To receive a report from the Council’s External Auditor, Mazars.

Karen Murray was in attendance on behalf of the Council’s external auditor, Mazars, to draw Members’ attention to key features of their Annual Report on Trafford covering the financial year 2020/21. The report covered a number of principal areas of the auditors’ activities, including the audit of the Council’s financial statements, commentary on the Council’s arrangements to secure value for money, and issues relating to their reporting responsibilities and fees. An unqualified opinion had been issued on the accounts, which had been prepared to a high standard. The Value for Money assessment was in a new format, following a change in the National Audit Office’s Code. The auditor wished to draw attention to the fact that there existed significant challenges to the Council’s financial position, arising from demand-led pressures, cost increases, the ongoing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the provision of a single year financial settlement by Government. The reliance placed on reserves in recent years would not continue to be sustainable into the medium term.

Members raised questions in relation to the report’s content, centring on the impact of investment to secure ongoing future savings, the consequences of OFSTED’s assessment in relation to Children’s Services, and the accuracy of assumptions in relation to a number of cost pressure factors.

          RESOLVED – That the content of the report be noted.