Minutes of Meeting of the Highland and Western Isles Valuation Joint Board held in Committee Room 1, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, on Tuesday 11 August, 2009 at 10.30 a.m.
Present
Representing The Highland Council
Mrs H Carmichael, Mr F D S Black, Mr L Fraser, Mr J McGillivray, Ms M Smith
Representing Western Isles Council
Mr M MacLeod (by Video Conference), Mr K Murray (by Video Conference)
Officials in attendance:
Mr D Gillespie, Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer
Mr N Rose, Head of Audit and Risk Management, The Highland Council
Ms K Jenks, Senior Audit Manager, Audit Scotland (by Video Conference)
Mr A Bernard, Treasurer’s Office
Mr D MacDonald, Clerk’s Office
Mrs H Carmichael in the Chair
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mr J Gray, Mr R Rowantree and Mr P Cairns of the Highland Council.
2. Minutes of Last Meeting
There had been circulated and APPROVED Minutes of the Board Meeting of 29 April 2009.
In relation to Item 8: Freedom of Information Publication Scheme, the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer informed the Board that the Board’s Freedom of Information Publication Scheme had been slightly modified and would now be finalised to mirror minor modifications made to the model scheme set out by the Scottish Assessors Association and accepted by the Scottish Information Commissioner.
The Board NOTED the position.
3. Draft Annual Report 2008/09
There had been circulated Report No VAL-11-09 which detailed the draft Annual Report for 2008/09 prepared by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer and incorporated the Performance Report.
In support of the introductory comments made in the Annual Report by the Chairman, the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer drew the Board’s attention to the following aspects of the Board’s functions, activities and work over the past year, highlighting in particular that:-
a) Electoral Registration: the recent European election which had included the
use of postal voting signature comparisons had worked well; the process of
annual canvass had been improved with doorstep canvassing; and that the
Electoral Commission performance regime was formally introduced in the
course of the year and the initial return of self assessment of qualitative
factors had been made together with the statistical return. In addition,
the process of transition towards individual registration was to be put into
effect commencing in 2010. It was understood that this would entail
software changes in the run up to the canvass in the autumn of 2010.
b) Valuation for Rating: rating revaluation appeal clearance had been
concluded at the Valuation Appeal Committee level with a small number of
significant appeals remaining open before the Lands Tribunal for Scotland
and the Lands Valuation Appeal Court; maintenance of the roll to reflect
new and altered properties continued to require significant resource; and
information gathering and analysis of rents continued throughout the year.
Following consideration, the Board AGREED:-
i. subject to the inclusion of the Audited 2008/09 Accounts referred to
under item 4, that the Annual Report 2008/09 be published; and
ii. should any changes be necessary, it be remitted to the Assessor and
Electoral Registration Officer, in consultation with the Convener and Vice
Convener, to determine whether to proceed with publication of the
Annual Report or to delay until after the next meeting of the Board.
4. Unaudited Accounts 2008/09
There had been circulated Report No VAL-12-09 by the Treasurer which enclosed the Statement of Unaudited Accounts for the financial year 2008/09.
Speaking to the Accounts, the Treasurer confirmed that there had been an underspend of £0.023m and that this balance had been shared by the constituent authorities on the following basis – Highland Council (£0.017m) and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (£0.006m).
Thereafter, the Board AGREED that, once an unqualified report from the Auditor had been received that the Audited Accounts then be incorporated into the Annual Report, the Report would then be published.
5. Statement of Internal Control and Annual Report 2008/09
There had been circulated Report No VAL-13-09 by the Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management, The Highland Council, which comprised his Annual report for 2008/09. The report included an assessment of the adequacy, reliability and effectiveness of the Board’s system of internal financial control and provided information for their Corporate Governance Assurance Statement.
The Board NOTED the report.
6. Internal Audit Reviews
There had been circulated Report No VAL-14-09 by the Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management, The Highland Council, which detailed the audit work which had been undertaken as part of the 2008/09 audit plan and which provided a copy of the relevant audit report.
The Board was informed that whilst it had not been possible to carry out the planned computer audit of the Centralised Assessor’s Tax System, this would be carried forward into the 2009/10 tactical plan. However, an audit on adequacy and effectiveness of the Assessor’s systems of internal control had been carried out and the Board was advised that no major concerns had been raised. Referring to the Auditor’s report on this audit, the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer confirmed that appropriate action was being taken to address the small number of minor concerns that had been identified in the course of the audit.
The Board NOTED the report.
