Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received from Sophia Brown (Key Audit Partner, Grant Thornton), with Matt Dean covering both the Council and Pension Fund external audit items in her absence. No apologies for absence were received from any member of the Committee.

Members are invited to declare at this stage of the meeting, the nature and existence of any relevant disclosable pecuniary or personal interests in the items on this agenda and to specify the item(s) to which they relate.

David Ewart (Independent Chair) declared a personal interest as a member of CIPFA.

Councillor Donnelly-Jackson declared a personal interest in relation to item 8 - Treasury Management Outturn Report 2025-26, given she had been appointed as Council representative to the boards of the Council owned subsidiary companies i4B Holdings Ltd and First Wave Housing Ltd.

No other declarations of interest were made by members during the meeting.

To hear any deputations received from members of the public in accordance with Standing Order 67.

There were no deputations considered at the meeting.

4.1      To approve the minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 16th June 2026 as a correct record.

4.2      To note the updated Action Log from previous meetings of the Audit & Standards Advisory Committee.

The Chair addressed the corrections to the minutes circulated by Sebastian Evans highlighting a number of minor corrections in advance of the meeting, which the Committee agreed to accept as read.

One substantive correction was identified: with confusing wording within the minutes reading as though Councillor Ibraham had substituted for two councillors, whereas Councillor Georgiou had substituted for Councillor Brown for the meeting held on 16 June 2026.

Subject to the corrections above, it was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee held on Monday 16 June 2026 be approved as a correct record.

In considering the Action Log, the Chair thanked officers for the work done in progressing outstanding items, with the following points raised:

·            A query was raised on the action (page 23) relating to the performance and management of i4B Holdings, specifically the circulation to members of current shareholder and guarantor reports, noting that the relevant meetings had already taken place when the item was considered in March. Officers agreed to pick this up with the responsible team the following day, ahead of the next scheduled shareholder/guarantor meeting, and confirmed the reports would be circulated.

·            It was suggested that, as with Internal Audit recommendations and external audit actions, target completion dates should be attached to in-progress actions on the Action Log, to prevent items remaining open indefinitely. The Chair agreed this was a good suggestion and asked that it be picked up outside the meeting with the Chair, Vice-Chair and Harry Ellis (Governance Officer).

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting.

None.

The purpose of this report is to update the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee on gifts and hospitality registered by Members during Q1 2026-27 and on member training.

Bianca Robinson (Principal Lawyer, Constitution, Governance and Finance) introduced the report, which had been circulated and taken as read. In presenting the report, two points were highlighted:

·            Three councillors had declared gifts and hospitality interests, with details set out in the appendix to the report.

·            In relation to the RIPA inspection, the relevant documentation had been filed to support the (paper-based) inspection; the Committee would be updated once a response was received from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Having thanked Bianca Robinson, the Chair invited questions from members of the Committee, with the following raised:

·            A question was asked in relation to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, with members wishing to know what would happen if triggered, and at what point the Committee would be informed if an incident were being investigated. Officers advised that, where a matter progressed to requiring magistrate authorisation, a defined review period applied and was documented, and that a summarised update would be brought back to the Committee once the outcome was known. Officers confirmed that this power had not needed to be exercised to date.

·            Officers were asked whether they were satisfied that all members had completed the mandatory governance training needed to fulfil their roles. Officers advised that some members' training remained outstanding, with further sessions scheduled through to the end of September 2026, and that a further update would be brought to the Committee in September.

It was RESOLVED to note the gifts and hospitality declarations and to note the contents of the report.

This report continues the cycle of regular updates that the Emergency Planning team provide for the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee. The report provides the Committee with an update on the work and priorities of the team since the last update in July 2025.

Darren Armstrong (Deputy Director, Organisational Assurance and Resilience) introduced the report on behalf of Melissa Brackley (Deputy Head of Resilience), who sent her apologies owing to annual leave. In presenting the report, the following key points were highlighted:

·            The report provided assurance over the Council's emergency planning and resilience framework, governance arrangements and processes, reflecting the Council's responsibilities as a Category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act.

·            Emergency planning was explained to not be a static discipline; the Council's approach focused on continuous improvement, learning from incidents and exercises, reflecting national best practice, and aligning with the Resilience Standards for London.

