Annual Assembly of Standards Committees

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Annual Assembly of Standards Committees
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Joined up regulation

• David Bond, Director of Law and Democracy,
  Stockton on Tees
• Borough Council
• Frances Hayes, Chair of Standards Committee,
  Stockton on Tees
• Borough Council
• Vivienne Horton, Director of Risk, Standards for
  England (chair)
• Alison Kelly, National Lead for Audit Commission
  on Governance and
• Accountability

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Session aims

• Standards for Englands approach to strategic
  regulation
• Importance of the annual return
• Feedback on 2009 Annual Returns
• Practical examples of how to improve your
  arrangements
• Annual returns and CAA

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Standards for England

• A strategic regulator
• Pre-emption
• Prevention
• Protection

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Approach to risk

• Reactive
• quarterly returns
• annual returns
• Proactive
• development of the risk assessment model
• annual return plays key role

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Annual return

• Filled in by monitoring officer
• Four weeks to submit
• 20 April to 15 May 2009

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Development of the annual return

• COUNT Principle
• Proportionate
• Research and consultation
• Audit Commissions role

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Questions

• Annual return questions fall into two categories
• Essential arrangements
• Highlight notable practice

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Submission of your annual return

• Monitoring officer completes
• Involvement of your standards committee
• Present to full council
• Put your return on your website for the public to
  view

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What do we do with it?

• Collect notable practice
• Identify national trends
• Identify local gaps in arrangements
• Build profiles on authorities
• Share it with the Audit Commission

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Key messages

• Vast variations
• Startling omissions
• Major concerns
• Further support

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Stockton-on-Tees
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Introduction

• Population 190,000
• Unique social and economic mix
• High deprivation 33 areas in worst 20
  nationally
• 26 in top 20 most affluent

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Background

• Promoting achievement, tackling disadvantage
• Economic renaissance
• Quality of place
• Well-being and achievement
• Four star improving well
• Maximum scores use of resources

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Council

• 56 members
• Leader and Cabinet since 2001
• Labour and Conservative power share since 2007
• Four other groups

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Standards committee

• Since 1999
• Extensive terms of reference
• Three independent members, two parish
  representatives, five councillors
• Established substitutes

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Preparation of Annual Return

• Monitoring officer draft
• Iterative
• Standards good practice
• Audit Commission KLOE
• Annual Report
• Standards Chair
• Chief Executive
• Cabinet Member

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Preparation of Annual Return

• Audit Manager
• Internal Audit
• Corporate Governance Group
• Standards committee
• Legal
• Democratic Services
• Policy

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Annual Return Highlights

• Independent overview (Code)
• Guide to member roles
• Modern councillor
• External events
• Annual Assembly
• Case review
• Bulletin

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Annual Return Highlights

• Independent overview (Code)
• Members handbook
• Standards members as observers
• Guidance to political groups
• Website

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Annual Return Highlights

• Independent overview (Forward Plan)
• Standards meetings
• Annual report process
• Standards committee
• Management team
• Corporate governance group
• Audit committee
• Cabinet
• Council

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Annual Return Highlights

• Independent overview (Forward Plan)
• Democratic Services
• Internal Audit
• Chair/Vice Chair audit committee
• Cabinet Member
• Group Leaders
• Chief Executive

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Annual Return Highlights

• Annual Report
• Complaints
• Training
• Interests/gifts
• