Agenda item

To consider a report

11.1     Mr G Chambers, the Head of Finance and Treasurer, submitted the 2017/18 Statement of Accounts, including the Annual Governance Statement, following its audit, in accordance with the earlier closure of accounts which required them to be completed by the end of May 2018 and approved by the Committee by the end of July. This required a significant amount of work from both Service staff and the external auditors.

11.2     The Assistant Chief Officer added that the dedication of staff to meet the early closure led to many members of the Finance Team coming into work at weekends. The Committee recognised this dedication and wished that its thanks be recorded and passed on to all relevant staff.

11.3     Mr J Harrison reported that a mop up session would be held with the external audit team and that improvements on the process for next year would be discussed.

11.4     The Head of Finance and Treasurer gave a brief overview of the report and confirmed that the letter of representation had been updated to refer to the amended pension liability. He and the Chair would sign the letter of representation following the meeting, subject to the approval of the Committee.

11.5     Mr J Harrison highlighted a number of key areas in the accounts, including the £486,000 underspend. A large proportion of the underspend related to the employees-operational budget. This underspend had been reported throughout the year and related to workforce planning and difficulties in recruiting and retaining RDS firefighters. The underspend was incorporated into the corporate earmarked reserves figure in the table on reserves in the report. It was noted that that figure also took into account the reserves that had been utilised during the year.

11.6     The Assistant Chief Officer added that workforce planning was considered regularly by the Corporate Management Team. The Service was planning to run another recruitment campaign in June 2019 and continued to consider transfers-in.

11.7     There were three actions set out in the Annual Governance Statement: to continue to address the medium term funding gap, to complete the actions arising from the 2017/18 Review of Effectiveness and to conduct a salary benchmarking exercise.

11.8     There was a £332 million pound deficit relating to defined benefit pension schemes. £1.5 million of assets under construction had been completed and had moved into operational assets during the year. There were seven appliances remaining in construction.

11.9     There had been an increase in net current assets due from the Government in relation to pension to £2.177 million, as there had been a number of lump sum retirements during the year. Mr Harrison reported that the Home Office paid 80% of the forecast pensions in June and that the remaining amount would be paid the following year. This could impact on cash flow.

11.10   In response to a question, the Head of Finance and Treasurer confirmed that provision had been made in the contingent liabilities in relation to the working hours case currently going through the European courts that could have a significant impact on the RDS nationally.

11.11   In response to a query, the Head of Finance and Treasurer reported that he would investigate whether the figure included for the expenses claimed by the Assistant Chief Fire Officer was correct. If it was not, this could be amended under his delegated authority.

11.12   It was noted that the Public Works Loan Board Loan Interest had been paid before 31 March 2016/17 so it had been reported as a nil figure for that year. In 2017/18, the interest had been paid on 5 April 2018.

11.13   The Chair referred to the legal action being taken against cartel price fixing in relation to trucks of 6 tonnes or over purchased, financed or leased between 1997 and 2011.

11.14   The Head of Finance and Treasurer reported that this was likely to be ongoing for some time, but that it was anticipated that between £38,000- £48,000 would be recovered by the Authority during the current financial year.

11.15   It was suggested that further Member training on the Statement of Accounts be provided following the elections in 2019, as there may be a number of new Members on the Committee.

RESOLVED:

1.         That the current version of the 2017/18 Statement of Accounts and Annual Governance Statement that have now been externally audited be approved.

2.         That any final amendments be delegated to the Treasurer.

3.         That the updated letter of representation be approved.