Shaer Halewood, Director of Resources and Investment (Section 151 Officer) introduced her report that set out the draft Annual Governance Statement for consideration. A final version was scheduled report to the Committee at its next meeting in November 2020.

The Director of Resources apprised the Audit and Risk Management Committee that it was necessary for the Council to have approved and adopted a Code of Corporate Governance that complies with the principles of the CIPFA/SOLACE Framework Delivering Good Governance in Local Government and to report publicly through the Annual Governance Statement the extent to which the governance processes outlined in the Code were operating effectively in practice.

The report informed how (the) Framework identified seven core principles of good governance:

• Behaving with integrity, demonstrating strong commitment to ethical values and respecting the rule of law.
• Ensuring openness and comprehensive stakeholder engagement.
• Defining outcomes in terms of sustainable economic, social and environmental benefits.
• Determining the interventions necessary to optimize the achievement of the intended outcomes.
• Developing the entity’s capacity including the capability of its leadership and the individuals within it.
• Managing risk and performance through robust internal control and strong public financial management.
• Implementing good practices in transparency, reporting and audit to deliver effective accountability. 

Following the Director of Resources introduction, Iain Miles, Audit Manager apprised Members how the Annual Governance Statement had, as in previous years, been prepared in accordance with the CIPFA/SOLACE Delivering Good Governance in Local Government 2016 Framework and Guidance and had been evidenced from the following sources:

• Review of the key governance processes in place; Collation and review of Chief Officers’ Governance Assurance Statements;
• Meetings with key Council officers; and
• Consideration of any relevant reports by external review agencies.

The Annual Governance Statement 2019/20 covered the period from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020 and therefore any significant governance issues identified were those which had occurred during this period. Members were further apprised that it was also required to take account of any key event, for example the COVID-19 pandemic, that commenced in 2019/20 but had continued to have an impact on the governance of the Council until the time of publication of the AGS.

The AGS included a summary of the significant action take in respect of the five significant governance issues identified in last year’s AGS.

Members questioned the officers and highlighted specific areas of interest, namely the inclusion of information on the area of Business Continuity Planning and sought assurances on the matter of financial resilience.

RESOLVED - That

1)  the initial draft of the Annual Governance Statement be noted; and

2)  the final Annual Governance Statement will be presented to the Audit and Risk Management Committee for approval at its next scheduled meeting in November 2020.