·            An independent review of the Council's emergency planning arrangements commissioned around two years previously continued to inform an ongoing improvement programme, alongside an action plan developed in response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report.

·            The Emergency Planning and Resilience team was relatively small, providing coordination, advice, challenge and support across the organisation, with effective resilience recognised as a shared, whole-council responsibility.

Having thanked Darren Armstrong for the report, the Chair invited questions and comments, with the following issues raised:

·            Members began the discussion by raising four points: first, whether the Community Resilience Hub referenced at paragraph 3.5.5 (in relation to work with CVS Brent) had been commissioned by the Council or was CVS Brent's own initiative, and whether there was a timeline; officers advised they were not certain of the background and would confirm this following the meeting. Second, in light of a recent terrorist incident in a park in Germany, whether the Council's planning for events in parks would be reviewed; officers confirmed that, following the national threat level rising from substantial to severe in April, a number of actions had been progressed, that significant event-day planning work had already taken place in relation to Wembley (including a recent exercise with the stadium and partners), and that officers would come back to the Committee specifically on parks. Third, whether work with key partners on the climate change/heatwave exercise involved registered housing providers; officers confirmed this was not currently the case, that Council arrangements were primarily focused on council-related properties, and that these issues were discussed with registered providers via the Borough Resilience Forum. Fourth, on lithium-ion battery risk (paragraph 3.9.10), whether there was a timeline for the waste management work with Veolia, and whether the issue could be raised at the Resilience Forum regarding public communications on safe e-bike/battery charging; officers confirmed this had been discussed internally and with the London Fire Brigade, and was also being considered at the West London Resilience Board, and that a further update would be included in the Strategic Risk Report to the next Committee meeting.

·            Moving on, it was enquired as to what was considered a ‘prolonged event’ and how the Council was resourced to respond. Officers explained that many calls could be resolved through signposting to the relevant council service without the Emergency Planning team standing up a dedicated response, whereas prolonged events required arrangements such as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This report sets out the outturn for the Council’s Treasury Management Activities for 2025-26 updating members on both borrowing and investment decisions in the context of prevailing economic conditions and the Council’s Treasury Management performance.

Amanda Healy (Deputy Director, Finance, Infrastructure and Investment) introduced the report, which presented the Treasury Management outturn position for 2025-26 (April 2025 to March 2026), providing assurance that Treasury Management activity had been undertaken in line with the CIPFA Treasury Management Code and the Council's approved strategy. In presenting the report, the following key points were highlighted:

·            The Council had remained compliant with its Prudential Indicators and had managed its borrowing and investments prudently during a year characterised by continued market volatility, inflationary pressure and geopolitical uncertainty, including the impact of US trade tariffs (April 2025) and the US-Israel-Iran conflict (February 2026). The Bank of England base rate reduced from 4.5% to 3.75% during the year, though long-term borrowing rates remained relatively high, and inflation, while easing, remained above the Bank of England's 2% target.

·            The Council's overall borrowing position as at 31 March 2026 stood at £1.074 billion, an increase of £174 million on the previous year, reflecting borrowing to support the capital programme (including housing, regeneration and infrastructure investment). £295 million of new borrowing had been raised during the year and £121 million of existing debt repaid.

·            £20 million of the debt repaid related to two LOBO (Lender Option Borrower Option) loans of £10 million each which had review dates during the year; the lenders had exercised their option to increase rates from between 4% and 5% to over 6%, and both loans were accordingly repaid. One further LOBO loan remains due for review this year, with the same options to be considered. Officers noted that the Council's ‘little and often’ approach to borrowing had continued to help manage interest rate risk and avoid locking in large amounts of debt at unfavourable points in the market.

·            The Capital Financing Requirement (CFR), representing the Council's underlying need to borrow to fund its capital programme, as distinct from external borrowing actually drawn down at a point in time, remained a key Prudential Indicator. The difference between the two figures reflected internal borrowing, whereby cash resources such as reserves and working capital were used to fund capital expenditure in place of external borrowing, generating an interest cost saving.

·            Investment balances stood at £43.8 million, a small decrease on the previous year, held entirely in liquid money market funds consistent with the Council's security and liquidity approach, with a strong average portfolio credit rating of A+.

