Report of: The Internal Auditor, BDO

Purpose of report: To inform the Audit and Governance Committee of progress made against the 2024/2025 internal audit plan.

Recommendation(s):

·       That the Committee notes and discusses the report.

Yasmin Ahmed, Internal Auditor from BDO, and Josie Woodward, Internal Auditor from BDO, Nerys Parry, Director of Housing, Richard Wood, Housing Needs and Strategy Manager, and Toni Henderson, Corporate Fire Safety Manager, were present to respond to questions. 

The Internal Auditor (YA) introduced the contents of the report, noting who would present each item. The Committee were informed that satisfactory progress had been made on the 2024/25 Internal Audit Plan, noting the completion of the Homeless Prevention report, Data Protection report, and Fire Risk Assessments. It was explained that the QL Optimisation review, the Affordable Housing Project Management Report, and Data Analytics Report were in progress. The Committee also understood that an Income Generation Review is due to start in April and that all reports would be presented to the Committee at the next meeting.  

The Committee acknowledged the progress update.  

The Internal Auditor (YA) presented the Homelessness Prevention Report which focused on the design and effectiveness of the arrangements the Council has in place to support homelessness and secure accommodation in line with the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017.  

The Committee heard the headline findings of the report: 

• In regards housing subsidy, the Council recovered 27% of temporary accommodation costs due to Housing Benefit subsidy rules resulting in a £1.3m deficit over the last 5 years. There is also £112,000 of rental arrears which are unlikely to be recovered due to a surge in homelessness applications. Information regarding this was detailed.  

• The Councils target of 21 days to complete personal housing plans to support the placement of homeless persons in temporary accommodation has experienced delays; delays of up 74 days were noted.  

• The Council has historically not held any formal contractual arrangements with hotel providers for temporary accommodation; it has relied on basic booking terms and informal agreements. There is now a temporary accommodation framework in place which the Council is required to tender against.   

The Housing Needs and Strategy Manager thanked the Internal Auditor (YA) and summarised the Council’s response to the findings. The Committee heard that during the reporting period the Council experienced a high increase in demand for homelessness support which resulted in a large increase in number of people in nightly charge accommodation with very short notice. As a result, urgent procedures were developed, as noted in the report. The Housing Needs and Strategy Manager detailed the collaborative links between the Housing Benefit and Housing Need teams which have improved following the introduction of new processes such as auto-reporting. In regards hotel placements, the Committee was informed of the difficulties of ensuring housing benefit claims are submitted when organising late night placements with little information from homeless persons. Staffing levels and training have been addressed to support delays with response times in line with the new procurement framework. Finally, the Committee heard how tendering relationships with hotels have been improved, and details of the longer-term larger scale bookings which have been implemented following Cabinet approval.  

The Chair thanked officers and invited the Committee to ask questions.  

Councillor Smith queried the reasons for the spike in claimants of homelessness. The Housing Needs and Strategy Manager noted that Oxford City’s experience has been in line with national trends, especially in the southeast of England, and is linked to a large number of evictions from the private rented sector due to rental inflation costs sitting above benefit rates and a high number of friends and family evictions. The Committee also heard that new households are struggling to form in the city, adults are experiencing difficulties with moving out and finding new accommodation, and the local impact of evictions Home Office Hotel in Oxford which houses single adults of refugee and asylum status.  

Councillor Ottino queried the difficulties experienced with claiming back housing benefit and the barriers to this. The Housing Needs and Strategy Manager explained that the nature of housing homeless people provided significant barriers to claiming Housing Benefit. The Council has a legal duty to accommodate them regardless of whether they claim Housing Benefit or not, and even with support, many struggle to provide the required information to successfully make a claim. It was also noted that some also choose not to engage with support before moving on after short periods.  

Councillor Ottino queried the pressures on local hotels and the possible effects on the placement of homeless persons further distances from the city centre. It was asked whether this impacts upon the Council’s monitoring and data collection abilities to which the Housing Needs and Strategy Manager noted that distance is not a significant issue. It was explained that people often accept interim accommodation until options are assessed, and the Council maintains regular contact with hotel providers to obtain required information. On some occasions, Council officers also attend hotels to make first hand assessments. Through the new procurement framework, providers will be required to report non-usage of hotel rooms to the Council. The Housing Needs and Strategy Manager also explained that the issues with claiming back housing benefit on hotel rooms comes when claimants only stay for short periods of time, and the application process for payment exceeds this. In these instances, the required information for the claim cannot be obtained and the Council absorbs the cost. 

The Chair noted that the issue of failure to collect housing benefits and arrears on rentals seems to be persistent; it was therefore asked whether this is accounted for within the Council’s budget forecasts. The Group Finance Director confirmed that it is, explaining that a net cost of benefit consideration allows scope for 100% of subsidy on benefit expenditure to be made. Detail was provided on this.  

The Chair queried whether the deadline of June 2025 for the recommendations of the report to be implemented was realistic, to which the Housing Needs and Strategy Manager noted that many of the recommendations have already been implemented. The Internal Auditor (YA) clarified that it is usual for recommendations to be actioned within 3 months. The Committee understood that progress would be assessed in June and any required follow up would occur with officers. 

Councillor Powell queried the amount of housing benefit recovery being received and requested comparable information on this from other local authorities. The Internal Auditor (YA) committed to bringing this information to the next meeting.  

Councillor Smith sought clarification on the debt previously noted, to which the Group Finance Director explained that the net cost of benefits is the difference between the subsidy received from government and the Council’s expenditure. A request for comparisons with other Councils on this amount was made; the Internal Auditor (YA) committed to providing relevant information at the next meeting.  

The Internal Auditor (JW) presented the Fire Risk Assessment Report which assessed six contractors that perform risk assessments for the Council. The Committee heard the main findings of the report: 

• Requirement for improvement in the onboarding of fire risk assessors was identified in relation to due diligence and levels of competency under legislation. One of the six contactors demonstrated insufficient levels of competency and the evidence for this was detailed from the report.  

• No issues were identified with the quality of fire risk assessments being undertaken.  

• Recent changes to legislation were explained and the actions being taken by management to update actions in response were detailed.  

The Chair invited the Corporate Fire Safety Manager to respond, noting that the deadline for implementation of recommendations had passed.  

The Corporate Fire Safety Manager confirmed that implementation of the recommendations had already occurred and informed the Committee that 3 qualified fire risk assessors have been employed in the last two months. It was also explained that work is ongoing to assess all risk assessments from 2024 in efforts to identify any requirements for review. The Committee was assured that risk profiling would be conducted across the whole portfolio, now under the responsibility of the three new assessors who are designated a geographic zone of the city each.  

The Chair queried whether the employment of the three internal assessors will be permanent. The Corporate Fire Safety Manager noted that the intention is to keep the new assessors on and maintain in-house provisions for fire risk assessments to encourage financial savings. The Committee understood that this should address the issues identified in the audit by removing anomalies caused by different contractors.  

Councillor Smith thanked the Internal Auditor (JW) and congratulated the Corporate Fire Safety Manager on the work achieved since joining the Council recently.  

Councillor Ottino noted concerns around Bright Heat from the report and sought to clarify that the Council no longer uses this company. The Corporate Fire Safety Manager confirmed this. 

The Committee noted the report.  

The Internal Auditor (JW), the Corporate Fire Safety Manager, The Director of Housing and the Housing Needs and Strategy Manager left the meeting.