A senior auditor has flagged up concerns about school budgets, council staff cuts and the growing use of outside contractors in his annual report.
A report to members of Brighton and Hove City Council said: “Many schools have started to take difficult decisions on staffing levels to ensure their financial security but school balances are reducing with some schools projecting financial deficits.”
The council’s head of internal audit Graham Liddell said: “Financial governance arrangements, such as budget reporting to governors, need strengthening.
“Other common areas for improving controls include collecting cash income (and) use of debit cards.”
A report to the council’s Audit and Standards Committee at Hove Town Hall this afternoon (Tuesday 25 July) added that school financial deficits could affect the council’s finances.
Mr Liddell said in his report to the committee: “The council did not fall victim to the well-publicised international ‘ransomware’ attacks that paralysed other parts of the public sector.
“However, the council remains at risk and needs to ensure that it identifies and addresses its cybersecurity risks (and) improves controls in vulnerable areas.”
Councillor Ollie Sykes asked: “Were we lucky? Or are we good? Or both?”
Mr Liddell said that the council had up-to-date versions of Windows but said: “We are vulnerable in other ways.”
Like many organisations, the council is looking at where it might be at risk with a view to stepping up online security and better protecting its data.
Concerns were expressed at the meeting about the capacity of the council and its staff to fulfil all of its many duties, given the continuing budget cuts.
The resulting greater workloads may be a factor behind level of sickness absence which has previously been regarded as notable.
It may, the meeting was told, also affect the council’s ability to manage the contracts awarded to other organisations to run services on behalf of the council.
In recent years a cash collection contract was ended after a £3.2 million fraud. Housing contracts have also prompted questions and criticisms including an investigation into an alleged £18 million fraud and a separate issue with overcharging for maintenance work.
There were concerns about the “outsourcing of risk” – not least in light of the questions being asked after the Grenfell Tower fire in London last month.
Mr Liddell said: “Contract management arrangements are being strengthened but further improvements are required.”
