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use of resources assessment - governance key line of enquiry (kloe)
The Corporate Services Director, in his capacity as Monitoring Officer, introduced his report which set out the latest Auditors' guidance in relation to governance and asked for views on the points raised and any suggested improvements.
The Monitoring Officer suggested that the document should be treated as a discussion document. He went through the report page by page and suggested that Members of the Committee highlighted any areas within the report that they considered needed particular attention, including any areas that needed to be improved. The Monitoring Officer brought Members' attention to pages one and two of the report with regard to use of resources and highlighted the fact Independent Members and Parish Council representatives on the Standards Committee may feel 'out of the loop' on this matter. He explained that throughout the report, the main issue was the overriding principle of good governance. He brought Members' attention to the statement from the Audit Commission that defined good governance as 'ensuring an organisation is doing the right things, in the right way, for the right people in a timely, inclusive, open, honest and accountable manner'.
With reference to the table on page two in the report, the Chairman suggested that it would be good if all performance was excellent, but considered that Level three would be a good score for Borough Councils to aspire to. This would show a balance with the resources that were available.
In response to a question, the Monitoring Officer explained that the scoring was a new regime and experience showed when new scoring was introduced it tended to be a harder test. It was important to achieve at least a Level two. He reported that the Auditors had suggested that Council's should not attempt to try and cover every item from the Audit Commission, rather to take a rounded view of the performance against the Key Line of Enquiry.
In response to a question, the Monitoring Officer explained that the Standards Committee was involved in considering the use of resources as it had a role in governance. Governance would also be considered within the Performance Board and the Performance Scrutiny Panel. He explained that it was important that the Standards Committee was involved, especially in its role of providing an independent perspective.
With reference to item number 19, page four in the report, the Monitoring Officer explained that the constitution and areas of delegation were currently under review. He reported that, with working with external partners and SBC's outward way of thinking, it was important to get the basics right. Regular review of the Constitution was important so that it was fit for purpose.
The Monitoring Officer emphasised the importance of Members being properly trained so that they were equipped with the skills needed to carry out their role in a confident and comfortable way. He advised that he was working with the Member Development Group with the aim of improving training and tailoring it to Members' individual needs.
A Member recognised the need for training and the importance of Member development. He explained that Member training sessions were often not very attended and that the training sessions were not always tailored to the specific requirements of individual Members.
In response to a question, the Monitoring Officer explained that a Senior Officer within the Council was one at Director or Head of Service level.
A Member considered that a two hour training session was not long enough for some aspects of training and was sometimes too generalised and too complicated. He suggested that it could be more beneficial to have a one or two day session instead, although this raised issues of attendance levels due to work commitments.
A Member considered that the recent training provided by the IDEA was good. She considered that it was important to have basic training on the role of a Councillor and that having a mentor could be beneficial. She considered that refresher courses could also be useful.
The Chairman suggested that the Committee Chairs could feedback the training needs of those sitting on the committee.
The Monitoring Officer explained that the Member Development Working Party ensured that all parties were engaged in Member training and representatives reported back to their Groups. He acknowledged that Committees such as Planning needed more dedicated training. He advised that the Working Party was the mechanism for improvement of Member training.
A Member considered some training was not relevant to Members within SBC. The Monitoring Officer explained, that in the case of scrutiny training, there were different scrutiny models throughout the country which meant that training that was standardised could not always be relevant to a particular Council. In response to a question, the Monitoring Officer explained that there was greater liaison between the Executive and Scrutiny Chairman now at SBC which could be beneficial in enabling scrutiny to contribute more at SBC.
The Monitoring Officer explained that there had been significant progress in the Corporate Policy process in the last eighteen months at SBC. He explained that a refresh of the Corporate Plan was shortly to be published which would set out the priorities, and in terms of governance, had helped to set out the budget setting process. He explained that the priorities within SBC were now more focused. With regard to regeneration, he explained that SBC now had much better relationships with key partners.
With regard to ethical framework, the Monitoring Officer explained that resources for the local filter were now in place. There was still a lot that could be learnt and he emphasised the need to maximise the resources that were available. He advised that he forwarded any information received from the Standards Board to Members.
A Member considered that the public perception of Councillors' behaviour was not very good. The Monitoring Officer advised that it was his role to advise on any potential issues at the earliest opportunity.
Discussion ensued on the amount of involvement that was needed when an issue came to light. A Member suggested that other Members could speak to Members of the Standards Committee when issues arose. The Monitoring Officer explained that it was his role to intervene early when an issue arose and that he provided trust and confidentiality with regard to any potential problems. Members agreed that the Monitoring Officer's role provided consistency.
In response to a question, the Monitoring Officer explained that there was a Code of Conduct for staff. Consultation on the proposed code had recently finished and the results would soon be published. He further advised that at the moment, Members interests were not published on the SBC website, although they could be inspected. He suggested, in terms of the public's perception of Councillors that an article be included in 'Inside Swale' with contributions from the Independent Members. Members welcomed this approach and considered it important that the public realised that Members had to follow a Code of Conduct.
With reference to page seven in the report, the Monitoring Officer explained that partnership working was an important issue, especially the Mid-Kent Improvement Partnership, the Multi-Area Agreement and the Local Strategic Partnership. This offered a collaborative way of working.
RECOMMENDED:
(1) That the Monitoring Officer take forward the issues raised.
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