Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Kabir with apologies for lateness received from Councillor L.Smith.

Members were advised that Councillor Muhammed Butt (Leader of the Council) was also attending in place of Councillor Mili Patel (as Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources).

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.

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 meetings held on Thursday 25 September 2025 as correct record.

4.2   To note the updated action log arising from previous meetings of the Audit & Standards Advisory Committee.

Having noted that the minutes had incorporated comments submitted by Sebastian Evans (independent co-opted member) in advance of the meeting it was RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on Thursday 25 September 2025 be approved as a correct record.

Members noted the updates provided in relation to the Action Log of issues identified at previous meetings which it was noted would be subject to ongoing review by the Chair & Vice Chair.

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

Min 7 (25 September 2025): Self-Referral to Regulator of Social Housing Update

Members were advised the next progress update had been rescheduled for the Committee in February 2026 and would follow on from a detailed update being provided for Cabinet on 8 December 2025.

Min 12 (25 September 2025): Audit & Standards Advisory Committee Forward Plan & Work Programme for 2025-26 – Deep Dive Activity

Following on from the previous meeting, Members were advised that the deep dive activity suggested for the February 2026 meeting had been on AI & cyber security.

As a further update, Minesh Patel took the opportunity to provide a brief update for members on the recent cyber-attack involving Westminster City Council and the London Boroughs of Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham.  In noting that the three local authorities were operating under a shared service arrangement members were advised that the impact of the recent incident was being assessed in terms of critical IT infrastructure with the London Office of Technology Innovation (LOTI) coordinating reflections and lessons learned, enabling other local authorities to benefit from a shared understanding of what had happened and focus on any associated issues in terms of the response and recovery.  Shared learning would also be subject to review through a Business Continuity planning session being arranged in Brent to reflect on what had transpired and how well the Council would be able to react and recover from any similar type of incident.

The purpose of this report is to update the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee on gifts and hospitality registered by Members as well as Member Training. The report also updates the Committee in respect of the consultation outcome “Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England and Government’s response.

The Committee received a report from the Director of Law which presented an update on Standards related items, including the Q2 update on gifts and hospitality.  Details were also provided on the outcome of the consultation process undertaken by the Ministry of Housing, Communities on “Strengthening the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England and Governments”.

Members noted the report, as circulated without further introduction, including the summary of the Government’s response to the consultation results, detail likely to be included in any upcoming legislation and commentary on the potential implications for the London Borough of Brent as detailed in Appendix B of the report.  It was noted that the most significant of these potential changes was likely to involve enhanced sanctions enabling the suspension or disqualification of a councillor along with the ability to withhold of allowances from elected members who had committed serious breaches of the code of conduct.  In terms of Brent’s response, it was noted further this would be considered in more detail pending the relevant legislation being passed and enacted.

The Chair thanked Marsha Henry for her report and invited the Committee to raise any questions of comments on its content.  The issues raised are summarised below:

·            Members welcomed the inclusion of Appendix B, highlighting that the commentary provided indicated there were likely to be a number of potential changes to the Member Code of Conduct once the legislation was enacted.  Given the scope of the changes and enhanced sanctions it was suggested that as the opportunity arose, members should be provided with as much advance notice of the potential changes as possible prior to them coming into effect.  In response, Marsha Henry confirmed briefings and additional guidance would be provided for members at the appropriate time.

·            Following this, members raised questions about the cost implications relating to the potential new provisions, which Marsha Henry advised would need to be assessed once the content of the final legislation and changes were confirmed.  It was, however, noted that that costs were likely to relate primarily to the most serious sanctions, with the initial changes outlined being similar in scope to existing code requirements.

·            Clarification was then sought from the Committee on application of the provisions relating to disqualification, breaches of the code and gross misconduct in relation to parliamentary office. Officers advised that guidance indicated the provisions would apply primarily to local authority members, but further updates would be provided should that position change in advance of the legislation coming into effect.

As there were no further questions, the Chair thanked officers for the report and RESOLVED to note the updates provided in relation to standards matters and forthcoming legislative changes to the Member Code of Conduct.

This report presents the Council’s Interim Counter Fraud Report for the financial year 2025-26.

Darren Armstrong (Deputy Director of Organisational Assurance and Resilience) introduced a report, summarising the counter fraud activity that the Council had undertaken in 2025-26, up to 31 October 2025.  In considering the report the Committee noted:

·            That the report was intended to support the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee in obtaining assurance that the Council had robust and sound counter-fraud arrangements in place,  which included a summary of the activity undertaken by the Counter Fraud team across multiple fraud types (including internal fraud, housing tenancy fraud, external fraud and proactive work undertaken to identify and reduce fraud). The report also fulfilled the requirements of the Local Government Transparency Code 2015, which required local authorities to publish details of their counter-fraud activity.

