Agenda item

The Annual Governance Statement (AGS) is an important document which provides assurance concerning the Council’s governance arrangements, both financial and non-financial. It is prepared on an annual basis for inclusion in the Statement of Accounts.

This report seeks the Committee’s approval of the draft AGS 2023-2024.

The Committee received a report seeking the Committee’s approval of the draft Annual Governance Statement 2023-2024.

The Annual Governance Statement (AGS) is an important document which provides assurance concerning the Council’s governance arrangements, both financial and non-financial. It is prepared on an annual basis for inclusion in the Statement of Accounts.

The following matters were considered:

a)            Standing Orders. A Member of the Committee asked if one of the referenced changes to the Council’s Constitution is the introduction of new standing orders, setting out the disciplinary process against statutory officers. The Monitoring Officer confirmed to the Committee that is one of the items, alongside several others that were approved by the Standards and Constitution Committee on the 4^th of June.

b)            Constitutional Changes Process. A Member of the Committee asked what the process is for finding areas in the Constitution that need updating. The Business Assurance Manager informed the Committee that there is an annual review of the Constitution and a three-line defence model with Service Managers, Performance and Risk Management, and Internal Auditors. The Monitoring Officer explained to the Committee that although there is a process, a lot of constitutional updates are also down to individuals spotting issues and keeping up to date with central government changes and consulting other statutory officers. The Member commended the work that has been so far to make updates to the Constitution and raised that they would like to see a formal process enacted, whereby there is a clear list that is checked to ensure we are compliant and up to date in all areas. 

c)            Language. A Member of the Committee asked why some of the language used in the statement is more hypothetical than definite. The Business Assurance Manager noted the comment and confirmed that the language could be tightened to signal the intent that those actions will be taken. The Business Assurance Manager informed the Committee that this will be addressed before the AGS goes to Full Council. The Chair invited the Member to email officers the areas where the wording needs amending.

d)            Continuous Improvement. A Member of the Committee suggested that the Council use LG Inform instead of Oflog data explorer in order to have more up-to-date data. The Business Assurance Manager informed the Committee that data presented in the report is captured internally and tagged as an Oflog KPI to flag this to officers.

e)            Strategic Asset Management Plan. A Member of the Committee raised that the Council should have something that it looks at as a performance indicator for how the Council are making more careful use of its assets given the cost of maintaining them.  The Chair noted the comment.

Following consideration, the Committee unanimously resolved to:

(1)      Approve the 2023-2024 draft Annual Governance Statement as set out at Appendix 1, prior to it being signed by the Chief Executive and the Chair of the Strategy and Resources Committee and received to note by Full Council.

(2)      Nominate and authorise the Chief Finance Officer, in consultation with the Chair and Vice-Chair, to make any required amendments to the Annual Governance Statement prior to its submission with the Statement of Accounts.