Agenda item - Chair's Communications

3.1      The Chair provided the following communications:

Welcome everyone to the committee- we have a number of new elected councillors on this committee and I look forward to working with you all.

This is also the first meeting for our newly appointed Independent Person, Barbara Beardwell.

We are lucky to consistently attract Independent Persons who are of a very high calibre, willing to give the significant time commitment the role entails and Barbara continues that trend.

The Independent Persons help us apply an educated perspective to the Council’s approach to discharging the core audit functions of this Committee as well as having an essential role in considering Standards related matters and I look forward to working with Barbara as well as David Bradley and David Gill.

I’d like to remind members that the role of the Audit & Standards Committee is different from that of a policy Committee. Our focus is on proper governance, transparency, and financial accountability. We should therefore apply impartial and rigorous focus on the facts as presented before us and avoid political or partisan rhetoric.

I’m hoping everybody will agree with that at this time of continued pressures and challenges, and the demands that that places upon on us all.