1.The council’s draft Annual Governance Statement 2020/21, the External Auditor’s Value for Money judgement 2020/21, published in July 2022, identified that the culture and governance arrangements of the Council have not been operating as expected and that this as undermined the effectiveness of the Council’s governance framework. Since that time, although the Council has made progress, it has not done so at pace and there continues to be concern that the Council’s culture and governance challenges have not been addressed. This is reflected in the issuing of a Best Value notice by Government in January 2023 and then in its External Auditor making 11 formal recommendations, exercising its powers under Section 24 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.
2.This report documents the Chief Executive’s decision to appoint an Independent Improvement Advisory Board (IIAB), to provide oversight, support and challenge to the Council’s improvement and transformation journey, with particular focus on ensuring compliance with the Council’s Best Value Duty under the Local Government Act 1999, notably:
?Cultural and governance issues, including those identified through previous CIPFA and previous, and any future, external auditor reports.
?Financial sustainability, including a balanced medium-term financial strategy aligned to the Council’s Corporate Plan.
3.The Board will also oversee progress by the Council towards implementing the actions arising from the Section 24 Statutory Recommendations of the External Auditor, dated 21 August 2023 also presented to Council on the 18 September 2023.
4.To ensure alignment between the work of the Corporate Governance and Children’s Improvement Advisory Boards, Stuart Smith; Chair of the Children’s Improvement Advisory Board, will have a standing invitation to the Corporate Governance IIAB on matters of mutual significance.
5.The estimated cost of engaging the external Chair and three peers to the Board in terms of day rates and estimated expenses over the two financial years is £72,752. The LGA contribution will be £38,352 (53%).
6.In addition, the Council will hold a contingency budget of £10,400 to allow funding if the Board members identify that there is a reasonable case for them working more days in order to provide the council with effective support and oversight of its improvement journey.
7.The Council’s contribution will be met from the Central Contingency Budget in 2023/24 and 2024/5.
8.The procurement of Wallace Sampson and Ros Jones will be completed by the Local Government Association who will make the necessary payments directly. Suki Binjal and Chris Buss will be remunerated by the Council, following approval of an exemption that has been agreed following the procurement governance process.
9.Board members to be appointed are:
Name Experience / speciality
Wallace Sampson OBE Local authority CEO (Chair)
Ros Jones CBE Unitary local authority Mayor / Leader
Suki Binjal Unitary local authority Monitoring
Officer
Chris Buss London Borough and Unitary local
authority Chief Finance Officer
Mark Edgell LGA Regional Lead (LGA employee –
excluded from cost figures above).