December 2014

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HEALTH AND SAFETY APPENDIX E

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This report details the findings of the Internal Audit review of Health and Safety arrangements at service level. The review forms part of the Internal Audit and Fraud Plan for 2014/15, which was recommended to full Council for approval by the Resources and Audit Committee on 11 March 2014. 1.2 Clackmannanshire Council Health and Safety Policy Statement outlines that 'It is the policy of Clackmannanshire Council to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of its employees and the health and safety of other persons who may be affected by its activities. Clackmannanshire Council will take the necessary steps to ensure that statutory duties are met at all times. These duties are laid out in the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and relevant subordinate regulations'. A new Health and Safety (H&S) Management System has been proposed that is designed to improve performance in H&S. To facilitate preparation for the new system this review considered arrangements at service level to provide opinion on any potential action required. This was done by means of a questionnaire with some targeted visits. 2. SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES 2.1 The overall aim of this review was to provide information on the level of implementation and deployment of statutory Health and Safety requirements and internal policies and procedures. This will be used to provide assurance of current practices and also to facilitate the implementation of the new H&S system designed to streamline existing procedures and ease the burden on Managers. The scope of this review was to confirm that the expected key controls for H&S systems are in place and operating effectively. 2.2 Internal Audit, in conjunction with H&S management, identified the key risks relating to the audit. In our opinion there is a reasonable control environment operating in relation to health and safety arrangements at service level and the proposed arrangements for their management going forward. We can provide overall reasonable assurance that risks are being adequately mitigated.

Key Risk Assurance Assessment Services not complying with statutory requirements / Council Health and Safety Policy or Guidance.

Reasonable

Arrangements do not support managers taking responsibility for H&S.

Reasonable

There is inadequate information available to properly implement new H&S System.

Reasonable

H&S resources are not (or not perceived to be) available at local level.

Reasonable

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3. FINDINGS 3.1 In March 2014 Clackmannanshire Council were subject to a Health and Safety (H&S) peer review as part of the Authorities Benchmarking Club arrangement. The review was carried out by professional H&S officers from East Renfrewshire Council and covered a number of key activity areas. The resultant report has raised some recommendations for improvement that are now being taken forward and provided positive assurance around a number of areas. We have placed some reliance on the findings of this external review.

3.2 In undertaking this review we sent a H&S questionnaire to all service managers and headteachers across the Council and followed this up with visits at a targeted level to gain assurance that responses being provided could be adequately evidenced. We will provide all information gathered to the H&S team. Some of the issues arising from questionnaires and visits are highlighted in this report and more minor issues found have been addressed during the review.

3.3 We can provide reasonable assurance that services are complying with statutory requirements / Council Health and Safety Policy or Guidance. Questionnaire returns indicate a broad awareness of requirements and procedures. Targeted visits identified good practice at the Contract Units, Business Support and Customer Services to ensure that staff have accessed and understood Council H&S policies. In addition to their staff signing that they have read and understood the H&S policies, staff within the Contract Units can access H&S information stations, which have hard copy and computer access to all Council H&S Policies, guidance notes, risk, and COSHH assessments, which are regularly reviewed and updated.

3.4 However, returns indicated that around one fifth of Managers have not advised their staff on accessing Council H&S policies and guidance, with the majority Education based. A number of schools have however, agreed at visits to adopt good practice carried out at some schools and include this in 'In-Service Day' training. It is noted also that a number of staff within schools, catering and leisure do not have access to Connect to access H&S policies and guidance. We did confirm that hard copies of policies and procedures are available in some areas but this is not universal.

3.5 There has been limited take up of the new version of the statutory H&S poster, which was to be in use by 5 April 2014.

3.6 It was noted that the signing in system used in Kilncraigs by services is of limited use in an emergency as not all staff sign in and out and there is a lack of consistency in procedures and documentation. This was evidenced in a practice fire evacuation in July 2014. Fire Marshalls are required to check and confirm that building areas have been evacuated. It was also raised that there was a need for a review of training for all Fire Marshalls following the moves to Kilncraigs. The responses also indicated that there is a lack of understanding regarding the requirement for a Fire Emergency Plan.

3.7 It was identified that there are no First Aiders or Appointed Persons for one council building. Customer Access Points do not have adequate procedures for de-icing paved surfaces/service roads. Individual services have responsibility where there are no adopted paths in place (i.e. adopted by roads service). However, some offices, which are also Leisure Centres, have limited procedures in place.