·            The Committee was asked to note the Treasury Management outturn performance and compliance with the Prudential Indicators, ahead of the report proceeding to Cabinet and, ultimately, Full Council for approval.

Amanda Healy added that the report reflected the Council's ambitious capital programme, requiring a careful balance of internal and external borrowing, grant funding and developer contributions, and drew attention to the Council's continued strong investment security position (Table 9), supporting the delivery of housing for residents affected by the housing crisis.

Following this, the Chair thanked Amanda Healy for her report and invited questions and comments from the Committee, with the following issues raised below:

·            In  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

This report provides an update on the progress made towards completing the annual statement of account.

The report will also include a verbal update from Grant Thornton as the Council’s external auditors, on developments relevant to Brent.

The Chair advised that the Council's draft Statement of Accounts and Annual Governance Statement had been published on the Council's website since 30 June 2026, in accordance with the statutory deadline, and encouraged members who had reviewed the accounts to submit detailed questions in advance to Ravinder Jasar (Deputy Director Corporate and Financial Planning), given that these could not all be addressed in the meeting itself.

Commenting further, Ravinder Jasar confirmed the Council had met its statutory duty to publish the accounts and Annual Governance Statement by 30 June 2026, and that this had been confirmed to MHCLG (the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), with the audit progressing well and broadly on track (in week six of a twelve-week programme).

Matt Dean (Key Audit Partner – Pension Fund, Grant Thornton), covering the update for both the Council and Pension Fund audits, reported that a different approach had been taken this year, with the first four weeks of the audit (the last two weeks of June and first two weeks of July) focused on sampling across all client areas, including previously challenged areas such as journals, PPE, and debtors and creditors. 274 individual sample items had been selected for testing, with 212 responses received to date; no errors had yet been identified, with a clearer picture expected within two to three weeks. Both audits were reported to remain on track for the Audit Findings Report to be brought to the 23rd of September 2026 meeting of the Committee.

Following the conclusion of the update, the Chair invited questions from Members of the Committee, with the following summarised below:

·            In noting Brent's history of delays in completing its accounts, members asked what assurance could be given that the remaining audit work would complete within the revised timetable, and what lessons had been learned to prevent future delays; Matt Dean confirmed he was as confident as possible at this stage, with the next few weeks expected to confirm whether any risk to the September timetable existed, and deferred further detail to Ravinder Jasar and Minesh Patel. Minesh Patel confirmed that the previous two years' delays had primarily related to weaknesses in asset records and valuations; an improvement programme had since been implemented, along with additional finance team resource, and the Council was on track (expected by August, and by September at the latest) for sign-off, with further detail to follow in the September 23rd Audit Findings Report.

·            Following on from this, it was asked whether all recommendations from previous external audit findings reports had been implemented, and which remained outstanding; Matt Dean confirmed this would be addressed recommendation-by-recommendation in the Audit Findings Report planned to be brought at the next meeting in September.

·            Regarding material changes in the accounts, it was asked what had materially changed since Grant Thornton's previous findings on recurring savings and medium-term financial planning, and whether every department now had a fully costed, deliverable savings plan supporting the MTFS. Matt Dean advised that the 2025-26 Value for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

To consider the Committee’s work programme for the 2026 -27 Municipal Year and note the dates identified (as set out below) for future meetings:

·            Wednesday 23 September 2026

·            Monday 30 November 2026

·            Tuesday 2 February 2027

·            Wednesday 24 March 2027

Please note all of the above meetings are scheduled to commence at 6pm and will be held in person at Brent Civic Centre.

In considering the work programme, members views will also be sought on any areas of training they would like to be provided as part of the sessions allocated during 2026-27.

It was noted that one amendment was required to the Forward Plan: the item relating to approval of the Statement of Accounts, shown against November, should be shown against the September meeting. Members were reminded that the September meeting was expected to be a heavy agenda and were asked to prepare accordingly.

Notice of items to be raised under this heading must be given in writing to the Deputy Director Democratic & Corporate Governance or their representative before the meeting in accordance with Standing Order 60.

There were no items of urgent business raised for consideration at the meeting.