Issue - meetings

Recommendation:

1.      That Cabinet approves the Annual Governance Statement and recommends its adoption and sign off by the Leader of the Council and the Managing Director.

2.      That Cabinet consider and approve the revised local code of Corporate Governance.

The Cabinet received a report regarding the Annual Governance Statement 2012/13. The Monitoring Officer presented the report. The Monitoring Officer informed Cabinet of the Council’s responsibility for ensuring that its business is conducted in accordance with the law and proper standards, and that public money is safeguarded, properly accounted for and used economically, efficiently and effectively.  In discharging these responsibilities, the Council must ensure that there is good governance and a sound system of internal control in place, which facilitate the effective exercise of the Council’s functions and which include arrangements for the management of risk.

The Monitoring Officer also informed the Cabinet that the Council’s governance arrangements had been reviewed by the Corporate Governance Assurance Board throughout 2012/13 and an Annual Governance Statement been drafted and in accordance with CIPFA guidance.

The Chairman of Audit Committee also informed the Cabinet of the comments made at its meeting on 10^th June 2013. The Committee had noted the Annual Governance Statement and the draft Local Code of Corporate Governance.  The Committee had also commented that it may be appropriate to include reference in the Code to the procedure for considering allegations that the Code has been breached.  The Leader of the Council agreed to include this wording in the resolution.

RESOLVED:That the Cabinet:-

1.      approves the Annual Governance Statement and recommends its adoption and sign off by the Leader of the Council and the Managing Director; and

2.      consider and approve the revised local code of Corporate Governance and delegate to the Monitoring Officer in consultation with the Chairman of Audit Committee authority to amend the Code to include reference to the procedures for determining if the Code has been breached.