·            The report followed a format similar to previous versions, and officers noted that the team continued to deliver a robust counter-fraud plan and preventative measures across the fraud types outlined underpinned by the Council’s Anti-Fraud and Bribery and Whistleblowing policies.

·            The details provided in relation to internal fraud which, whilst typically having the fewest referrals, were often more complex in nature as detailed within the “Proactive” section of Appendix 1 of the report.  This included work in relation to whistleblowing referrals and a range of case types such as staff conduct, financial and procedural irregularities.

·            The update provided in relation to Tenancy & Social Housing Fraud (as detailed within section 3.4 and Section 2 of Appendix 1 in the report) with the recovery of social housing properties continuing to have a positive impact on the temporary accommodation budget as a high-priority fraud risk for the Council alongside enhanced fraud prevention activity in relation to tenancy successions applications.

·            The update provided in relation to External Fraud activity cases as detailed within Section 3.5 of Appendix 1 within the report.  This activity included (but was not limited to) fraud cases involving Blue Badge, Direct Payments, Council Tax, Business Rates, insurance, finance, concessionary travel and grant applications.

·            The team continued to undertake a broad range of proactive activity including National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matching, fraud workshops and targeted operations to support the identification, investigation and reduction in other fraud risk activity across all service areas with further details having been summarised in section 4 of Appendix 1 within the report.

The Committee was then invited to raise questions and comments on the report which have been summarised below:

·            Beginning the discussion, members raised questions regarding the Key Performance Indicators for external fraud. The number of new referrals was noted to have dropped in the first half of the year compared to previous years with members keen to explore the reason along with details provided in relation to number of closed cases. In response, Darren Armstrong explained that the drop in external cases related primarily to a change in approach towards Blue Badge fraud enabling resources to be redirected towards other emerging and higher risk areas of fraud investigation including housing tenancy, succession and verification work where fraud rates had continued to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

This report outlines the work undertaken by Internal Audit in respect of delivery of the 2025-26 Internal Audit Plan as at the end of October 2025.

Darren Armstrong (Deputy Director of Organisational Assurance and Resilience) introduced the report, outlining the work undertaken by the Internal Audit function as at the end of October 2025.

In highlighting the role of the report in providing assurance that the Council had a sound framework of governance, risk management and internal control in place supported by a summary of Internal Audit activity, updating on the performance of the function, highlighting areas where high priority recommendations had been made and commenting on the level of implementation of audit recommendations by management, the following key issues were highlighted:

·            The report reflected the continuation of the flexible audit planning approach adopted in 2024-25, moving away from the previous ‘annual plan’ approach and towards a less rigid and more flexible process but which would still provide assurance over areas of inherent risk, core systems and processes regarding key foundations to Council governance and control frameworks based on the following areas - Core Assurance, an Agile Risk-based Plan, Consultancy and Advice & Follow-up Activity.  It was noted that the current Plan had been agreed by the Committee in March 2025.

·            The summary provided within section 3.3 of the report relating to delivery of the 2025-26 Internal Audit Plan including progress (as detailed within Appendix 1 of the report) in relation to the Core Assurance Plan and development of the Agile Risk-Based plan listing the potential high risk and high assurance audit areas prioritised for activity during the remainder of the year.  The key highlights included the completion of five core assurance reviews with 13 core assurance reviews currently underway, comprising of seven at the fieldwork stage and six at the planning stage.  Completion of four risk-focused reviews, with eight additional risk-focused reviews in progress (four at the fieldwork stage and four at the planning stage) and the completion of two follow-up reviews, with a further thirteen actively being tracked through to implementation.  Members noted there had been no changes to this section of planned work from that approved by the Committee in March, and the service currently remained on track to deliver 100% of the Core Assurance Plan by March 2026 enabling the Head of Internal Audit to provide a well-informed, evidence-based opinion on the effectiveness of the Council’s governance, risk management, and internal control framework.

·            The summary of risk focussed work and findings identified within section of Appendix 1 to the report based on the Agile Risk-Based Plan, which included potential high-risk and high-assurance audit areas prioritised for delivery.  Members were reminded of the fluid nature of this element of the plan which had been designed to ensure the Internal Audit function was able to respond to emerging risks and shifting organisational priorities (based on the resource available) whilst providing transparency and assurance around how Internal Audit activity continued to be identified, prioritised, and directed throughout the year.  The current potential audit areas identified as part of the rolling internal audit risk assessment process had been included within section 2c of Appendix 1 of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

This report updates Members on Treasury activity for the first half of the financial year 2025-26.

