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News Machynlleth Council singled out by auditor


A NEW Wales Audit Office


(WAO) report has revealed that too many Community Councils in Wales receive avoidable qualified audit opinions and this is particularly the case with smaller councils. Auditors issue ‘qualified’ audit


opinions when councils fail to comply with their statutory responsibilities. Three Welsh councils were


singled out for mention in the WAO report: Nantyglo and Blaina; Holyhead Town Council; and Machynlleth Town Council. In April 2016, the auditor issued


a report to Machynlleth Town Council, setting out deficiencies in its financial management and governance spanning the six financial years up to and including 2014-15. The auditor found that during


this period: • The council failed to maintain adequate and complete financial records


• The council failed to prepare its annual accounts on a timely basis


• The council failed to prepare its accounts on the correct basis due partly to the lack of records, and partly due to incorrect treatment of significant


income and


expenditure related to its ‘Y Plas’ facility


In order to tackle its problems,


Machynlleth Town Council commissioned an external consultant to assist the council to address its problems with the accounts and to undertake internal audit work. However, the WAO identified


deficiencies with the work undertaken, including: • The accounts prepared by the consultant did not agree with the underlying records


• The bank reconciliation prepared did not reconcile the cashbook and the bank accounts


THE HERALD FRIDAY FEBRUARY 3 2017


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‘Wales needs commitment from Teresa May’, says MP


ON THERESA MAY’S visit to


Cardiff for a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Mark Williams MP, has called for recognition of the importance of membership of the Single Market to Wales and a government commitment to negotiating full access to the European market. A report published on the same


Y Plas: Council’s accounts incorrect


• The accounts were not prepared on the correct accounting basis


As a consequence of the


council’s failure to maintain proper records, the council has incurred a loss of over £5,000 in VAT that it is no longer able to recover. However, the report suggests that


audit issues are widespread across Wales’s 765 Community Councils. 30% of councils received a


qualified audit opinion, 50% received an unqualified opinion but with other matters drawn to their attention, and the remaining 20% received an unqualified opinion with no further matters for their consideration. A disproportionate number of


smaller councils receive qualified audit opinions, suggesting there is a particular need for these councils to review their arrangements. Councils with annual income and


expenditure below £30,000 each year form about 50% of the total number of councils in Wales. However, they account for over 70% of all councils receiving qualified audit opinions. This means that these councils are more likely to fail in their statutory obligations. In addition, the WAO reports that too many councils submit annual returns that are incomplete or contain simple errors.


The range of issues the


WAO uncovered was alarming, particularly when it considered that Wales’ 765 Community Councils are responsible for handling assets worth £188m, manage reserves of over £32m, received over £43m of income and incurred over £40m of expenditure. Those issues included single councillors being delegated to determine planning applications; 36% of councils failing to set lawful budgets; due to a lack of information, auditors were unable to give an opinion on whether the accounts had been properly prepared at 10 councils. Over half of all councils (52%), including all those that did not set an appropriate budget, had inadequate budget monitoring arrangements in place. Where adequate budget setting arrangements are in place, a quarter (25%) of all councils do not adequately monitor progress against the budget. Perhaps most worryingly,


Auditors reported that a number of councils do not prepare minutes in accordance with the requirements of the Local Government Act, while almost a third of Community Councils alack any detailed feedback from their internal auditor, meaning councillors are left high and dry when things go wrong.


day as Theresa May’s visit to Wales highlighted the EU as the largest export market for nearly every city in Britain, including Cardiff and Swansea. In 2014, more than half of all


exports from Cardiff and Swansea were exported to EU markets, at a value of more than £5,700 per job. Commenting, Mark Williams


MP said: “There has been huge concern from Wales and the devolved administrations about the possibility


of powers being taken back by Westminster as part of the Brexit negotiations, and Theresa May’s promise today that this won’t happen is extremely important. “However, the biggest issue, that


of access to the Single Market, has still not been resolved. Theresa May must accept the vital importance of the Single Market to the Welsh economy. “Time and time again, Theresa


May has been reminded of the vital importance of EU markets for the British and regional economies, yet the Tories are hellbent on pursuing a hard Brexit. “The government cannot continue


to ignore the concerns of Wales over the potential loss of full access to the Single Market. Our businesses, our communities and our economy need urgent assurance that we will be able to continue to have free, unimpeded trade with the European market.”


Sir Lawrence Freedman to deliver annual lecture


FORMER Iraq Inquiry


member and one of the world’s most renowned experts on war and strategic studies, Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman will deliver the 2017 David Davies Memorial Institute of International Studies (DDMI) Annual Lecture at Aberystwyth University. In his lecture, ‘The Future of


Discretionary Warfare: Criteria for the use of Force’, Professor Freedman will address the criteria likely to shape the future use of force in international politics. The lecture takes place at the


Main Hall at the Department of International Politics at 6.30pm on Tuesday (Feb 7). Professor Freedman is Emeritus


Professor of War Studies at King’s College London. A member of the


department since 1982, his research focuses on the history of strategy and contemporary defence and foreign policy issues. In 2009, he was appointed to the


Iraq Inquiry (better known as the Chilcot Inquiry) which examined Britain’s role in the 2003 Iraq War. Professor Freedman has written


extensively on nuclear strategy and the cold war, as well as commentating regularly on contemporary security issues. Among his books are ‘Kennedy’s


Wars: Berlin, Cuba, Laos and Vietnam’ (2000), ‘The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy’ (third edition 2004), ‘Deterrence’ (2005), the two volume ‘Official History of the Falklands Campaign’ (second edition 2007) and an Adelphi Paper on ‘The Transformation in Strategic Affairs’ (2004). ‘A Choice of Enemies: America confronts the Middle East’ won the


Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman: Delivering a lecture entitled ‘The Future of Discretionary Warfare: Criteria for the use of Force’


2009 Lionel Gelber Prize and Duke of Westminster Medal for Military Literature. His most recent book is ‘Strategy: A History’ (2013). Jan Ruzicka, Director of


the DDMI, said: “We are truly privileged to have Sir Lawrence Freedman as our speaker this year. Historically, the use of force has been fundamental to international order. In today’s turbulent world, the issues surrounding it are more complex than ever.” The David Davies Memorial


Institute of International Studies was established in 1951 to commemorate Lord David Davies of Llandinam and is supported again this year by the Gwendoline and Margaret Davies Charity. There is an open invitation


to everyone to attend the lecture and a free drinks reception which takes place at the Department of International Politics, starting at 6pm.


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