Part A
1
Appointment of Chair
To appoint a Chair for the forthcoming Municipal Year
2
Appointment of Deputy Chair
To appoint a Deputy Chair for the forthcoming Municipal Year
3
Welcome and Announcements
The Chair will welcome members of the public and Councillors and remind everyone to use microphones at all times when they are speaking. The Chair will also explain action in the event of an emergency, mobile phones switched to silent, audio-recording of the meeting. Councillors who are members of the committee will introduce themselves.
4
Substitutions
Councillors will be asked to say if they are attending on behalf of a Committee member who is absent.
5
Urgent Items
The Chair will announce if there is any item not on the published agenda which will be considered because it is urgent and will explain the reason for the urgency.
6
Declarations of Interest
Councillors will be asked to say if there are any items on the agenda about which they have a disclosable pecuniary interest which would prevent them from participating in any discussion of the item or participating in any vote upon the item, or any other registerable interest or non-registerable interest.
7
Minutes of Previous Meeting
The Councillors will be invited to confirm that the minutes of the meetings held on 3 March 2026 and 23 March 2026, and the Hearings Sub-Committee meeting of 19 March 2026, including those minutes contained in Part B of the Agenda are a correct record.
8
Have Your Say! (Hybrid Council meetings)
Members of the public may make representations to the
meeting. This can be made either in
person at the meeting or by joining the meeting remotely and addressing the Committee
via Zoom. Each representation may be no longer than three minutes. Members of the public wishing to address the
Committee must register their wish to address the meeting by e-mailing
democratic.services@colchester.gov.uk by 12.00 noon on the working day before
the meeting date. In addition, a written
copy of the representation will need to be supplied.
9
Landlord and Social Housing
The Committee will consider a report which demonstrates (in the City Council’s capacity as landlord of social housing) compliance and delivery of the Regulator of Social Housing’s Consumer and Rent Standards.
The Committee will consider a report which provides it with a business update of the Amphora Group.
The Committee will consider a report which asks it to note the draft statement of accounts 2025-2026 to enable publication of the accounts by the deadline of 30 June 2026.
The Committee will consider a report which asks that it that reviews the
effectiveness of the Council’s internal control systems for the 2025/26
financial year, which is required for the 2025/26 Statement of Accounts in accordance with the Council's duty to produce an Annual Governance Statement.
The Committee will consider a report which provides it with a view of an Audit Tracker which is to be used to track the implementation of recommendations that came out of the 2024/25 final accounts process as highlighted by the Council's External Auditors, KPMG. The Audit Tracker will allow the Committee to note the organisation's response to the Value for Money and ISA 260 assessments presented to the Council as part of the Audit.
The Committee will consider a report which requests that it consider whether to recommend to Full Council that
Sir Bob Russell should be made an Honorary Freeman of the City of Colchester.
The Committee will consider a report which requests that it approve
the draft Governance and Audit Committee Annual Report for 2025-26, and its
submission to Full Council.
The Committee will consider a report which provides a covering summary of an internal audit review of the Turnstone Development project. The audit examined compliance with the Council’s governance framework, financial regulations, procurement requirements and project controls
The Committee will consider a report setting out its work programme for the forthcoming municipal year.
13
Exclusion of the Public (not Scrutiny or Executive)
In accordance with Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 to exclude the public, including the press, from the meeting so that any items containing exempt information (for example confidential personal, financial or legal advice), in Part B of this agenda (printed on yellow paper) can be decided. (Exempt information is defined in Section 100I and Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972).