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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Penrith

Contact: Members Services 

Items
No. Item

AGc/75/04/19

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Kendall, Councillor Nicolson attended as substitute.

AGc/76/04/19

Minutes of Previous Meeting

To sign the public minutes AGc/46/02/19 to AGc/67/02/19 of the meeting of this Committee held on 21 February 2019 as a correct record of those proceedings (copies previously circulated).

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the public minutes AGc/46/02/19 to AGc/67/02/19 of the meeting of this Committee held on 21 February 2019 be signed by the Chairman and confirmed as a correct record of those proceedings.

AGc/77/04/19

Declarations of Interest

To receive declarations of the existence and nature of any private interests, both disclosable pecuniary and any other registrable interests, in any matter to be considered or being considered.

Minutes:

Councillor Nicolson declared an interest in agenda items 4 as he was a Director of the Heart of Cumbria Limited. Upon taking advice from the Monitoring Officer, he stated that he would not vote on this item.

AGc/78/04/19

External Audit Reports pdf icon PDF 758 KB

To consider report F21/19 from the Director of Finance which is attached and which seeks to set out one report from the Council’s External Auditor, Grant Thornton.

 

RECOMMENDATION that the report of the External Auditor is noted.

Minutes:

Members considered report F21/19 from the Director of Finance which introduced one report from the Council’s External Auditor, Grant Thornton.

 

Proposed by Councillor Orchard

Seconded by Councillor Greenwood

 

and RESOLVED that the report of the External Auditor was noted.

AGc/79/04/19

Universal Credit update

To consider a verbal update from the Head of Revenue and Benefits on the impact of effects the introduction of Universal Credit is having on Eden District Council, as agreed at minute number AGc/50/02/19 (21 February 2019).

Minutes:

Members received a verbal update from the Head of Revenue and Benefits on the impact of the effects of the introduction of Universal Credit in Eden, as agreed at minute number AGc/50/02/19 on 21 February 2019.

 

The Chairman thanked the Head of Revenue and Benefits for her attendance at this meeting.

 

The Head of Revenue and Benefits left the meeting at 19.38.

AGc/80/04/19

Annual Governance Statement pdf icon PDF 163 KB

To consider report F28/19 of the Director of Corporate Services which is attached and which seeks to set out the detail supporting the Council’s Annual Governance Statement (AGS) and Local Code of Governance (Local Code).  Members are asked to confirm that the AGS and Local Code fairly reflects the corporate governance arrangements in place at the Council.

 

RECOMMENDATION that the Accounts and Governance Committee propose any further amendments and endorse the AGS, Local Code and Action Plan.

Minutes:

Members considered report F28/19 from the Director of Corporate Services which sought to set out the detail supporting the Council’s Annual Governance Statement (AGS) and Local Code of Governance (Local Code). Members were asked to confirm that the AGS and Local Code fairly reflect the corporate governance arrangements in place at the Council.

 

Proposed by Councillor Greenwood

Seconded by Councillor Orchard

 

and RESOLVED that:

 

1.            the Action Plan be updated to include a review of the membership of statutory officers on the senior leadership team, and this be reported back to Accounts and Governance Committee at a future meeting.

 

2.            subject to the above, the draft Annual Governance Statement, Local Code and Action Plan was endorsed.

AGc/81/04/19

Local Government Ethical Standards pdf icon PDF 67 KB

To consider report G37/19 from the Director of Corporate Services which is attached and which seeks to request that the Accounts and Governance Committee note the report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and considers any actions arising to feed into future work programming.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS that:

(1)       the Accounts and Governance Committee notes the report; and

(2)       the Accounts and Governance Committee notes that the Monitoring Officer will consider the list of best practice recommendations, and will discuss with the Cumbrian Monitoring Officers and CALC any potential revisions to the existing code of conduct and/or guidance for a further report back to Committee.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members considered report G37/19 from the Director of Corporate Service which requested that the Accounts and Governance Committee note the report of the Committee on Standards in Public Life and considered any actions arising to feed into future work programming.

 

Proposed by Councillor Taylor

Seconded by Councillor Greenwood

 

and RESOLVED that:

 

1.            the Accounts and Governance Committee noted the report; and

 

2.            the Accounts and Governance Committee noted that the Monitoring Officer will consider the list of best practice recommendations, and will discuss with the Cumbrian Monitoring Officers and CALC any potential revisions to the existing code of conduct and/or guidance for a further report back to the Committee.

AGc/82/04/19

Response to External Review of the Accounts and Governance Committee pdf icon PDF 65 KB

To consider report F26/19 from the Director of Corporate Services which is attached and which seeks to respond to the recommendations of an external review of the Accounts and Governance Committee.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS that:

 

1.            The Committee agrees to perform a self-assessment on an annual basis from 2019/20 onwards and reports this to Council.

2.            The Committee is provided with enhanced regular training and supporting materials.

3.            Consideration is given to subscribing to CIPFA’s Better Governance Forum.

 

Minutes:

Members considered report F26/19 from the Director of Corporate Services which responded to the recommendations of an external review of the Accounts and Governance Committee.

 

Proposed by Councillor Orchard

Seconded by Councillor Godwin

 

and RESOLVED that:

 

1.            the Committee agreed to perform a self-assessment on an annual basis from 2019/20 and report this to Council.

 

2.            the Committee will be provided with enhanced regular training and supporting materials; and

 

3.            the Committee agreed to subscribe to CIPFA’s Better Governance Forum at a cost of approximately £2,000 per annum.

AGc/83/04/19

Member Induction and Training programme 2019/2020

To consider a verbal update from the Assistant Director Governance on the Member Training timetable for 2019/202, as agreed at minute number AGc/66/02/19 (21 February 2019).

Minutes:

Members considered a verbal update from the Assistant Director Governance on the Member Induction and Training timetable for 2019/2020, as agreed at minute number AGc/66/02/19 on 21 February 2019.

 

Members thanked the Member Services Team Leader and her officers for providing a comprehensive training schedule for all elected members for 2019/2020.

AGc/84/04/19

Any Other Items Which the Chairman Decides are Urgent

Minutes:

No items of urgent business were discussed at this meeting.

AGc/85/04/19

Date of Next Scheduled Meeting

The next scheduled meeting of this Committee will be confirmed at Annual Council on 16 May 2019.  

Minutes:

The next scheduled meeting of this Committee will be confirmed at Annual Council on 16 May 2019.