A report by the Chief Executive provided an overview of the products which would result from the work taking place on the Key Lines of Enquiry (KLOEs) that underpinned the Corporate Governance Comprehensive Work Plan.  It also identified a number of linkages between the KLOEs and proposed that they inform the development of a Framework for implementing, sustaining and ensuring compliance of improvement actions.  This Improvement Framework would also provide a clear context for progressing the recommendations contained in the AKA report and other external reports, together with issues raised by employees through the range of discussions, questionnaires, meetings that were currently taking place.

The Committee was aware that work was progressing on each of the KLOEs and this would result in a number of discrete operational proposals that were relevant to each one.  Appendix 1 to the report set out the anticipated Products from each of the KLOEs together with an outline of when and how the improvement proposals would be brought forward.

This work was not being done in isolation, either from the other KLOEs or from existing mainstream delivery, as it was recognised that there were linkages across the programme.  These linkages were still emerging as the reviews neared completion, but a number of strategic actions and principles had been identified.  These included the following:

• Robust evidence base - Review of Policy, Review of Central and devolved functions, Review of Performance

• Involvement of partners, service users etc in developing evidence base - Review of Equalities, Review of Code of Corporate Governance

• Shared Vision and Values – Review of Corporate Plan and Budget, Communications, Review of Member Capacity, Review of Equalities

• Cultural Change – Review of Equalities, Communications Plan, Review of Performance Management

• Budget – Review of Corporate Plan and Budget, Review of Fees and Charges, Strategic Change programme

• Performance Management Framework – Review of Policy, Review of Performance management (HR and Corporate); Review of Committee Services

• Self assessment – Review of Policy, Review of Performance, Review of Corporate plan (alignment of resources), Peer Review – stress testing current improvements

It was proposed that these strategic actions formed the basis of the March report on the outcomes of the Corporate Governance Work Plan.  This report would be supported by a number of annexes setting out specific detailed recommendations relating to the individual KLOEs where relevant.  The Committee was informed that the majority of the work to deliver the ten KLOEs would be completed and reported on by the end of March 2012.  However, whilst this work ensured that a range of improvement actions were put in place, it also highlighted further longer term actions that would be required to ensure that improvements to corporate governance were fully embedded in how the Council did its business.

In addition, the range of employee engagement activities that Members had now put in place would give rise to a wealth of feedback that was likely to inform, not only issues relating directly to corporate governance, but also potentially to wider issues of culture, service delivery, efficiencies and possible improvements.

The Cabinet had also agreed to accept the recommendations contained within the AKA Final Report and to develop an action plan to address them.  There were other external reports which may also give rise to recommendations that needed to be taken on board.

The CGIT, with the support of the LGA team, had begun to identify how all of the recommendations and feedback outlined above could be captured in order to inform the development of an Improvement Framework that addressed these wider areas of work.  This would be likely to include:

• Identification of themes within which the actions arising from the KLOEs (as set out in section 5.3 above), together with recommendations from the AKA Final report and other external reports, can be further developed, implemented and sustained;

• Recommendations regarding cultural change and equalities – informed by the feedback from the employee engagement activities with Members, Member and staff surveys, and including on-going communications.

A further emerging theme was that of compliance.  It was of critical importance that once improvements were made they were sustained and reviewed so that they continued to be drivers of the delivery of the Council’s key priorities.  It was proposed that explicit responsibility for ensuring compliance needed to be agreed.  The AKA Final report proposed that the Council give consideration to the creation of a Corporate Governance team and that driving improvements and compliance could be one of the key functions of such a team.

Councillor A McLachlan, referring to KLOE 6, Committee Services, informed that in order to deliver the change needed it had been identified that the Council must consider its future IT requirements.  The outputs and products would be delivered but bigger underlying issues must also be taken forward.

Councillor S Foulkes informed that outsiders, on seeing the amount of work in progress, wondered how it would be prioritised.  To achieve the end result a lot of underpinning work must be completed.  The Improvement Board had discussed all the work of the KLOEs and was of the view that it should continue and it was interested to seeing that which fell within its remit.

Councillor S Foulkes also referred to the proceedings of the special meeting of the Health and Wellbeing Overview and Scrutiny committee which had been held on 6 February 2012 to consider the AKA Final Report and the proposed Action Plan to bring about improvement.  The meeting had been deferred to a future date because all of the facts had not been available at the meeting and the names in the report had remained ananymous.  There had been concerns over the way the report had been presented and Members agreed that lessons must be learnt from this.

The Director of Law, HR and Asset Management informed that he had a conference call booked with DLA Piper Ltd the following day to discuss options for publicising the names in the AKA Final Report.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  a report that draws out the key strategic linkages and recommendations from across the KLOEs and includes operational information as supporting annexes be presented to an appropriate meeting in March 2012;

(2)  the Corporate Governance Improvement Team (CGIT) be requested to develop an Improvement Framework; and

(3)  consideration would be given to how improvements and compliance will be driven forward and sustained.