Oliver Simms (Head of Finance for Capital and Treasury) introduced the report, which updated Members on Treasury activity for the first half of the financial year 2025-26 in compliance with The Local Government Act 2003 and the Local Authorities (Capital Financing and Accounting) Regulations 2003 and Council’s Treasury Management indicators.

In considering the report the Committee noted:

·            The ongoing volatility in relation to the national economic context under which the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy had been operating during the first half of the year, as detailed within section 3.3 of the report, including the impact of UK Inflation and Monetary Policy, Economic Growth and Labour Market indicators along with Market Volatility and Gilt Yield Surge with a full economic commentary provided in Appendix 1 of the report.

·            The following key emerging issues in relation to Treasury Management performance, which included:

Ø   The level of borrowing identified as outstanding at 30 September 2025 being £951.2m representing an increase from £900.0m at the beginning of the financial year, a change of £51.1m. The change in debt was due to a combination of new loans to fund the capital programme and repayment of loans - both short term and long term borrowing.

Ø   Cash Investments at 30 September 2025 being identified as £38.6m compared to £47.1m at the beginning of the financial year, a change of £7.1m. The change related to the repayment of maturing debt and ongoing investment in the Council’s capital programme.

Ø   Forecast net interest costs for 2025/26 being £20.7m consisting of interest costs of £52.1m and interest income of £31.4m.

Ø   The Council having generated interest income of £1.27m on cash investments as at 30 September 2025. This income reflected the Council’s cash position and the current level of the Bank of England’s Bank Rate. Bank Rate which had been maintained at 4% in September 2025.

Ø   The economic environment remained highly volatile with sluggish economic growth and inflation remaining above the Bank of England’s 2% target, peaking at 3.8% in August. The Bank of England had cut interest rates from 4.5% to 4.0% with further cuts expected but these had not been fully reflected in rates, particularly long-term rates, available to local authorities because of the uncertain economic environment.

·            The summary of the Council’s cash position arising from the Council’s revenue and capital income and expenditure and balance sheet position with the underlying need to borrow for capital purposes being measured by the Capital Financing Requirement (CFR).

·            The Council had complied with its Prudential Indicators as at Q2 2025/26 (which members were advised had also published as an Appendix to the Council’s Q2 outturn report on 13 October 2025).

The Chair thanked Oliver Simms and Finance officers for the report and then invited the Committee to raise any questions they might have, which are summarised below:

·            In noting the Council’s level of borrowing and associated cost, assurance was sought from a strategic point of view regarding the affordability of the Council's approach towards borrowing and Capital Financing Requirement  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

This report presents the draft Treasury Management Strategy for 2026/27.

Oliver Simms (Head of Finance for Capital and Treasury) and Amanda Healy (Deputy Director Investment & Infrastructure) introduced a report, presenting the draft Treasury Management Strategy (TMS) for 2026-27 for consideration by the Committee with it noted that the final version of the TMS including the views of the Committee was due to be included in the annual budget setting being presented to Cabinet and Full Council in February 2026.

Prior to considering the report, the Chair invited Minesh Patel (Corporate Director Finance & Resources) to provide a brief update (as additional context) on the overall financial position of the Council. Members were advised that when the Committee last met in September, one of the key issues identified had been the outcome of the Government’s Fair Funding Review on which the Government had recently published a policy statement setting out their response to the consultation.

Having reviewed the response provided, it was clear the government had taken note of lobbying, including that of the Council, around the need to more clearly take account of the impact on levels of deprivation and housing costs across specific areas.  Whilst the outcome to the consultation had therefore been positive, further details were now awaited in terms of the impact on the provisional local government settlement and understanding of any multi-year settlement position, which was expected the week commencing 15 December 2025.

Having thanked Minesh Patel for the update provided the Chair then invited Oliver Simms to introduce the Strategy, which members were advised set out the framework for Treasury Management activity in 2026-27 and included an outline of the Council’s borrowing strategy and sources of debt finance (including the Liability Benchmark), investment strategy (including types and prescribed limits), Treasury Management Indicators for 2026/27, alternative options and strategies along with an external and local context and Capital Financing Requirement (CFR), with the draft Strategy included in Appendix 1 of the report.

