To seek the views of the committee as to whether the draft annual governance statement properly reflects the risk environment the council is operating in and the appropriateness of any actions required to improve it.

The head of corporate governance presented the report and highlighted:

·         The annual governance statement was a statutory requirement.  

·         The code of corporate governance which had been approved in May 2017 complied with the requirements of CIPFA guidance and the recent review of constitution had not highlighted any issues.  

·         Assurance statements from managers and statutory officers had been introduced and were part of the background papers to the report. 

·         The statement was primarily based on the arrangements for 2017/18 and sets out how the effectiveness had been reviewed.

·         Areas of improvement identified and the actions identified.  

The following points were raised in connection with the statement:

·         Principle A (Behaving with integrity, demonstrating strong commitment to ethnical values and respect the rule of law) – it was noted that further on the agenda there was a proposal to continue to withhold the names of councillors who are found to be in breach of the code of conduct.

·         Principle B (ensuring openness and comprehensive stakeholder engagement) – it was noted that consultation does take place but appeared view was expressed that consultees views were not sufficiently taken into account by the executive and that objective advice was not always given. 

·         There appeared to be little investment in training.   If the council was to become a commissioning organisation, then skilled commissioners and expert legal advice and contract monitoring would be required.  It was confirmed that training plans were being put in place for members and officers.

·         Principle F (managing risks and performance through robust internal control and strong public financial management) – it was acknowledged that work had been undertaken on the corporate risk register but that members would like to see directorate risk registers.   It was confirmed that if members wished to see the directorate risk registers, then they may request sight of them. 

·         Principle F – with regard to GDPR and councillors, it was confirmed that a briefing note would be going out to all councillors in relation to GDPR and data protection.   The information governance team would also be offering to attend group meetings in order to discuss the issue. 

·         There was mention with regard to the council responsibilities in connection with the NMiTE funding, but no mention of the development partnership.   It was confirmed that once the contract with Keepmoat had been signed, any governance risks would form part of the annual governance statement.  The 2017/18 annual governance statement would be updated as necessary if the contract was signed by July 2018. 

A vote was undertaken in relation to accepting the annual statement

In favour of accepting:            3 (chairman’s casting vote was used)

In favour of rejecting:              2

RESOLVED

That the draft annual governance statement be approved for publication with the draft statement of accounts 2017/18.