Draft report: 10^th October 2023

Final report: 2^nd November 2023

Audit Objective

To provide assurance that the councils’ have guidance and procedures, appropriate health and safety processes and security arrangements in place for officers and contractors visiting and working at Abbey House.

Assurance Opinion		Number of Actions					Key Risks Reviewed
Reasonable	There is a generally sound system of governance, risk management and control in place. Some issues, non-compliance or scope for improvement were identified which may put at risk the achievement of objectives in the area audited.	Priority	Joint	South	Vale	Reference	· The councils might receive a financial penalty and breach legislation if appropriate health and safety arrangements are not in place. · Possible breach of legislation if adequate security arrangements are not in place at Abbey House. · Possible financial loss and reputational damage if the councils do not ensure contractors are working in a safe environment.
		Priority 1	-	-	-	-
		Priority 2	1	-	-	2
		Priority 3	1	-	-	1
		Total	2	-	-	Appendix 1

The audit scope included:

Objective		Audit Scope
1	Guidance and procedures	· Suitable guidance and procedures are in place and available to safeguard officers working in Abbey House. · Designated officers are in place at the office who are responsible for specialist health and safety roles, i.e. first aid, first response, fire evacuation.
2	Health and safety	· Appropriate and regular health and safety checks are undertaken and recorded. · Trained first aiders, fire marshalls and first responders are available at the workplace daily, and all officers are aware who is on duty.
3	Security	· Adequate security arrangements area in place for officers and council assets.
4	Contractors and visitors	· Procedures are in place for contractors when visiting Abbey House, e.g., signing in, briefed on health and safety information, and restricted to areas of the building required for their visit.

Key Findings
Objective		Audit Scope
1	Guidance and procedures	· Guidance and procedures are in place, regarding the Abbey House office and are available to officers via Jarvis; however, the documents need updating. · Health and safety roles at Abbey House (i.e., first aid, fire warden and first responder) are the responsibility of the facilities team. Training sessions has been offered to officers who regularly work in Abbey House.
2	Health and safety	· The planned preventative maintenance (PPM) scheduler is held on Concerto, the property asset management system.  We validated that regular health and safety inspections of Abbey House are scheduled on the PPM scheduler. · Health and safety checks are undertaken in accordance with the PPM scheduler. · Through a combination of information on Abbey House noticeboards and Jarvis, officers and councillors are informed of health and safety requirements when visiting the Abbey House offices. · However, new starters and/or officers visiting Abbey House for the first time are not provided an office walkaround to inform them of the location of fire exits and fire assembly points. · There is a joint fire evacuation plan in place and officers are provided with sufficient information on what to do in the event of an evacuation. · The fire evacuation alarm is tested every Wednesday at 11:30am.
3	Security	· From undertaking a walk around of the office, we are satisfied that adequate security arrangements are in place to keep South and Vale officers safe. · Officers are made aware of the security arrangements at Abbey House through information on Jarvis, all staff emails, and notices placed around the building. · One security breach occurred in the 12 months to July 2023: the incident was promptly reviewed, and appropriate steps taken to prevent a similar breach from reoccurring.
4	Contractors and visitors	· Guidance is available to all service areas via Jarvis to ensure that contractors and visitors are safe when visiting/working at the offices. · Review of the guidance found that service areas are provided with sufficient information to ensure contractor/visitors safety if an emergency occurs in the offices. · From review of the process, we are satisfied that contractors/visitors are provided with information for if the fire alarm is raised and they are required to evacuate.