Issue - meetings

(Chief Internal Auditor) To consider the attached report (AGC-001-2017/18).

The Chief Internal Auditor presented a report on the Annual Governance Statement for 2016/17.

The Chief Internal Auditor stated that the Council’s Statutory Statement of Accounts had been prepared in accordance with the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015. Within the Regulations, and in accordance with defined ‘proper practice’, there was a mandatory requirement to publish an Annual Governance Statement. The arrangements were designed to provide the Authority with assurance regarding the adequacy of its governance arrangements, and identifying where those arrangements needed to be improved. The Statement was also partly derived from detailed reviews by all Service Directors on the effectiveness of the governance arrangements within their areas. The Statement also outlined the Governance Framework at the Council, the progress made on significant governance issues identified in the previous Statement, and the following areas for improvement or monitoring during 2017/18:

(i)         compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations from May 2018; and

(ii)        awareness of Corporate Policies, and any changes, by staff including the Officer Code of Conduct, Data Protection, Anti-Fraud, and Whistle Blowing.

The Chief Internal Auditor explained that ‘meta compliance’ involved staff being made to read a policy when they logged on to their computers and not being able to continue with their work until they had correctly answered three questions on the particular policy.

Resolved:

(1)        That the Annual Governance Statement for 2016/17 be approved.