Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Committee considered a briefing note of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place), which sought views on the proposed Code of Corporate Governance.

The Council first introduced a Code of Corporate Governance in 2009, based on best practice at the time.  It was acknowledged that the context in which local government operated had changed significantly since then and in 2016, the Chartered Institute of Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE) updated their guidance on Corporate Governance and published the new Delivering Good Governance in Local Government Framework.  This provided a best practice framework for local authorities to help make sure that their resources were directed in accordance with agreed policy and according to priorities, that there was sound and inclusive decision-making and that there was clear accountability for the use of those resources in order to achieve the desired outcomes for service users and communities.  It set out the principles that underpinned good governance and how local authorities could assure themselves and others that they were meeting them.

The Committee were advised that the Council had a range of measures to ensure that governance in the organisation was managed effectively and it worked hard to ensure that these arrangements were robust and met best practice.  In reality this was achieved through a range of policies, plans, procedures such as the Constitution (including codes of conduct for Members and employees), the Council Plan, the Medium Term Financial Strategy and policies on whistle blowing, tackling fraud and corruption and managing risk. The Code of Corporate Governance did not set out to list or replicate these. Instead it provided a framework against which these could be assessed to ensure that the principles of the code were being met, that there were systems and processes in place to measure their effectiveness and that gaps in policies, performance or assurance were identified and appropriate actions developed.

The revised Code now proposed reflected the new guidance, adopted the principles that it identified as underpinning good governance and set out how it could be used to strengthen corporate governance in the City Council and was set out at Appendix 2 of the report.

The Council would use the National Framework to support an annual review of how it was meeting the Code.  As well as ensuring that the Council had the right policies, plans and procedures in place, it would also review the arrangements that were in place to measure their effectiveness.  An example of how this would be used was set out in Appendix 1 of the report.

The Committee noted that local authorities were required to conduct a review at least once every financial year of the effectiveness of their systems of internal control and to report on this review with its Statement of Accounts.  The Audit and Procurement Committee was responsible for approving the Annual Governance Statement alongside the Statement of Accounts and the Code of Corporate Governance and it was proposed that the annual review would inform this process.

Having considered the briefing note, the Committee stressed the importance of ensuring the proposed review process was robust in order for the Council to be able to assess itself effectively against both the principles of the Code and best practice identified in the National Framework.  In addition, they sought assurance about how the review cycle would operate to identify gaps and deliver improvement and how progress would be reported and monitored.  They also requested that the Cabinet Member for Policy and Leadership be made aware of their views when considering a report on the Code of Corporate Governance at his meeting scheduled for 13^th April 2017.

RESOLVED that the Audit and Procurement Committee, having reviewed the draft Code of Corporate Governance and the review process appended to the report submitted, request that the Cabinet Member for Policy and Leadership be advised that the Committee:-

1.  Stressed the importance of ensuring the proposed review process is robust in order for the Council to be able to assess itself effectively against the principles of the Code and best practice identified in the National Framework.

2.  Sought assurance about how the review cycle would operate to identify gaps and deliver improvement and how progress would be reported and monitored.