In considering the Strategy members noted:

·            Key emerging points as follows:

Ø   The growth in Council debt to fund the capital programme as detailed within Table 1 of the Strategy.

Ø   The outline of the Council’s capital programme based on the Period 6 forecast as detailed within Table 2 of the Strategy.

Ø   The outline of the Borrowing Strategy as set out in section 34 of the Strategy.

Ø   The outline of the Treasury Investment Strategy as set out in paragraph 50 of the Strategy including Investment limits and approved counterparties.

Ø   The Treasury management prudential indicators are set out in paragraph 79 of the Strategy.

At the request of the Chair, officers advised they would ensure the co-opted members of the Committee were provided with a copy of the final Treasury Management Strategy included within the Council's 2026-27 Budget Report.

Members were advised that the strategy remained unchanged in substance from the previous year, focusing on what the Council's Treasury Advisors termed a "little and often" strategy whereby the Council borrowed regularly from the PWLB, inter-authority market or other sources in relatively small amounts  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

To receive an update on the progress in finalising the External Audit Findings Reports and Council’s Statement of Accounts for 2024-25.

The following reports have been attached for consideration:

11.1    External Audit Findings Report for the London Borough of Brent

11.2    External Audit Findings Report for Brent Pension Fund

11.3    Council & Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2024-25

The Chair welcomed Sophia Brown (Key Audit Partner, Grant Thornton) and Sheena Phillips (Senior Audit Manager, Grant Thornton) to the meeting and in taking the opportunity to thank them and the finance team for their ongoing efforts on the audit invited them to introduce the report presenting the draft External Audit Findings Report 2024-25 to the Committee.  Consideration of the item was divided between the draft Audit Findings (ISA 260) report for the London Borough of Brent and Brent Pension Fund.

In introducing the Draft Audit Findings for the London Borough of Brent’s Statement of Accounts for year ended 31 March 2025 Sophia Brown highlighted the following key issues:

·            The headline section within the Audit Finding Report, which provided a summary of the process to date, ongoing challenges and work still to be completed.  Members noted that the accounts audit had commenced in July 2025 and remained ongoing, with completion planned towards the end of December 2025 and findings to date summarised on pages 19 to 53 of the report.  To date three adjustments to the financial statements had been identified as required resulting in a £3.6m adjustment to the Authority’s Comprehensive Income and Expenditure Statement, decreasing the financial position. These adjustments were not stated to affect the level of the Authority’s usable reserves.  Work had been completed on management override of controls and substantially completed on pension liability, with both having been identified as risk areas.

·            Whilst audit work was ongoing, no issues had yet been identified that would require modification of the external audit opinion, subject to completion of the following outstanding areas of work on which delays and challenges had been identified which included:

Ø   Plant, property and equipment: Members were advised that work on PPE valuation had started once the final valuer's report had been received in October 2025 although challenges, delays and issues had been identified in the quality and provision of subsequent information being sought from the Council’s valuer.  As a result, a number of matters remained outstanding with the valuer with significant work ongoing and required to complete this work with the challenges highlighted as including receipt of incorrect valuation reports, duplicate property valuations and difficulties in reconciling the fixed asset register with the valuer’s report.

Ø   IFRS 16 / Leases: Whilst the lease sample had been selected testing was currently on hold pending the receipt of updated leases note.  As an update, it was reported that these had now been received with lessor listings and disclosures also due to be provided by management.

Ø   Movement in Reserves: It was reported that work was now largely complete pending final review.

Ø   Cash and cash equivalents: It was reported that work remained ongoing.

Ø   Financial instruments: Finalised disclosures were awaited from management

Ø   Completion of all remaining audit testing: it was reported that samples were currently being reviewed by the audit team with other supporting information, once provided by management, to be reviewed in full once the revised financial statements had been completed.

·            The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

To consider the Audit and Standards Advisory Committees work programme 2025-26.

It was RESOLVED to note the Committee’s Forward Plan and Work Programme for the 2025-26 Municipal Year with the dates for further meetings noted as:

·            Tuesday 3 February 2026

·            Tuesday 24 March 2026

It was noted that development of the Committee’s work programme would continue to be kept under close review with the Chair and Vice Chair working closely with officers to ensure sufficient capacity was maintained to allow for the appropriate consideration of each item at future meetings.

As part of this process, it was NOTED that the update on progress relating to the Council’ self-referral to the Regulator of Social Housing and AI Deep Dive had been rescheduled for the February 2026 meeting with the work programme to be adjusted 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.

No items of urgent business were identified.