The Governance Committee will
have the following roles and functions:
1. To undertake the following
functions relating to standards of conduct -
• Promote and maintain
high standards of conduct by councillors, co-opted members and
church and parent governor representatives;
• Assist the councillors,
co-opted members and church and parent governor representatives to
observe the Members’ Code of Conduct;
• Advise the Council on
the adoption or revision of the Members’ Code of
Conduct;
• Monitor the operation of
the Members’ Code of Conduct;
• Advise, train or arrange
to train councillors, co-opted members and church and parent
governor representatives on matters relating to the Members’
Code of Conduct;
• Grant dispensations to
councillors, co-opted members and church and parent governor
representatives from requirements relating to interests set out in
the Members’ Code of Conduct;
• Deal with any reports
from the monitoring officer on any matter which is referred to
it;
• Oversee the Constitution
(in consultation with the Cabinet and Scrutiny and Improvement
Committees); and.
• Has all the powers of
the Authority to determine appeals or complaints against decisions
made by the Cabinet, a Committee or Panel of the Authority where
the Council’s policies or procedures or legislation (as the
case may be) provide a right of appeal or complaint except where
the matter is the responsibility of some other body or person(s) as
provided for in the Constitution.
2. To undertake the following
functions relating to audit:
• Ensure that external
regulatory and inspection reports are distributed, reviewed,
monitored and actioned;
• Is responsible for
ensuring good stewardship of the authority’s
resources;
• Manage any legislative
requirements arising from the Government’s proposals to
establish an ethical framework for local government, which will
include monitoring and implementation of principles of conduct for
local councillors, rules for dealing with members’ interest,
rules for dealing with registration and acceptance of gifts and
hospitality;
• Enhance the profile,
status and authority of the internal audit function and demonstrate
its independence;
• Contribute towards
making the authority, its committees and departments more
responsive to the audit function;
• Is charged with the
responsibility for promoting internal control by the systematic
appraisal of the authority’s internal control mechanisms, by
the development of an anti-fraud culture and by the review of
financial procedures;
• Is charged with the
responsibility for focussing audit resources, by agreeing with the
audit plans and monitoring delivery of the audit
service;
• Monitor both internal
and external audit performance by ensuring auditor/officer
collaboration within the agreed timescales, by securing the timely
preparation and response to audit reports, by ensuring the
implementation of audit recommendations and by monitoring the
finalisation of the annual accounts;
• Review compliance with
the relevant standards, codes of practice and corporate governance
policies; and,
• Review and monitor the
arrangements for the identification, monitoring and control of
strategic and operational risk within the authority.