3.8 It was highlighted that a number of Display Screen Equipment (DSE) users have not had DSE Workstation Assessments carried out. These users were mainly based out with the main Council Buildings. It was also noted by services based in Kilncraigs that their DSE users have not had an updated assessment with hot desking not compatible with DSE Assessment requirements.

3.9 We can provide reasonable assurance that H&S arrangements support managers taking responsibility for H&S issues. Returns and visits provided wide assurance that there is a good general awareness of H&S issues and responsibilities among managers. In areas where there are (in our opinion) greater physical H&S risks, e.g. contract units, waste management and special schools, there was significant evidence of a robust H&S culture. We also confirmed that managers do not consider that H&S requirements get in the way of them being able to carry out their day to day responsibilities.

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Returns and discussions with managers also indicated a high satisfaction with the service provided by the H&S team.

3.10 However returns indicate that there is a general lack of awareness as to how H&S should be dealt with at Kilncraigs on open plan floors, e.g. who takes the lead role for Fire and Safety, general H&S etc. Managers also are unclear on where responsibilities lie, particularly when more than one service shares an area.

3.11 A number of staff throughout the Council have not had any H&S induction training or any fire safety awareness training within the last three years. It was found that a number of Line Managers had not attended the H&S Line Managers training course. A number of staff who are responsible for carrying out risk assessments have not attended the H&S Risk Assessment training course. 3.12 We can provide reasonable assurance that adequate information is available to properly implement the new H&S system. However there was a small number of areas that did not provide responses (6 out of 53 issued) including four primary schools, a Nursery and an area within Development and Environmental. There were also a small number of returns received which had been delegated and completed by a member of staff who did not have adequate knowledge to provide full returns. 3.13 Not all services are carrying out risk assessments for their staff. However, good practice in carrying out risk assessments was found in a school for primary aged children with severe/complex Additional Support Needs where two members of staff were trained as People Handling Trainers. Customer Services have put in place Health and Safety processes at their offices. These include Daily Building Checks with spot checks carried out to confirm that these are taking place along with six monthly unannounced evacuation exercises. Criminal Justices have good procedures, risk assessments and security in place to protect their staff from potential work related violence. IT also have good health and safety processes to protect their Technical staff in particular. 3.14 We can provide reasonable assurance that adequate H&S resources are available at local level. All services were aware of whom to contact within the Council for Health and Safety Advice. Returns and discussions with managers indicated a high satisfaction with the service provided by the Council H&S team. While some services stated concerns that they did not always get a prompt response to requests for advice it was acknowledged that they recognised that the H&S team have a wide range of responsibilities to attend to. 3.15 The contents of this report have been discussed with relevant officers to confirm factual accuracy. The co-operation and assistance we received during the course of our audit is gratefully acknowledged.

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4. RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 A summary of the recommendations raised from this audit is included in a Management Action

Plan. Management comments, the date for implementation and Responsible Officer have been reflected within the Action Plan.

4.2 The Management Action Plan contains the following priority of recommendations.

Priority Assessments Number Priority 1 - Priority 2 3 Priority 3 7 Priority 4 -

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MANAGEMENT ACTION PLAN


Responsible Officer Target Date

5.1 Staff are not always being advised on how and where they can access H&S guidance and information. It was also noted that hard copies of policies and procedures are not always available.

Lack of awareness of responsibilities and procedures. New H&S system does not adequately cover for staff who do not have IT access.

3 Headteachers will adopt existing good practice and include H&S within in-service training days. Line Managers are responsible for providing their staff with all relevant H & S information, whether hard copy or via intranet. HSA and Internal Audit will contact Services directly and a reminder will be issued to the SMF.

Relevant Headteachers. Health and Safety Advisor

31/12/14 30/09/14

5.2 Statutory H&S posters are not displayed in all relevant business areas.

Lack of awareness of responsibilities and procedures.

3 HSA to re-issue the reminder on Connect and contact the SMF in order to ensure the new posters are displayed.

Health and Safety Advisor

30/09/14

5.3 Sign in sheets are not effective. There is also a lack of consistency and documentation.

Potential for inaccurate records of building occupancy in an emergency leading to unnecessary searches being undertaken.

2 Arrangements to be reviewed. Initial discussion has already taken place following recent fire drills.

Asset Manager 31/10/14

5.4 There are no trained first aiders within Class Cuisine.

Statutory requirement not being met.

