Issue - meetings

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.

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.