Agenda item

The Committee considered a report which contained the draft Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for 2020/21. This was the first AGS for Buckinghamshire Council and related to the first year of operation as a unitary authority, with a focus on the Council’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The AGS was usually presented with the Statement of Accounts, however due to the delay in presenting these it had been decided to bring the draft AGS to this meeting with the final version to be presented in July.

The AGS had been drafted by giving consideration to the Council’s sources of assurance on internal control and is structured in accordance with CIPFA guidance. The role of the Audit and Governance Committee was to review the AGS to provide assurance that it reflected the evidence considered by the Committee over the year (2020/21), and that the actions identified were appropriate. The draft AGS could be updated in the period up until the Statement of Accounts were recommended for approval at the Audit and Governance Committee in July. Once the Committee had approved the statement it would be presented to the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council for signing and be published on the Buckinghamshire County Council website with the Statement of Accounts once approved.

The full Draft AGS was appended to the report.

During discussion, key points highlighted included:

• The report on the whole, identified good governance frameworks leading to relatively few recommendations.
• The Committee thanked officers for a clear and comprehensive report which produced a very positive statement.
• Areas recommended to be considered for inclusion in to the action plan and general recommended changes, these included:
  • The resourcing difficulties which the Committee and Risk Management Group had frequently heard of over the past twelve months.
  • Strengthening the risk management activity and risk registers, although it was noted that the CIPFA review recognised that the Council’s Risk Management process was embedded and robust.
  • Noting the roles of Service Directors and Heads of Service where key roles were referred to on page 24 of the reports pack.
  • Third bullet point, at ‘E. Developing the entity’s capacity, including the capability of its leadership and the individuals within it’, on page 29 of the reports pack, to include reference to members, along with officers who were expected to complete mandatory training.
  • Within the same section, reference should be made to roles of officers and members having been strengthened through recent changes made to the Constitution.
  • Page 24, noted that there were four Select Committees, the Committee this be updated to reflect that there were more (6).
  • Re-wording the reference made to the webcasting of meetings, Members noted that it was not all Committee meetings that were webcast.

• The Principal Governance Officer advised of changes to the future presentation of the AGS. These included having a local code, which described the Council’s governance processes and supplemented the AGS which could then assess against the local code how effective the governance processes were working. This would provide greater clarity to Members and stakeholders. As part of this, thought would be given to forming an officer working group, containing officers from across the authority who managed various aspects of governance. There was also the suggestion to make the presentation of the AGS more user-friendly so that it was produced with residents in mind, this may involve using more graphics with a focus on giving the public a genuine insight in to the governance, culture and character of the authority.
• The Chairman identified that the Constitution details the Committee’s remit and raised a concern that there were a number of issues happening across the Council which the Council may also benefit from the Committee reviewing. The Chairman gave examples of taking a thematic look at ombudsman reports and having an overview of planned inspections, how the Council performed in these and how the governance of these inspections was assessed for effectiveness.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were discussed, and whilst the performance aspect was a matter for Cabinet and the Select Committees, it was questioned whether the KPIs provided appropriate governance across the Council. It was requested that this be reviewed and brought before the Committee, if a constitutional change was thought necessary.
• A Member also highlighted that it was admirable that the Council had reacted so quickly to the Covid pandemic and now the situation in Ukraine, however requested information be made available to the Committee to assess the governance of associated boards and funding processes.

RESOLVED –

That the draft 2020/21 Buckinghamshire Draft Annual Governance Statement be approved subject to the amendments and considerations proposed above.