7. Report to Those Charged with Governance on the 2008/09 Audit
There had been circulated Report No VAL-15-09 by the Senior Audit Manager, Audit Scotland on the 2008/09 Audit.
Presenting the report, the Senior Audit Manager confirmed that,
(a) whilst the balance sheet at 31 March 2009 showed an excess of liabilities
over assets due to accrual of pension liabilities, the Board had adopted a
“going concern” basis for the preparation of the accounts as the Board
was funded by contributions from Constituent Authorities which could be
increased to meet future pension liabilities; and
(b) a formal exercise had yet to be conducted by the Board to ensure that it
complied with single status and equal pay legislation. It was, therefore,
acknowledged that whilst possible costs might arise in the future, staffing
numbers were low and there was not considered to be a material risk.
On being advised that it was anticipated that the Auditor’s Report would be unqualified, the Board then NOTED the report and thanked the Senior Audit Manager for her presentation.
8. Gender Equality Scheme Annual Report
There had been circulated Report No VAL-16-09 by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer which set out the annual report on the Gender Equality Scheme.
The Board was reminded that the Highland Council was working towards the production of a single Equalities policy and that the Board would move towards the adoption of a single policy also in a timescale similar to that being adopted by the Council.
Thereafter, the Board HOMOLOGATED the action taken by the Clerk, in consultation with the Convener and Vice Convener, in publishing the Annual Report on the Gender Equality Scheme.
9. Monitoring of Retirements
There had been circulated Report No VAL-17-09 by the Payroll and Pensions Manager, The Highland Council, which advised Members of the number of retirements in the year 2008/09 of the Highland and Western Isles Valuation Joint Board members of the Local Government Pension Scheme.
The Board NOTED that there were two normal retirements of Highland and Western Isles Joint Board members of the Local Government Scheme for the year ended 31 March 2009 and no retirements under any other category.
10. Revenue Budget Monitoring Statement 2009/10
There had been circulated Report No VAL-18-09 which enclosed a statement and commentary by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer on Revenue Expenditure and Income for the period to 30 June 2009. The report showed actual net expenditure of £520,000 as against anticipated expenditure for the period of £600,000, and a current underspend of £80,000. However, it was pointed out that it was early in the financial year and the final outturn position at the year-end was expected to be on budget.
The Board NOTED the report.
11. Departmental Report
There had been circulated Report No VAL-19-09 by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer which advised on the current position of the main activities of the Department. The Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer updated the Board in relation to the following,
(a) Electoral Registration
- the European election on 4 June had gone well from a departmental and Returning Officer perspective and had, for the first time, involved the use of Personal Identifiers for the verification of postal voters;
- preparations were underway for the annual canvass which would inform the register for use at the next general election; canvass forms would be issued in late August and priority in doorstep canvassing would be given to those cases where non-return would result in removal from the register.
(b) Council Tax
- maintenance of the council tax list continued alongside the work to complete the rating revaluation and further progress on adding new entries to the list would be made once the peak of revaluation activity had passed.
(c) Rating
- work to complete the draft valuation roll by the end of August remained on target with valuations being checked for accuracy during the autumn. The Scottish Government had indicated that the decisions as to poundages and reliefs would be finalised in October/November at which point the draft valuation roll would be published on the Scottish Assessors’ Portal together with connections to the Scottish Government’s rates calculator. Thereafter, statutory valuation notices were scheduled enabling local authorities to issue bills in February.
In thanking the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer for the information provided, the Board NOTED the report.
12. Exclusion of The Public
The Board RESOLVED that, under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the public be excluded from the meeting during discussion of the following item on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 6 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act.
13. Staffing Report
There was circulated to Members only Report No VAL20/09 by the Assessor and Electoral Registration Officer which advised on a number of staffing matters.
Following consideration, the Board AGREED:
i. to the external advertising of the vacant post of Assistant Assessor on the
four point scale £45,477 to £48,744 with flexibility being retained on the
location of the post in either Inverness or Dingwall;
ii. that in order to minimise delays which might be experienced in the
recruitment process, delegation be given to the Assessor and Electoral
Registration Officer and the Clerk to the Board in consultation with the
Convener and Vice Convener, if required, to deal with any amendments
required in relation to the recruitment process outlined in the report; and
iii. that a letter of appreciation be forwarded to the Assessor’s Secretary who
had recently retired. It was NOTED that the filling of the resultant
vacancy would be reviewed following the recruitment of the Assistant
Assessor.
The meeting ended at 11.30 a.m.