Venue: Mandela Room
Contact: Joanne McNally
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Welcome and Fire Evacuation Procedure In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA. Minutes: The Chair welcomed all attendees to the meeting and explained the fire evacuation procedures. |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: None. |
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Minutes of the Constitution and Member's Development Committee - 27 June 2024 Minutes: The minutes of the Constitution and Member’s Development Committee meeting held on 27 June 2024 were submitted and approved as a correct record. |
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Governance Support and the Constitution refresh Additional documents: Minutes: A report of the Director of Legal and Governance Services was presented
that updated the Committee on progress towards reviewing and updating the
constitution following the adoption of a revised Constitution in May 2023. Members were provided with the background of the Council’s improvement
journey and governance arrangements.
During 2022/23 a series of reports were presented to full Council, which
set out the Phase 1 and 2 approaches to the Council’s corporate governance
improvement plan. The plans were put in place to address the corporate
governance concerns identified by Ernst and Young (EY), the Council’s External
Auditor, on the Annual Audit Results Report, and considered by Corporate
Affairs and Audit Committee on 22 July 2022. Phase One of the improvement journey involved CIPFA being commissioned
to provide an independent review of the Council’s culture and governance. Phase
Two of the governance improvement journey focused on gathering evidence from
officers and Members. On 24 January 2023, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities (DLUHC) issued a Best Value Notice against the Council. This was
formal notification that DLUHC had concerns about the Council in relation to: ·
Serious concerns highlighted by the external
auditor, published in July 2022, around governance arrangements; and ·
Cultural and governance issues further investigated
in the CIPFA review published in September 2022. On 18 September 2023, Council received a report that set out the
activities of Phase Three of the proposed Corporate Governance Improvement
Plan, alongside the associated governance arrangements providing oversight of
delivery. It also received a report from the Council’s External Auditors which
made statutory recommendations in relation to the Council’s governance. On 16 October 2024, Council received a report
updating it on the progress made against the action plan put in place in
response to the report, as well as an update on delivery against the Corporate
Governance Improvement Plan. The Constitution and Member’s Development Committee were advised that a
Locum Governance Solicitor had been recruited to focus on refreshing the
Constitution to ensure that it was accurate and current and to update the
Scheme of Delegations to Officers. The Locum Governance Solicitor gave a presentation that covered the
Constitution Review Process and Scheme of Delegation Review. The Committee were asked to note the additional support secured to
assist with governance and the steps taken to refresh the Constitution and to
consider and provide input into the proposed amendments to the Constitution. A discussion took place in respect of the Constitution, and it was
clarified that the work to be undertaken is a reorganisation of the
Constitution to remove duplication. The following was noted:
ORDERED that the information ... view the full minutes text for item 23/9 |
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Any other urgent items which in the opinion of the Chair, can be considered Minutes: None. |