RSH Board minutes - 8 November 2021 (accessible version)
Updated 1 February 2022
Applies to England
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PUBLIC MINUTES of the RSH Board meeting
on Monday 8 November 2021 at 12.20pm
Microsoft Teams Meeting (no members were together, and the meeting was deemed to have been held in London, the location of the Chair).
6 - Remote and virtual participation
6.1 Any member may validly participate in a meeting virtually through the medium of conference telephone, video conferencing or similar form of communication equipment, provided that all persons participating in the meeting are able to hear and speak to each other throughout such meeting, or relevant part thereof. A member so participating shall be deemed to be present in person at the meeting and shall accordingly be counted in a quorum and entitled to vote.
6.2 A meeting shall be deemed to take place where the largest group of those members participating is assembled or, if there is no group which is larger than any other group, where the chair of the meeting is.
Present
- Simon Dow - Interim Chair
- Liz Butler
- Jo Boaden
- Kalpesh Brahmbhatt
- Deborah Gregory
- Richard Hughes
- Sukhvinder Kaur-Stubbs
- Geoff Smyth
- Fiona MacGregor - Chief Executive
In attendance
- Richard Peden - Director, Finance and Corporate Services
-
Emma Tarran - Senior Assistant Director, Head of Legal Services and Company Secretary
- Chris Kitchen - Board secretary, minutes
1. Welcome and apologies
01/11/21 There were apologies from Paul Smee.
2. Declarations of Interest
02/11/21 There were no new declarations of interest.
3. Audit and Risk Assurance Committee – report to the Board
03/11/21 The Chair of ARAC presented the paper which sets out the outcome of the work performed by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee during the year ended 31 March 2021 and its overall opinion for the year. ARAC produces an annual report to the Regulator of Social Housing Board, which assists the Board in assessing the assurance work completed during the year and supports the Governance Statement and the rest of the Annual Report and Accounts.
04/11/21 The NAO Completion Report has given the RSH a clean audit report. The audit did not identify control weaknesses significant enough to warrant any formal management letter points. They did however make useful observations on the Annual Report which will be taken into account for the 2022 report. A discussion followed and Members made further suggestions to be considered for the 2022 report. Members were advised that the NAO audit team had complimented the work of the Finance team and that the whole audit process had been very well co-ordinated this year.
05/11/21 Internal Audit undertook five reviews, four of which provided a Substantial level of assurance, the remaining also provided a positive (Moderate) level of assurance.
06/11/21 There had been a private meeting of the ARAC with both auditors (after the most recent programmed ARAC meeting) at which both were very complimentary of the work of the finance and management teams.
06/11/21 The other members of ARAC confirmed that they had nothing further to add. The ARAC Chair LB thanked her fellow Committee members, management, the finance team and secretariat for their hard work and in particular for the production of another very good, clear ARA for 2020-21.
07/11/21 The Board ENDORSED the ARAC Annual Report.
4. RSH Annual Report and Accounts 2020 - 21
08/11/21 Members confirmed that they had reviewed the ARA and NOTED the changes made since the previous version reviewed by the Board. The Board responsibilities in their ToR state at 4.10 that the Board is responsible for “Approving the Regulator’s annual report and accounts for submission to the Secretary of State and the Comptroller and Auditor General, and supporting the Chief Executive in her role as accounting officer, in particular in drawing up the annual governance statement which forms part of the annual report”. On the basis of the assurance from the audits and on the recommendation of the ARAC, the Board accepted and unanimously APPROVED the ARA and were content for the CEO in her capacity as AO to submit the signed ARA to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
09/11/20 The Chair of the Board SD added his overall thanks to ARAC and management.
Date of next meeting: 23 November 2021 at 1000