56 Anti-Fraud and Corruption, Whistle-blowing and Anti-Money Laundering (00:59:40) PDF 170 KB
To receive a report from the Audit Team Leader presenting the Committee with the reviewed and updated policies for Anti-Fraud, Whistle-blowing and Anti-Money Laundering.
Minutes:
The Committee had before it a report * from the Audit Team Leader presenting it with the reviewed and updated policies for Anti-Fraud & Corruption, Whistle-blowing and Anti-Money Laundering.
Discussion took place regarding:
· How and who Members referred their concerns to under the Whistle-blowing policy as they were not listed in section 1.4. It was explained that this was in 2.4 of the Anti–fraud, bribery and corruption strategy which was an overarching strategy that included both staff and Members;
· The Internal Audit Team Leader was recommended to make minor changes to the policy, such as job titles, only after such decisions had been made;
· Staff were required to comply with the policy as part of their contract with the Council which meant that they were not able to take confidential information outside of the organisation. Cllr Mrs Roach felt that this tied staff down to non-disclosure meaning that if they had serious concerns they would need to leave the organisation in order to refer their concerns to an independent body. The Chief Executive responded by saying that sections 10.1 and 10.2 within the report addressed this issue and that rather than bury concerns he wanted staff to come forward and seek advice from the bodies listed in section 10.2. The Head of Communities and Governance informed the Committee that under the staff induction process all staff were informed about the Whistle-blowing policy and how they could raise concerns if they had any and to whom. Policies such as this were on the staff intranet called ‘Sharepoint’ which was being updated and streamlined to allow better access to corporate information.
RESOLVED that:
a. The Anti-Fraud and Corruption, Whistle-Blowing and Anti-Money Laundering policies be approved; and
b. The Audit Team Leader be given delegated authority to make minor amendments to these policies, for example, changes to job titles; and
c. These policies be reviewed every four years meaning that the Committee next reviewed them in 2018 unless there were any major changes.
(Proposed by the Chairman)
Note: * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the signed Minutes.