Agenda item

The Committee considered a report detailing an annual review of company governance. This report informed the Committee of the arrangements currently in place, and the actions currently planned, for managing the Council’s company governance. The Council was associated with four commercial entities (Aylesbury Vale Estates, Buckinghamshire Advantage, Consilio Property Ltd. And London Road Business Park Management Ltd) and, in March 2022, the Cabinet created a Shareholder Committee to manage the Council’s interests. Since then, the Shareholder Committee had overseen certain developments in company governance, including a self-assessment against best practice and the creation of conflicts of interests guidance for councillors, officers and directors. Separately, an Internal Audit had recently been undertaken into the Council’s company governance.

A range of governance improvements had been made during 2022/23 and 2023/24 as outlined in the report. Local Authority Review Guidance had been revised in 2023 to now includes a ‘section 7’ which includes areas of focus for members of a shareholder, scrutiny or audit committee to consider. The priorities for 2024/25 were also noted within the report. Mr Glenn Watson, Principal Governance Officer presented this item.

During discussion, points raised included:

·       A Member highlighted a potential conflict between the covering report and Shareholder Committee terms of reference, in that the report noted that Cabinet Members with portfolios related to the companies’ objectives were not ordinarily considered for appointment to the Shareholder Committee, however the Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources, which included responsibility for property and assets, and the Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration were members of the Shareholder Committee. It was noted that as it undertook an executive function, appointments were limited to Cabinet Members, however it would be checked further as to whether there were specific conflicts.

ACTION: Mr Watson to undertake further checks around potential Cabinet role / Shareholder Committee membership conflicts.

·       The Committee raised concern that four was a low number for membership of the Shareholder Committee, as was the quorum of two, although it was noted that the Chairman of that Committee would hold a casting vote in instances of tied votes. It was said that the Finance and Resources Select Committee had raised a similar concern at a recent meeting. Dependant on the outcome of the above action, the Committee would then give further thought to raising this with Cabinet.

·       A Member requested that consideration be given to adding the potential pool of company directors to BucksNet, where current Directors of companies were listed.

·       The Committee challenged the specific purposes of the entities and queried whether they offered the Council any additional benefits, to that which the Council could do itself. The Committee was advised that the entities were legacy council arrangements which would have reflected aspirations and opportunities available at the time they were created. The Shareholder Committee reviewed business plans annually and as part of this would consider the most effective and efficient way of the entities discharging their functions which could lead to decisions around their future longevity.

·       The Committee requested that this be an annual report, and that the Risk Management Group ensure that companies had appropriate risk management processes in place. The Committee also queried whether it should receive an annual review of council assets  with a view to ensure that they were held in the most appropriate manner in terms of governance.

ACTION: Ms M Gibb to add an annual review of company governance to the 24/25 work programme, to ensure company governance was reviewed annually by the Committee.

RESOLVED:

That the annual review of company governance be noted.