Governance

Local Code of Corporate Governance

The Council is responsible for ensuring that its business is conducted in accordance with the law and appropriate standards, that public money is safeguarded and properly accounted for and that funding is used economically, efficiently and effectively.


The Council's Local Code of Corporate Governance describes the governance arrangements which are in place to ensure the Council conducts its business in accordance with proper standards. 

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The Council is committed to the seven principles of good governance set out in the CIPFA/SOLACE publication “Delivering Good Governance in Local Government”.  


  1. Behaving with integrity, demonstrating strong commitment to ethical values and respecting the rules of law.

  2. Ensuring openness and comprehensive stakeholder engagement.

  3. Defining outcomes in terms of sustainable economic, social and environmental benefits.

  4. Determining the interventions necessary to optimize the achievement of the intended outcomes.

  5. Developing the entity’s capacity, including the capability of its leadership and the individuals within it.

  6. Managing risks and performance through robust internal control and strong public financial management.

  7. Implementing good practices in transparency, reporting, and audit, to deliver effective accountability.

 

The Council's compliance with these principles is reviewed each year to highlight what has been done as well as identify any further improvements for the coming year.


The council publishes end-of year reports for the Local Code of Corporate Governance, available for download here:


An Annual Governance Statement is also contained within the Council's Annual Statement of Accounts.

      

Constitution

The Council also has a Constitution which sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures which are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent and accountable to local people. 

The purpose of the Constitution is to:

  1. Enable the Council to provide clear leadership to the community in partnership
    with citizens, businesses and other organisations

  2. Support the active involvement of citizens in the process of local authority
    decision-making

  3. Help Councillors represent their constituents more effectively

  4. Enable decisions to be taken efficiently and effectively

  5. Create a powerful and effective means of holding decision-makers to public
    account for the decisions they have made

  6. Ensure that no Member will review or scrutinise a recommendation by the
    Strategy Group in which they were directly involved

  7. Ensure that those responsible for decision making are clearly identifiable to
    local people and that they explain the reasons for decisions

  8. Provide a means of improving the delivery of services to the community.

 

Download a copy of the Constitution