Contents
Introduction..
3
What is
governance?.
3
Core principles of good
governance.
3
The seven principles of
public life.
5
Performance Management
Framework.
6
Key elements that
comprise the council’s governance arrangements.
7
Corporate meeting
structure.
10
How we ensure our
arrangements are working.
11
Monitoring and
reporting compliance with the code.
11
DRAFT v1 05/12/2024
Author: Luke
Hamblin
Last reviewed: December 2024
The council’s Code of Corporate
Governance, based on ‘Delivering Good Governance in Local
Government Framework 2016’ published by The Chartered
Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy (CIPFA), sets out how
the council’s governance arrangements meet the seven
principles of good governance.
The
overarching document which sets out the outcomes which the council
aims to deliver is
Brighton & Hove City Council’s Council Plan 2023 -
2027.
The
Code of Corporate Governance directly supports the Council Plan
Outcome 4: A responsive council with well-run services – Good
governance and financial resilience.
The
International
framework: good governance in the public sector published by CIPFA/IFAC in 2014, defines
governance as comprising the arrangements put in place to
ensure that the intended outcomes for stakeholders are defined and
achieved.
Good governance in local
authorities:
>
Ensures that decision making is lawful, informed by objective
advice, transparent and consultative
>
Is crucial to achieving value for money and securing financial
sustainability
>
Ensures ethical standards (The
Nolan Principles) are upheld and prevents serious
failings such as fraud
The fundamental function of good governance in
the public sector is to ensure that entities achieve their intended
outcomes while acting in the public interest at all times.
There are seven principles of Good Governance,
from ‘Delivering Good Governance in Local Government
Framework 2016’, with principles A and B permeating the
implementation of principles C to G.
Acting in the public interest requires:
A.
Behaving with integrity, demonstrating strong commitment to ethical
values and respecting the rule of law;
B.
Ensuring openness and comprehensive stakeholder engagement;
In addition, achieving good governance in the
public sector also requires effective arrangements for:
C.
Defining outcomes in terms of sustainable economic, social, and
environmental benefits;
D.
Determining the interventions necessary to optimise the achievement
of the intended outcomes;
E.
Developing the capacity of the entity, including the capability of
its leadership and the individuals within it;
F.
Managing risks and performance through robust internal control and
strong public financial management; and
G.
Implementing good practices in transparency, reporting and audit to
deliver effective accountability.
The diagram below illustrates how the seven
principles relate to each other.
The Seven Principles of Public Life (also
known as the Nolan Principles) apply to anyone who works as a
public office-holder. This includes all those who are elected or
appointed to public office, nationally and locally, and all people
appointed to work in the Civil Service, local government, the
police, courts and probation services, non-departmental public
bodies (NDPBs), and in the health, education, social and care
services. All public office-holders are both servants of the public
and stewards of public resources. The principles also apply to all
those in other sectors delivering public services.
1.
Selflessness
Holders of public office
should act solely in terms of the public interest.
2.
Integrity
Holders of public office must
avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or
organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in
their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain
financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family,
or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and
relationships.
3.
Objectivity
Holders of public office must
act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the
best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
4.
Accountability
Holders of public office are
accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must
submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
5.
Openness
Holders of public office
should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner.
Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are
clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
6.
Honesty
Holders of public office
should be truthful.
7.
Leadership
Holders of public office should
exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others
with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the
principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.
Best Value Authorities are under a general
Duty of Best Value to “make arrangements to secure continuous
improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having
regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and
effectiveness.”
The eight elements of the Performance
Management Framework are a key element of our Corporate Governance
and allow us to understand the performance of the council as a
whole which provide us with a better context in which we are
operating. The elements are inter-related; most services contribute
to every element in the framework.
