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).

To note the committee’s membership as set out on the agenda and to receive apologies for absence from Members.

The WECA Audit Committee to elect a Chair for municipal year 2021/22.

Having elected a Chair for the Municipal Year 2021/22, the WECA Audit Committee is requested to elect a Vice-Chair for the same period.

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 note the Terms of Reference for the WECA Audit Committee.

To consider and approve the minutes from 25 February 2021 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 Thursday 16 September 2021.

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 Tuesday 21 September 2021. 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.

All members of the public attending to present statements are requested please to take a Covid-19 lateral flow test 24 hours before the day of the meeting.

Any member of the public in the West of England Combined Authority may present a petition at a West of England Combined Authority Audit Meeting.

The Authority’s External Auditors, Grant Thornton, to present the Audit Plan for year ending 31 March 2021

The purpose of this report is to contribute towards the effective two-way communication between the Combined Authority’s external auditors and Audit Committee (as those charged with governance). The report covers some important areas of the auditor risk assessment where Grant Thornton, WECAs appointed auditors, are required to make inquiries of the Audit Committee under auditing standards.

The purpose of this Report is to present to Members of the WECA Audit Committee the West of England Combined Authority Annual Statement of Accounts for 2020-21 for their review and approval.

This is the Annual Report of the Internal Audit service detailing progress against the Plan, a summary of audit performance and key issues, as well as the formal opinion on the internal control framework.

To present the Internal Audit Plan for 2021/22 for approval.

WECA Audit Committee will meet on the following dates in 2021/22 (all dates/times subject to change):

(All 10:30am)

Thursday 9 December 2021

Wednesday 23 February 2022