The Head of Policy, Communications and Governance introduced her report setting out the Annual Governance Statement for 2021/22 and a refreshed Local Code of Corporate Governance with minor amendments.  It was noted that:

·  The Annual Governance Statement was a review of the Council’s governance arrangements for the last financial year.  The purpose of the Annual Governance Statement was to provide assurance that the Council’s governance arrangements were adequate and operating effectively and to identify actions which were planned to ensure effective governance in the future.

·  Overall, the Officers could confirm that the Council had the appropriate systems and processes in place and progress had been made against last year’s action plan.  The most significant governance issues related to the change from a Committee to an Executive system in May 2022 with actions focused on ensuring an effective decision-making process and a workable Constitution.  There were also actions to ensure compliance with the Financial Management Code and to address corporate risks.

·  Amendments had been made to the Local Code of Corporate Governance.  These were principally required to reflect the recent change to the Council’s governance arrangements from a Committee to an Executive system.

In response to questions, the Head of Policy, Communications and Governance advised the Committee that:

·  In terms of the length of the report and the need for an executive summary, there was a very short executive summary at the beginning of the covering report and the actual Annual Governance Statement also contained a short executive summary which she would look at expanding upon next year.  In the meantime, she would give feed-back to report authors about the need to provide executive summaries.

·  During 2021/22, the Policy and Information team had carried out 23 consultations.  The information gathered through these surveys was used to support decision making and shape policy/strategy development going forward.  She would circulate details to all Members of the Committee.

·  Further information would be provided in the Annual Governance Statement next year about the various methods used to consult and engage with people and to ensure inclusivity (focus groups, digital tools, social media and face-to face etc.).

Councillor Mrs Gooch wished to place on record her thanks to the staff involved with the preparation of the Annual Governance Statement and the refreshed Local Code of Corporate Governance having regard to the additional work required as a result of the change from a Committee to an Executive system.

RESOLVED:  That subject to the points raised in the discussion,

1.  The Annual Governance Statement 2021/22, attached at Appendix A to the report of the Head of Policy, Communications and Governance, be approved and signed off by the Leader of the Council; and

2  The refreshed Local Code of Corporate Governance, attached at Appendix B to the report of the Head of Policy, Communications and Governance, be approved.