2 HSA to contact line manager for Class Cuisine in order to provide First Aid guidance.


Implemented

5.5 There are a lack of procedures in place for de-icing pavements and paths in front of Customer Access Points.

Risk to public, especially vulnerable customers.

3 Customer Services Manager to be contacted by HSA and requested to ensure all CAPs review their de-icing procedures.


Implemented

5.6 A number of DSE assessments have either not been carried out or are out of date.

Risk of staff injury and/or illness. 3 HSA and Internal Audit to contact relevant managers in order to advise that these assessments are a statutory requirement for all DSE users.


30/11/14

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Responsible Officer Target Date

5.7 There is a lack of awareness of H&S procedures for staff recently moved to Kilncraigs. Similarly managers have a lack of clarity on responsibilities in open plan offices.

No-one ends up taking responsibility.

3 As above - it is a Line Manager's responsibility to ensure staff are provided with all relevant H & S information. In open multi-occupancy premises it is generally the largest occupant who is duty bound to take the lead. HSA will contact the SMF to clarify.


30/09/14

5.8 There are a number of gaps in H&S training, including H&S risk assessment training.

Lack of awareness of responsibilities and procedures.

3 It is a line Manager's responsibility to ensure staff have the relevant H & S information, instruction and training. HSA will contact the relevant line managers in order to ensure they are aware this training is a statutory requirement. HSA and Internal Audit to contact Services directly.


30/11/14

5.9 A small but significant number of questionnaires were not returned or did not have full information included.

Lack of information to properly implement new system.

2 H&S team will undertake visits in these areas over the coming year to ensure that arrangements meet expected standards.


30/09/15

5.10 Not all services are carrying out risk assessments for their staff.

Lack of information to properly implement new system.

3 Risk assessments are a statutory requirement. The relevant Service Managers will be contacted by the HSA and Internal Audit in order to ensure they are aware of their duties.


30/11/14

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NATIONAL FRAUD INITIATIVE 2012/13 OUTCOMES APPENDIX F

1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) is a bi-annual counter-fraud exercise currently undertaken in Scotland as part of statutory audit. The initiative is managed by the Audit Commission and administered in Scotland by Audit Scotland on behalf of councils and other public bodies. 1.2 The NFI uses computerised techniques to compare information about individuals held by different public bodies and on different financial systems to identify potential inconsistencies or circumstances between data held that requires further investigation. Inconsistencies between datasets (matches) are then investigated to identify possible fraud and/or error, stop overpayments and, where possible recover the sums involved. 1.3 Legislation means that the data matching exercise is now conducted under statutory powers whereas previous NFI's were carried out under best practice. A Code of Data Matching Practice 2010 was produced by Audit Scotland, that sets out the principles and practices to be adopted by those taking part in NFI in Scotland. In following the Code, public bodies will ensure that the innocent are properly protected while fraudulent claims are stopped. 2. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 2.1 Internal Audit are responsible for co-ordinating the NFI exercise and reporting the progress of investigations to Audit Scotland. Internal Audit will also liaise with services and provide guidance, where necessary. Responsible Officers are responsible for the data export and upload and for investigating data matches and forwarding comments and outcomes of investigations to Internal Audit on a timely basis. 2.2 Responsible Officers are responsible for the data export and upload and for investigating data matches and forwarding comments and outcomes of investigations to Internal Audit on a timely basis. There are two phases of the exercise with Phase 1 being data export and upload and Phase 2 being investigation.

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3. OUTCOMES 3.1 The NFI exercise is broken down into two phases firstly, data is exported and analysed with data submitted by other systems, for example the pensions service or student awards agency. Secondly, any mis-matches between data held on one system generates 'matches' that require further intervention and investigation. Two plans were prepared for these two phases and forwarded to officers. These are consistent with the above Code of Data Matching Practice 2010. Phase 1 3.2 In Phase 1 the Council is required to provide defined sets of data to Audit Scotland for matching in each exercise. The datasets consist of Housing Benefits, Housing Rents, Payroll, Blue Badge Parking Permits, Residential Care, Insurance Claimants and Creditors. Note that other datasets are provided by other organisations i.e. Housing Benefits data by the DWP and pensions by Falkirk Council. Phase 1 was completed on 19 November 2012. Phase 2 3.3 The data matching identified 1,645 matches of which 1,469 high and medium risk matches were investigated. An early decision was taken to investigate all matches issued. Of the 1645 matches identified, all have been investigated and closed. 3.4 This resulted in 13 housing benefit frauds being identified amounting to £91,727.11 and 3 creditor errors identified totalling £9510.74. These monies include an estimated figure of £9906.00 which represents weekly reduction of benefits savings. The balances are in the process of being recovered. The table below provides a summary.

