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Issue - meetings

ADOPTION OF THE MONITORING OFFICER PROTOCOL

 

 

Meeting: 29/01/2026 - Council (Item 79)

79 ADOPTION OF THE MONITORING OFFICER PROTOCOL pdf icon PDF 170 KB

REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR - GOVERNANCE AND MONITORING OFFICER

To provide Members with a proposed Monitoring Officer protocol and to note the recent guidance document on the Golden Triangle.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED: That Council:

 

(1)   Approved and adopted the Monitoring Officer Protocol into the Constitution.

 

(2)   Noted the guidance attached at Appendix 2 titled: The Golden Triangle: Governance Roles and Responsibilities.

 

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

 

(1)   The role of the Monitoring Officer has expanded over recent years. Monitoring Officers are also required to act as consultants to anyone within the Council on matters of legality, maladministration, and impropriety.

 

(2)   It is therefore considered that it would be good practice for the Council to introduce an appropriate Protocol.

 

(3)   In August 2025, Lawyers in Local Government (LLG), the Chartered Institute for Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Society for Local Authority Chief Executives & Senior Managers (SOLACE) collaborated to produce a new guide: ‘The Golden Triangle: Governance Roles and Responsibilities’ (attached at Appendix 2). Members are invited to give consideration to this guidance to enhance their overall understanding of the interwoven nature of the roles of the three statutory officers within the Council.

Minutes:

Audio recording – 37 minutes 27 seconds

 

Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham, as Chair of the Standards Committee, presented the referral from Standards Committee and the report entitled ‘Adoption of the Monitoring Officer Protocol’ and advised that:

 

·       This report was to provide Members with a proposed Monitoring Officer protocol and for Members to note the recent guidance document on the Golden Triangle.

·       The emphasis on good governance has been heightened as an increased number of local authorities have found themselves in financial difficulties.

·       The Monitoring Officer role was a statutory role as highlighted in paragraph 8.1 of the report.

·       It was the obligation of the Monitoring Officer to report if the Council made a proposal or decision that could be illegal, improper or to constitute maladministration, as set out in Section 2 and 3 of the guidance at Appendix A.

·       The protocol explained the legal requirements and set out the arrangements in place to manage maladministration as detailed in paragraph 8.6 of the report.

·       The Monitoring Officer should be proactive in decision making, as highlighted in Section 3 of the guidance.

·       The Monitoring Officer could act to resolve matters informally as set out in paragraphs 8.8 and 8.9 of the report.

·       The Monitoring Officer was a very important role to ensure the Council operated to high standards.

 

Councillor Vijaiya Poopalasingham proposed and Councillor Sean Nolan seconded and, following a vote, it was:

 

RESOLVED: That Council:

 

(1)   Approved and adopted the Monitoring Officer Protocol into the Constitution.

 

(2)   Noted the guidance attached at Appendix 2 titled: The Golden Triangle: Governance Roles and Responsibilities.

 

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

 

(1)   The role of the Monitoring Officer has expanded over recent years. Monitoring Officers are also required to act as consultants to anyone within the Council on matters of legality, maladministration, and impropriety.

 

(2)   It is therefore considered that it would be good practice for the Council to introduce an appropriate Protocol.

 

(3)   In August 2025, Lawyers in Local Government (LLG), the Chartered Institute for Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Society for Local Authority Chief Executives & Senior Managers (SOLACE) collaborated to produce a new guide: ‘The Golden Triangle: Governance Roles and Responsibilities’ (attached at Appendix 2). Members are invited to give consideration to this guidance to enhance their overall understanding of the interwoven nature of the roles of the three statutory officers within the Council.