Issue - meetings

Members considered the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) 2019/2020 and associated Action Plan.

The action plan had been set around any ideas that had arisen for improvement or redress.  Since the draft statement had been presented, there had been one slight amendment.  This amendment was the appointment of the Assistant Director for Finance, Business Support and Property Services as the Authority’s Section 151 Officer.  This responsibility had previously rested with the Chief Executive, but it was considered best practice for the Chief Executive not to have a division of responsibilities.

The Action Plan outlined six areas for scrutiny over the coming year.  These were:

1.    Implement the Senior Management Restructure;

2.    Sustainability, Climate and Environment Strategy;

3.    Effectiveness of the Governance and Audit Committee Survey;

4.    Post-Emergency Pandemic Recovery Response and Plans;

5.    Effectiveness and Understanding of Corporate Procurement Procedures;

6.    Act on the Recommendations of the Peer Review.

The Action Plan would be brought back on two further occasions to be presented to this Committee.

Following this introduction, Members asked questions of officers and provided comment.  Further information was provided;

·         The Parish Charter had been adopted, and was now available for circulation to parishes and towns.  It had also been added to the West Lindsey District Council website;

·         The delay in key procurement referred to in the report related to a number of IT related procurements that had been commissioned, such as the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems.  There had been an initial thought that a combined system for these two areas would be available, but this did not materialise.  Procurement within West Lindsey District Council (WLDC) had provided a great deal of assistance, and acted as a safety net to make sure purchases were carried out in a legal manner;

·         The formal publication of the Peer Review, agreed with the Local Government Association (LGA) had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  It had been agreed to take this item to Full Council in November;

·         The views of service users, such as those at the leisure centre can be reflected in future statements;

·         Separate to the service reviews been undertaken, work was being carried out on efficiencies within the Council.  The Monitoring Officer and People and Organisational Development Manager produce a yearly report on the Workforce Development Plan; this aims to try and ensure the workforce that we have corresponds with the skills required to perform different roles;

·         Currently corporate procurement procedures are drawn from the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), but officers are guided by paid advice from Procurement Lincolnshire.

The report was moved and seconded, and it was unanimously RESOLVED to approve the Annual Governance Statement 2019/2020 and associated action plan as bearing a true reflection of the Council’s governance related arrangements and issues arising out of the year 2019/2020.