Kingston Council faces scrutiny over its health and safety compliance after an Audit, Governance and Standards Committee meeting on Wednesday 25 June 2025, revealed significant failings identified in the Annual Internal Audit Report.
The report, presented to Councillor Lynn Henderson (Chair - Audit, Governance & Standards Committee) and other committee members, highlighted several audits that received limited assurance opinions, raising concerns about the council's governance, risk management, and internal control processes.
Among the areas of concern were the management of fire safety and health and safety at Cemeteries and Crematoria, where unresolved issues from a fire risk assessment performed in September 2023 were noted. The Homes for Ukraine scheme also came under scrutiny, with auditors finding pre-pay cards stored in an accessible location and issues with corporate credit card usage. Furthermore, the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) review revealed a need for clearly defined procedural guidance and a review of the Preferred List of Contractors.
Building safety was another area of concern, with gaps in fire risk assessments for residential buildings and a lack of a reliable system to monitor remedial actions. The Health and Safety audit identified high priority Fire Risk Assessment actions and lower priority Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) actions that had not been completed within required timescales.
The Annual Internal Audit Report stated that the Chief Audit Executive was satisfied that sufficient internal audit work had been undertaken to allow a reasonable conclusion on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Council's control environment. However, it also noted that assurance can never be absolute, and only reasonable assurance can be provided.
Councillor Lynn Henderson ( Chair - Audit, Governance & Standards Committee) and the committee members will be looking for swift action to address these issues and improve health and safety compliance across the council's services.