Issue - meetings

That the Draft Annual Governance Statement 2012/13, as attached at Appendix A to the report of the Chief Executive, be agreed for sign off by the Leader and Chief Executive.

DECISION MADE:  That the Draft Annual Governance Statement 2012/13, as attached at Appendix A to the report of the Chief Executive, be agreed for sign off by the Leader and Chief Executive.

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The Head of Policy and Communications presented the draft Annual Governance Statement for 2012/13 for review by the Committee prior to it being considered by the Cabinet.  It was noted that:

·  The Statement had been completely revised to reflect best practice identified in the Local Government Governance Review 2013 undertaken by Grant Thornton, the Council’s external auditors.

·  The Statement had been reviewed by the external auditors who were satisfied that it met requirements and was an informative document.

·  The Head of Policy and Communications was now responsible for corporate governance.  A small working group comprising the Head of Audit Partnership, the Head of Finance and Resources and the Head of Legal Services (Monitoring Officer) had been set up to work with the Head of Policy and Communications on corporate governance issues, reporting quarterly to the Corporate Leadership Team and six monthly to the Audit Committee.  This would provide an opportunity for greater Member input throughout the year.

In response to questions by Members, the Head of Policy and Communications explained that “STRIVE” was the acronym for the Council’s core values and that the strategy being developed in relation to the Council’s approach to information management would be a public document.

Arising from the discussion, the Head of Policy and Communications undertook to provide the following information for the Committee:

·  An update, in due course, on the effectiveness of the new enhanced scrutiny model with four Overview and Scrutiny Committees aligned to the Cabinet portfolios and an emphasis on both pre- and post decision scrutiny; and

·  An update in six months’ time on the progress in relation to the re-introduction of public debate meetings.

The Head of Policy and Communications also undertook to provide, for Councillor Butler, details of the action being taken to involve young people in decision making.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That subject to typographical amendments, the draft Annual Governance Statement for 2012/13 be approved for submission to the Cabinet and sign off by the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive prior to accompanying the Statement of Accounts;

(b)  That the Head of Policy and Communications be requested to provide the following information for the Committee:

  (i)  An update, in due course, on the effectiveness of the new enhanced scrutiny model with four Overview and Scrutiny Committees aligned to the Cabinet portfolios and an emphasis on both pre- and post decision scrutiny; and

  (ii)  An update in six months’ time on the progress in relation to the re-introduction of public debate meetings.