Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Tooke and Willingham.

There were none.

Minutes of the last meeting, held on 15 July 2025, were approved as a true record and signed accordingly.

These must be received no later than 12 noon on the seventh working day before the date of the meeting

There were none.

Report of Assistant Director, SWAP Internal Audit Services

The Assistant Director, SWAP Internal Audit Services, introduced her usual update of work conducted since the last meeting, including three reports – data maturity, disaster recovery (revenues and benefits), and an update on the voids process.  She also reported good progress with agreed actions, as set out in Appendix B, with nothing of any concern.   

The Chair invited the Head of Housing Services to speak about the voids process.  He said the report indicates a few challenges, predominantly around procurement and how CBH contracts were handled, and shared the following background information:

-       there are currently 125 void properties, 77 of which require major work, and 33 of which have been allocated to contractors. The best-performing contractor has taken on an additional 30 properties, which should be available by Christmas;

-       properties requiring minor works are reviewed weekly, and the voids team is now fully resourced and working hard, with the aim to complete 10 minor voids every week; this work is progressing well;  

-       having gone through procurement, we now have trusted contractors, have turned a massive corner, and are seeing good progress;

-       voids are not static, with about 20 terminations every month as tenancies end;

-       voids are a concern not just because of the rent loss but also because there are a lot of people waiting for homes.  We now have a 100% satisfaction rate at sign-up stage, with new tenants happy with the quality and condition of their properties;

-       new-build sites such as Regency Village are welcomed, but also create more voids;

-       each operative now has their own property to work on from start to finish, taking ownership and making it easier to manage productivity and keep track, and more accuracy about getting properties back means the lettings team can start advertising and viewing earlier, making immediate occupation possible and minimising the void rent loss;

-       changes are being made to improve the quality and finish of the end product, such as the use of aqua board and splashbacks instead of tiles in showers and kitchens which are easier to install and maintain.

He said it has been a steep learning curve, but continuing on the current trajectory will bring voids to an acceptable level by the end of January – although there will always be a certain amount with tenancy turnaround.

The Chair thanked the Head of Housing for this useful operational oversight, and checked that the management policy was on target.  The Head of Housing confirmed that tenant consultation is complete and this will be considered by Cabinet Housing Committee on 28 November.   It includes aspirational performance targets and introduces some new stages to speed up the turnaround of properties. He hopes it will be embedded by the end of the year.

Regarding the failures and findings of the audit, a Member asked if the list is complete or whether others have come to light since work began, having noted a discrepancy between the open actions on the progress summary table  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Report of Head of Service, Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit (CFEU)

The Head of Service, Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit (CFEU) introduced her biannual report, saying she was planning to change the format slightly, still within the workplan, by presenting a full report on the year’s activities at the first meeting in April, and one more focussed on risks at the second, allowing the opportunity to talk about bigger projects, proactive work, corporate projects etc.  She said tonight’s report concerns risk areas over the last year, including high risk areas and what might be done to mitigate those.  Anything else will be fitted around the workplan. 

Referring to paragraph 3.11 of the report, the Chair asked about the role of the committee, its interaction with the portfolio lead, and who that is.   The Head of Service CFEU said this arises from a checklist in Appendix 2, and what the Local Government Association suggests the council should be doing from a counter fraud point of view.  She was pleased to say that the council is compliant in a lot of areas but that interaction with councillors outside the committee – the wider council, Cabinet and executive committee – isn’t so good.  There is no direct portfolio holder – in her opinion, there is fraud risk in absolutely everything and this should be considered by all Members for all activities;  she doesn’t want to tether responsibility to one particular Cabinet member.  The suggestion across all the councils is that a completed Audit, Compliance and Governance report is complete, she should take it to informal cabinet to ensure they understand the issues and fraud risk in what we do, to ensure general awareness rather than focus on one Cabinet Member.  She added that if there is a particular issue in a particular area, she will liaise directly with the relevant portfolio holder. 

She said she will attend Informal Cabinet to talk about the workplan, CFEU’s works, results and high risk areas, and will roll this into their programme when they have space.

In Appendix 1 Risk Assessment, the Chair was surprised to see the likelihood score bigger than the impact score for the risk Without dedicated specialist staff in place, the Council may be unable to take effective and efficient measures to counter fraud, potentially resulting in authority suffering material losses due to fraud and error.  The Head of Service CFRU said we have to be realistic  - fraud is in everything everywhere, touches the council in many ways, including small scams around council tax support and benefit fraud – these are less impactful that a huge fraud but this is what her team are trying to manage.  She will look at the issue with the Head of Governance, Risk and Assurance

Introducing the updated 2022 Fraud Risk Strategy, the Senior Investigation and Enforcement Office said this high level summary of current risks and mitigation also commits the team to update the council on compliance with the local government fraud checklist, setting out best practice for fraud prevention.  He highlighted the following:

-       the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Briefing Note, Head of Governance, Risk and Assurance

The Chair said this item is presented for information only, and unusually there are no officers present at the meeting, but if Members have any questions, written responses will be provided as soon as possible. 

Members asked the following questions:

i.              Looking at the closed risks, a Member wondered why general balances is being taken off and asked for the rationale?  These are critical, and are likely to be an absolute focus for the S151 officer;

ii.            Of the four new risks, two are itemised and two not available to the committee due to their confidential nature.  Members wondered why these cannot be taken under exempt session – the committee approves the accounts and should be provided with all information in order to do that;

iii.           Regarding the top council risks on page 81, the matrix suggests there are three in the top category with a score of 20 but only two are listed, and 12 in the matrix with a score of 16 but only 11 listed; what is the reason for that?

iv.           Risk ID159 is very high – is there anything CBC as housing authority can do to reduce it? Discussions at Budget Scrutiny Working Group suggest that there are things to be done re the timing of repairs and renewals, but if this is the case, the wording should be made clearer;

v.            Risks 158 and 197 are also very similar, both concerned with financial preparations for local government reorganisation – why are these itemised twice?

A Member noted that risks 142 and 152 are closely linked, and both concern the Cheltenham Trust.  Another Member suggested that the Trust operates its buildings on a day-to-day basis, with income and expenditure, but if substantial repair is needed, then CBC as landlords have to step in and finance this out of its accounts.

There were none.

The next meeting is scheduled for 28 January 2026.

The committee is recommended to approve the following resolution:-

That in accordance with Section 100A(4) Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining agenda items as it is likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public are present there will be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraph 3, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:

Paragraph 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular

person (including the authority holding that information)

RESOLVED THAT:

-       in accordance with Section 100A(4) Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the remaining agenda items as it is likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if members of the public are present there will be disclosed to them exempt information as defined in paragraph 3, Part (1) Schedule (12A) Local Government Act 1972, namely:

Paragraph 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Report of Assistant Director, SWAP Internal Audit Services

Members considered the report and voted to approve the recommendations.