Issue - meetings

1.       That the 2015/16 Annual Governance Statement, attached as Annex A to the submitted report, be approved and signed by the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive for inclusion in the Statement of Accounts.

2.       That the Audit and Governance Committee continue to monitor the governance environment and report to the Cabinet, Cabinet Member or Scrutiny Board as appropriate.

Reasons for Decisions:

There is a statutory duty to annually review and report on governance through an Annual Governance Statement.  The identification of areas for focus and continuous improvement ensures high standards of governance.

[The decisions on this item can be called in by the Council Overview Board]

Introducing the Annual Governance Statement, the Cabinet Member for Business Services and Resident Experience said that it provided a comprehensive assessment of the Council’s governance arrangements, which, once signed by the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive, would be incorporated in the Statement of Accounts. She also confirmed that there was a statutory duty to review it annually.

Referring to the section of the Statement relating to Transparency and Stewardship, she was pleased to report that an Effective Audit opinion had been given, following the annual internal audit of Organisational Ethics which was the highest grading that could be achieved.

She also informed Cabinet that the Annual Governance Statement had been considered by the Audit and Governance Committee on 26 May 2015. Both the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive had attended that meeting. During discussions at that meeting some minor changes had been agreed and that committee was satisfied with the governance arrangements and therefore, commended it to Cabinet for publication with the Council’s Statement of Accounts.

The Cabinet Associate for Community Safety considered that this Statement was succinct, easy to read and clearly set out the County Council’s corporate aims and objectives, including partnership working.

The Cabinet Member for Wellbeing and Health referred Cabinet to the focus 2016/17 and stressed the importance of strong governance arrangements, which would support the increasing number and scale of challenges that the County Council was facing.

Finally, the Leader of the Council informed Members that openness and accountability was at the centre of everything that the Council did. He also highlighted increasing demand for Adult Social Care services and school places as key pressures facing the County Council.

RESOLVED:

1.       That the 2015/16 Annual Governance Statement, attached as Annex A to the submitted report, be approved and signed by the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive for inclusion in the Statement of Accounts.

2.       That the Audit and Governance Committee continue to monitor the governance environment and report to the Cabinet, Cabinet Member or Scrutiny Board as appropriate.

Reasons for Decisions:

There is a statutory duty to annually review and report on governance through an Annual Governance Statement.  The identification of areas for focus and continuous improvement ensures high standards of governance.