The guidance offers useful insight into areas such as the role of members, what you should expect from key officers, what does 'good' look like. It also breaks down the relationship between this framework, corporate peer challenge, best value standards, statutory interventions and Oflog.
The guidance lists the following as 'the key principles of good assurance and accountability':
- Clarity: understand who is accountable for what
- Proportionality: assurance activity must add value, be cost-effective and be proportionate to the level of risk
- A whole-council approach: All members have a responsibility to oversee effective governance, and all officers have a duty to comply with good governance and provide information to demonstrate that compliance
- A culture of assurance and accountability, with a low tolerance for poor governance/ performance: "The culture of any organisation is shaped by the worst behaviour the leader is willing to tolerate"
- Monitoring against standards, benchmarks and local targets: some elements of what good performance looks like change over time. Understanding how the authority performs in terms of value for money should be a constant endeavour.
- Credible, quality data and information: elected members and the public can only be assured where they are confident in the quality of the information on which assurance judgements are based
- Transparency, accessibility and intelligibility of information: a commitment to transparency is a fundamental element of good governance
- Seeking and engaging with external challenge and support: there are multiple opportunities for peer challenge and support at (sub)regional and national levels, for individual services and at a corporate level.
- Independent assurance: assurance should be proactively sought from a variety of sources
Read the full guidance now.
For more information, please contact Lisa Kirkman in our Public Sector team on 07468 698 977 or complete the form below.