Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Mrs Karen Hamilton, Mr Robert McCulloch-Graham, Miss Iris Bishop and Mr Asif Haseeb.

The Chair confirmed the meeting was quorate

The Chair sought any verbal declarations of interest pertaining to items on the agenda.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE noted there were none.

 The minutes of the previous meeting held on 11 February 2019 were approved.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE updated and noted the action tracker.

Mrs Jill Stacey provided an overview of the content of the report and highlighted several elements including: scope, risk management and fundamental improvements.

The Chair queried the support agreement from both host organisations to the IJB and the recruitment challenges, particularly in relation to Chief Finance Officer, which may impact on IJB deliverables. Mrs Gillian Woolman advised the Chief Finance Officer roles vary between boards and forward planning should have began to permanently appoint to Mr Mike Porteous’ interim position. Mr Mike Porteous agreed and would ideally have a handover period due to the complexity of the role.

The Chair requested reference to be made in the introduction for management actions to be more explicit in their current status following the original recommendations and the supporting evidence.

Mrs Gillian Woolman highlighted that the scope of the report appeared to be restricted to the IJB itself, without enough flow of evidence to consider the assurances on internal control within NHS Borders and Scottish Borders Council.

Mrs Gillian Woolman suggested a protocol should be adopted for the sharing of internal audit reports from both partner organisations through the committee for assurance purposes. It was confirmed that the chairs of the audit committees from IJB, NHS Borders and Scottish Borders Council meet twice per year to discuss internal audit plans and reports for assurance purposes to avoid duplication of reporting.

Clarification was provided to members on the role of the Strategic Planning Group; ongoing delivery of the Strategic Plan but not a decision making body.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE noted the assurances contained within the Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board Internal Audit Annual Assurance Report 2018/19.

Mr Mike Porteous presented the Draft Accounts to the Audit Committee ahead of their submission to external audit to enable the Audit Committee to scrutinise the content. Mr Mike Porteous highlighted the key issues on each page of the document.

Members engaged in an in-depth discussion regarding the sustainability of the funding allocation when compared to a recurrent level of overspend and the inevitable problems to be overcome in order to close the financial gap.

Cllr John Greenwell expressed concern over the risk of the 2019/20 budget not gaining agreement from the IJB. Mr Mike Porteous provided assurance that day to day business would not be affected by this risk and advised the Directors of Finance from both NHS Borders and Scottish Borders Council will present a total picture of the budgetary position, relative to the IJB. The IJB Financial Plan 2019/20 will then again be presented for decision, based on the assurances provided by the partners to the IJB.

Mrs Gillian Woolman advised the financial statement should clearly outline that the additional input of funding from both organisations directly correspond to overspend within their delegated areas and asked for further transparency during ongoing joint financial planning processes.

The Chair thanked members for their attendance and participation in committee meetings.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE highlighted typographical and presentational areas for amendment

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE approved the release of the Unaudited Annual Accounts 2018/19 for annual external audit, with the suggested amendments incorporated.

The Chair introduced the report and Mrs Jill Stacey gave an overview of the content.

Mrs Jill Stacey advised that clarification was required on the admin support for the committee going forward.

Mrs Gillian Woolman advised that an amendment to the report should be made to highlight the lack of consistent attendance of the Chief Officer Health & Social Care and Chief Finance Officer at committee meetings.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE approved the IJB Audit Committee Annual Report 2018/19 (Appendix 1) which incorporates its self-assessments (Appendices 2 and 3) using the CIPFA Audit Committees Guidance, subject to amendments discussed.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE agreed that the IJB Audit Committee Annual Report 2018/19 should be presented to the IJB.

Mrs Jill Stacey gave an overview of the content of the report, highlighting the guidance to assist auditors with assessing best value within IJBs, and advised that the key points relating to health and social care integration within the Scottish Borders Council Best Value Assurance Report, which is expected to be published in October 2019, should be considered at a future committee meeting.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE noted the publication of the report from Audit Scotland.

The SCOTTISH BORDERS HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE INTEGRATION JOINT BOARD AUDIT COMMITTEE agreed at a future IJB Audit Committee meeting to review the key points relating to health and social care integration within the Scottish Borders Council Best Value Assurance Report, when published, within the context of Scottish Borders IJB.

The Chair advised that a permanent change in membership should be made to replace Mr John Raine with Mrs Karen Hamilton.

The Chair advised that the next meeting of the Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board Audit Committee was due to be held on 12 August 2019 at 2.00pm in the Chamber, Scottish Borders Council.

Monday 11 February 2019

Action Tracker