Agenda

In the event of a fire, please await direction from the West of England Combined Authority staff who will help assist with the evacuation. Please do not return to the building until instructed to do so by the fire warden(s).

The Committee is asked to recommend the approval of the appointment of Independent Audit Committee Members for formal endorsement by the West of England Combined Authority Committee.

To confirm membership of the Committee and to receive apologies for absence from Members.

Members who consider that they have an interest to declare are asked to: a) State the item number in which they have an interest, b) The nature of the interest, c) Whether the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, non-disclosable pecuniary interest or non-pecuniary interest. Any Member who is unsure about the above should seek advice from the Monitoring Officer prior to the meeting in order to expedite matters at the meeting itself.

To consider and approve the minutes from 11 December 2023 of the West of England Combined Authority Audit Committee

WRITTEN PUBLIC QUESTIONS (written procedure)

1. Any member of the public can submit a maximum of two written questions in advance of this meeting.

2. The deadline for the submission of questions is 5.00 pm, at least 3 clear working days ahead of a meeting. For this meeting, the deadline for questions is 5.00 pm on Tuesday 27 February 2024.

3. Questions should be addressed to the Chair of the meeting and e-mailed to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk

4. Under the direction of the Chair, wherever possible, written replies to questions will be sent to questioners by the end of the working day prior to the meeting.

5. Please note - under the Combined Authority’s committee procedures, there is no opportunity for oral supplementary questions to be asked at committee meetings.

6. The written questions and replies will be circulated to committee members in advance of the meeting and published on the Combined Authority website.

PUBLIC STATEMENTS

1. Any member of the public may submit a written statement (or petition) to this meeting.

2. Please note that one statement per individual is permitted.

3. Statements must be submitted in writing and received by the deadline of 12 noon on the working day before the meeting. For this meeting, the deadline for statements is 12 noon on Friday 1 March 2024. Statements should be emailed to democratic.services@westofengland-ca.gov.uk

4. Statements will be listed for the meeting in the order of receipt. All statements will be sent to committee members in advance of the meeting and published on the Combined Authority website.

5. Please note:

If any member of the public wishes to attend the meeting to orally present their statement, they are asked please to notify the Combined Authority’s Democratic Services team of this at the point when their statement is submitted and by 12 noon on the working day before the meeting at the very latest.

For those presenting their statements at the meeting, up to 3 minutes ‘speaking time’ is permitted for each statement. The total time available for the public session at this meeting is 30 minutes.

To receive any announcements from the Chair

The Chair to report back from the Main Committee held on the 26 January 2024

The report presents to the Audit Committee Forward Work Plan.

To receive an updateon progressacross theWest ofEngland MayoralCombined Authority Transformation Programme.

The Chair has requested that, in order to expedite proceedings at the meeting itself, Members be asked to submit questions and comments in advance of the meeting on this paper.

To receive an update on the findings of a review of the Combined Authority’s health and safety policy and practice, progress made against the associated Health and Safety Improvement Plan and to note the agreed governance and reporting arrangements for the Health and Safety Improvement Plan

To provide an update on the revised Risk Management Framework including setting the risk appetite for the West of England Combined Authority.

To present the Corporate and Strategy and Communications risk registers.

This quarterly report provides a review of performance to 31 January 2024 and includes the new requirement in the 2021 Code, mandatory from 1 April 2023, of quarterly reporting of the treasury management prudential indicators.

The Chair has requested that, in order to expedite proceedings at the meeting itself, Members be asked to submit questions and comments in advance of the meeting on this paper.

This report updates the Audit Committee on the methodology used to create the Internal Audit Plan and asks for Member input on activities, areas or themes they would like to be considered within the Internal Audit plan for 2024/25.

The purpose of the Annual Report 2023/24 is to bring together in one document a summary of the work undertaken by the Audit Committee. The production of the report complies with current best practice for Audit Committees. It allows the Audit Committee to demonstrate it has fulfilled its terms of reference and share its achievements with the main Mayoral Combined Authority Committee and is thought useful as a reminder to the organisation of the role of the committee in providing assurance about its governance, risk management, financial and business controls.

This report aims to provide the Audit Committee with an understanding of the timeline of events regarding the decision-making process behind the Birthday Bus Offer and to offer an update on its impact to date

This report provides a background to the WESTlink Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) bus service and how lessons have been learnt since the service launched on 3 April 2023.

Member to confirm any points they wish the Chair to raise on the Committee’s behalf at the Authority’s Committee meetings on 15 March 2024

Members to give feedback on the meeting