Somerset Council has received the Interim External Auditors’ Annual Report for the year ending 31 March 2025, highlighting improvements in governance and financial management.
The report, considered at a Full Council meeting on 17 December, shows a marked reduction in the number of recommendations from 19 to 9, reflecting the Council’s commitment to addressing previous findings and strengthening internal controls. This progress demonstrates our determination to deliver robust financial stewardship and maintain public confidence.
Somerset Council is currently subject to 3 statutory recommendations made by auditors.
The recommendations are included in the Auditor’s Annual Report, which is a summary of work by Grant Thornton, the Council’s external auditor, during 2024/25.
A statutory recommendation is a formal, legally binding recommendation to address significant issues and must be considered publicly by Full Council.
The first 2 recommendations are continued from 2023/24 and relate to the Council’s work to develop savings to adequately mitigate growth in service areas and the need for robust transformation plans.
In response, the Council has highlighted the work being done in response to the financial emergency and the progress being made to move towards financial sustainability. The Council is now working with a strategic transformation partner to develop a clear and deliverable plan to provide services in different and better ways resulting in a lower costs.
The third statutory recommendation is new and concerns governance of projects where the Council acts as an accountable body. The Council accepts the previous arrangements were not robust enough and is reviewing other projects while completing a comprehensive lesson learned exercise, publicly releasing documents for transparency over this issue alongside a range of planned actions.
Council Leader, Cllr Bill Revans, said:
We are pleased to see this clear evidence of improvement and progress on the total number of recommendations but we recognise that much more needs to be done, particularly with regard to the Statutory Recommendations which we take very seriously.
Reducing the number of recommendations by more than half is a testament to the hard work of our teams and our focus on transparency and accountability.
We will continue to act on the remaining recommendations swiftly and ensure Somerset Council builds a strong footing for the future.
The Council remains committed to implementing the recommendations promptly and continuing this positive trajectory.
