Issue - meetings

REPORT OF THE LEGAL MANAGER / DEPUTY MONITORING OFFICER.

The report updates Members of the Committee on the LLG Code of Practice on Good Governance for Local Authority Statutory Officers. It contains a summary of the key objectives, roles and responsibilities.

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the content of the report and Appendix A, and made suggestions on future actions, particularly with reference to 7.6 and 7.7 of this report.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure good governance within the Council.

Audio recording: 1 hour 1 minute and 37 seconds

The Deputy Monitoring Officer presented the report entitled ‘Code for Statutory Officers (Head of Paid Services, Section 151 and Monitoring Officers)’ and highlighted that:

·       The report provided an overview of the Code of Practice on Good Governance for Local Authorities Statutory Officers. The Code was designed in line with the Lawyers in Local Government (LLG), Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) frameworks for the highest paid roles.

·       The Code related to the Golden Triangle of statutory roles: Head of Paid Services, Chief Finance Officer and the Monitoring Officer.

·       The report highlighted the lessons learnt from governance failures, and how these could have been avoided by using these principles.

·       The Committee was asked to endorse the Code and establish the seven key principles highlighted in paragraph 8.1 of the report.

·       The Code was designed for Statutory Officers but would also be relevant for other Officers and Members to support their roles.

·       The Code solidified the practice of good governance and transparency, whilst working in mutual harmony and supporting collaborations to retain relationships. This was a positive measure.

·       The Code demonstrated the best practices of the seven principles and should be formally adopted by the Committee.

The following Members asked questions:

·       Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·       Councillor Ian Albert

In response to questions, the Deputy Monitoring Office advised that:

·       There would be support available for Members and Senior Officers.

·       Compliance with the code would be a shared responsibility across the Council.

·       Deputies for the Golden Triangle positions were in place.

In response to a question the Monitoring Officer advised that:

·       There was not a set deputy for the Head of Paid Services, this was rotated between some of the Service Directors.

·       Antonio Ciampa was the deputy for the Chief Finance Officer.

·       The details of the deputies would be included in the training.

Councillor Ian Albert proposed and Councillor Dominic Griffiths seconded and, following a vote, it was:

RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the content of the report and Appendix A, and made suggestions on future actions, particularly with reference to 7.6 and 7.7 of this report.

REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure good governance within the Council.