The Performance Management Framework sets out
to ensure:
>
strong leadership at all levels which is consistent and fair and
challenges blame culture
>
commitment to the accountability that has been assigned to
individuals
>
the right information reaching the right people at the right time
so that decisions are made and actions are taken
>
ongoing evaluation, review and learning to help improve future
performance
>
the ability to identify and commitment to rectify poor performance
at an early stage
The
council has many policies, processes, and strategies aligned with
the Good Governance Principles. The following table identifies the
key policies, procedures, and frameworks corresponding to each core
principle
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Integrity, ethical values
and legislation
|
Openness and stakeholder engagement
|
Defining outcomes: economic, social & environmental
benefits
|
Determining interventions to maximise outcomes
|
Capacity, capability and
leadership
|
Performance and risk
management
|
Transparency, reporting and audit to deliver effective
accountability
|
|
The
Constitution
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Code
of conduct for Officer Member Relations
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Behaviour
Framework
|
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Code
of conduct for employees
|
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BHCC
Anti-Fraud & Corruption Strategy and Framework
|
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Modern
Slavery Statement
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Customer
Experience Strategy
|
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Information
Rights Framework
|
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Formal
Partnerships including the City Management Board
|
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Council
Plan
|
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Economic
Strategy
|
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Carbon
Reduction Programme
|
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Medium
Term Financial Strategy
|
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Capital
Investment Programme
|
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Corporate
Leadership Plan
|
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Financial
Regulations & Standard Financial Procedures
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Modernisation
Portfolio
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Contract
Standing Orders
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Fair
& Inclusive Action Plan
|
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Staff
training
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Member
training
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Scheme
of Delegation
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Employment
policies
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Pay
policy
|
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Risk
Management Framework and Process
|
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Information
governance & security policies
|
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Health
& Safety Strategy
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People
Strategy
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Whistleblowing
Policy
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Performance
Management Framework
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Internal
Audit
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External
Auditor’s Annual Report
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Annual
Governance Statement
|
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Procurement
Standing Orders and Strategy
|
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Underpinning these key elements is the Golden
Thread, that ensures all council activity is focused on achieving
the intended outcomes for stakeholders.
Roles and responsibilities
All Members and officers are expected to
commit to the Council’s principles of good governance;
however, there are specific responsibilities for the below
individuals and groups, as set out in Part 2 of the Council’s
constitution:
The following Member bodies have specific
responsibilities for good governance:
>
Full Council
>
Cabinet
>
Audit, Standards & General Purposes Committee
>
Overview and Scrutiny Committees
The Full Council makes decisions on key areas
such as the Constitution, Policy Framework and budget.
The Cabinet is responsible for day-to-day
decision making on most services. It must operate within the budget
and policy framework agreed by the Full Council.
The Cabinet are held to account by Overview
and Scrutiny committees. There are also several other
committees which deal with functions like planning, licensing and
Health & Wellbeing.
The Corporate Leadership Team has a collective
accountability for ensuring good governance, and this is
underpinned by the roles of three statutory officers of the
council:
>
Head of Paid Service – Chief Executive
>
Monitoring Officer – Director of Legal and Governance
>
Section 151 Officer – Chief Finance Officer
Chief Officers are responsible for the
policies and procedures which form part of this Code and that fall
within their functional responsibilities. Each Chief Officer is
supported by senior managers who are responsible for ensuring that
the relevant polices and procedures are up to date, are being
complied with and are effective in achieving good governance.
The Three Lines of Defence model has been
practiced for a number of years, particularly within financial
services, central government and the NHS. Our Risk Management
Framework uses the ‘three lines of defence model’ to
assess the effectiveness of how we manage organisational risks.
The Three Lines of Defence model outlines
three levels of assurance and provides an ‘assurance
map’ so that we can clearly see the sources of assurance and
existing processes.
There is a statutory requirement for each
local authority to conduct a review of its system of internal
control and prepare and publish an Annual Governance Statement
(AGS) at least once every financial year in order to publicly
report on the extent to which they comply with their own code of
governance.
The AGS includes details of how the council
has monitored and evaluated the effectiveness of its governance
arrangements, an opinion on the level of assurance the governance
arrangements provide and agreed actions, both taken and proposed,
to address significant governance issues.
The AGS is reported to the Audit, Standards
& General Purposes committee each year before being signed by
the Council Leader and Chief Executive.