Report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer enclosed.
Minutes:
By way of a report by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book), the Committee was reminded that the Corporate Governance Panel had been requested to consider both its own constitution and that of the Committee. There was a view that the terms of reference and title of the Corporate Governance Panel might be varied perhaps to an Audit and Accounts Committee so that its functions relate specifically to Risk Management, Audit, Accounts and Resources, for example, with governance, constitutional and possibly complaints responsibilities transferred to the Committee or to a potentially re-named Standards and Governance Panel.
This suggestion had arisen because of the contrast in the workload of each. Members were reminded that the Corporate Governance Panel had become increasingly busy in recent years as greater emphasis had been placed on governance issues. The demise of “Standards for England” and the impact of the Localism Act 2011 had resulted in a less procedurally prescriptive standards regime and a subsequent reduction in the level of business considered by the Committee.
It was reported that the Chairmen had met to consider several options for change together with the current arrangements made by other Cambridgeshire Authorities dealing with Corporate Governance and Standards issues and the outcome of their discussion and their preferred approach was presented to the Committee.
During discussion, Members indicated that they would wish the Committee and the Corporate Governance Panel to continue to operate as separate principal bodies and that were the Panel/Committee to be re-named to reflect any new functions but it should retain the words “Standards” within its title in order to promote and maintain the profile of the Code of Conduct and the continuing importance of high standards of conduct by Councillors and other related protocols within the Constitution. The Committee also expressed support for a limited transfer of functions from the Corporate Governance Panel and the Elections Working Group.
Having regard to the current terms of reference of the Panel and the Committee, Members were of the view that the following functions could be transferred and be undertaken, in future, by the Committee rather than the Corporate Governance Panel –
¨ Considering proposals to change the Council’s Constitutional arrangements and making appropriate recommendations to the Council (a function formerly undertaken by Standards);
¨ Determining the Council’s customer feedback procedure, monitoring compliance with the procedure, compensatory payments to complainants and formulation of recommendations to the Cabinet or Council on any action to be taken as a consequence; and
¨ Considering reports by the Local Government Ombudsman, approval of compensatory payments to complainants and formulation of recommendations to the Cabinet or Council on any remedial action to be taken as a consequence.
Although ultimately, certain issues still would be reserved to Council as part of the policy and statutory framework, Members supported the suggestion that matters relating to electoral arrangements also could fall to be dealt with by the Committee rather than the Elections Working Group as at present. Whereupon, it was
RESOLVED
that the foregoing reviews of the Committee be conveyed to the Corporate Governance Panel in conjunction with the current review of the Constitution.
Supporting documents: