Decision details

The Committee considered a report setting out the Chairman's Annual Report for 2017/18, the first such report following the Committee's approval to a number of actions to enhance its effectiveness as an element of the County Council's governance framework.

The Chair drew the Committee's attention to a number of aspects of the report and, in particular, to the CIPFA knowledge and skills framework which was appended at Annex 2. It was reported that, using the framework, it was the intention to undertake a training needs analysis for the Committee to identify areas for training and development.

The Committee discussed a number of issues including the possibility of combining training and development opportunities around financial and governance issues with other committees, e.g. the Pension Fund Committee and the Lancashire County Developments Ltd Audit Committee. It was also suggested that the Committee should consider areas of high risk such as major projects where there had been delays and overspends, and particular reference was made to projects such as the Central Lancashire Strategic Site; the M6/Heysham Link Road and the Broughton relief road. It was suggested that one way in which this could be done could be through the Corporate Risk Register and, in particular, CR 7 which related to the delivery of major projects and schemes on time and within budget which, allowing for mitigating action, had a current residual score of 12.

Resolved: - That:

(i)  The report, now presented, be noted;

(ii)  The draft knowledge and skills framework set out at Annex 2 to the Chairman's Annual Report, now presented, be agreed;

(iii)  A report on delays and overspends on major projects, with specific reference to the Central Lancashire strategic site, be presented to the Committee at its next meeting on 29 October 2018.