Number of Matches

Number of Frauds

Number of Errors

Outcomes £

Housing Benefits 579 (614*) 13 (8*) 0 (1*) 91,727.11

(37,918.41*)

Creditors 862 (1407*) 3 (4*) 9510.74 (10,638.00*)

Payroll 46 (248*) - 0 (3*) -

Housing Rents/Right to Buy

26 (59*) - 2 (8*) -

Private Residential Care Homes

39 (33*) - - -

Blue Badge Parking Permits

91 (87*) - 54 (12*) -

Insurance Claimants

2 (22*) - - -

*- NFI 2010/11 Outcomes

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3.5 The Housing Benefit outcomes of £91,727.11 include:

• claimants failed to declare a material change in circumstances

• claimants failed to declare they had a non-dependant living in their household

• claimants had falsely stated they were living alone but were in fact living with their common law partner and being maintained thereby

• claimants were found to be working and had continued to claim benefits while undertaking paid work

3.6 The Creditors outcomes of £9510.74 are broken down as follows:-

• A duplicate invoice paid to Glasgow City Council of £3527.94 was fully reimbursed to this Council.

• Two duplicate invoices paid to local companies of £3,222.00 and 2760.80 were also fully reimbursed.

3.7 There has been a significant increase in the number of errors related to the Blue Badge system. Indications are that this has been largely caused by the Service not being informed that the badge holder had died. A national database of blue badge holders has recently been created and this will help address issues.

3.8 The June 2014 Audit Scotland report on NFI 2012/13 outcomes identified Clackmannanshire Council as the third top performing Council in Scotland in relation to yield in terms of benefits outcomes to total housing benefit expenditure.

3.9 In March 2014 a final set of data was uploaded from Council Tax records and Electoral Roll to check Single Person Discount. Resultant matches were issued in May 2014 and are currently being investigated as a discreet project by Revenues service who will provide information on outcomes at a later date.

4. CONCLUSIONS

4.1 With the exception of Council Tax Single Person Discount matches, Clackmannanshire Council has completed the 2012/13 National Fraud Initiative. The Council has been recognised as one of the top performers in Scotland in relation to yield in terms of benefits outcomes to total housing benefit expenditure.

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136

PROGRESS OF FOLLOW UP OF INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS APPENDIX G

(a) - Taken forward as part of the 2014/15 Absent Management Review

Report Title Priority . Number of Recommendations 1 2 3 4 Recommendations Implemented In Progress Not Applicable Now Implementation on

Target? (*- New Dates Agreed)

Welfare Reform - 1 - - 1 - 1 Y Payroll and HR - 1 3 1 5 3 1 1(a) Y* Adult Care - Commissioning of Care and Corporate Appointees

2 2 2 - 6 1 5 - Y*

Data Protection - Corporate - 2 - - 2 - 2 - Y* Risk Management Arrangements - 1 1 - 2 - 2 - Y* Non Domestic Rates Income - 1 - 1 2 - 2 - Y* Income Collection & Cash Receipting - - 2 - 2 - 2 - Y* Purchase Orders to Payment of Suppliers - 1 1 - 2 - 2 - Y* Council Tax - - 1 - 1 - 1 - Y

Purchase Cards - 1 - - 1 - 1 - Y* Information Governance 1 5 2 - 8 - 8 - Y* Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery

- 1 3 4 - 4 - Y*

Targeted Follow up Review of Arm's

Length External Organisations

- 1 - - 1 - 1 - Y*

Savings and Efficiencies - Overtime - 4 6 - 10 2 8 - Y* Corporate & Public Performance Reporting

- - 1 - 1 1 - - N/A

IT Assets Management System 1 1 1 - - N/A Schools PPP/PFI Contract Monitoring - 1 - - 1 1 - - N/A

TOTAL 3 22 23 2 50 9 40 1 41

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internal audit and fraud progress reportcompleted the fair processing notification compliance. we...

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