To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer on the above.

Further its meeting held on 2 April 2015, the Board noted a Further Report of the Monitoring Officer on the decision making process in connection with works undertaken at Meadfoot and Oddicombe Beaches.  A review of the Standing Orders in relation to Contracts and the Council’s Financial Regulations had been undertaken and would be considered by the Mayor and Group Leaders at a meeting to be held in December 2015.

To consider the report of the Monitoring Officer on the above.

The Monitoring Officer presented her report on her investigation into the governance of the decision making in connection with Oddicombe and Meadfoot beaches which had been requested at the meeting of the Council held on 26 February 2015.

The report concluded that in respect of the projects at both Meadfoot and Oddicombe beaches, it was clear that the appropriate governance procedures had not been followed given that prudential borrowing is a matter for Council to consider and this did not happen in either case before the monies (or additional monies) were spent.  The officers involved had fully accepted and apologised for their errors which it was felt were genuine human errors.

The Executive Heads for Residents and Visitors Services and Tor Bay Harbour Authority also attended the meeting and answered the Board’s questions.

The Board highlighted that, whilst the Monitoring Officer’s recommendation was that a review of Standing Orders be undertaken with a view the incorporating additional safeguards, the report did not explain the current mechanisms for ensuring correct governance in respect of the Capital Plan and so the Board was unable to offer views on how to prevent such an issue arising again.

Resolved:  (i)  that the Monitoring Officer’s report be accepted as an interim report;

(ii)        that the Monitoring Officer undertake a review of Standing Orders in respect of the Capital Budget with a view to incorporating additional safeguards to ensure the good governance of the same and the proposals be discussed with the Mayor and Group Leaders following the Local Elections; and

(iii)       that the Monitoring Officer report back to the Overview and Scrutiny Board following her review of Standing Orders with her proposals for any additional safeguards.