Progress made and more work to do at Elmbridge Centres for the Community

Following the temporary closure of our Centres for the Community in 2023, we not only developed and executed a recovery plan, but we also commissioned a 3-stage review of Community Support services. A key element of this has been to undertake an independent review of our health and safety polices and procedures at the Centres. The safety of our Centre members and employees is of vital importance to us and we want to ensure that we are operating at the highest level.

The independent review, provided by Orbis Internal Audit, is now being brought to Elmbridge’s Audit and Standards committee on 27 November.

The audit review aimed to ensure that a robust action plan was in place, previous audit actions had been addressed, and processes were robust enough to comply with council policies and procedures.

Significant resources supported the recovery plan

The audit provided ‘partial assurance’ over the reviewed areas. Although this is a lower level of assurance, the auditor noted that significant management resources had been invested in the service to support the recovery plan. This investment led to progress in several areas, including:

• pre-employment and DBS checks
• accident and incident reporting
• risk assessments
• building management tasks
• evacuation plans
• awareness of gifts and hospitality

However, the audit also identified several areas needing further improvement including the recovery plan and building security. These findings were risk-assessed based on their impact on service delivery to prioritise actions. We have agreed the actions with the auditor to address these issues and deliver further improvements, who acknowledged that council management had already identified several of these areas for improvement.

The report notes that despite limited resources within the service, the additional management resources committed should help ensure that actions are appropriately monitored, and responses are coordinated to prioritise high-risk areas and continue improving the operation of the Centres for the Community.

A follow-up audit will be included in the 2025/26 audit plan.

In addition to the internal audit findings on accident and incident reporting, the service commissioned an external review by a health and safety consultant. Interim findings indicate significant progress against previous concerns, with further details to be provided upon completion of the review.

We remain committed to the safety of our Centre members and employees and are determined to ensure everyone in our Centres benefits from the social activities and support on offer.

Agenda and reports for the November Audit and Standards meeting.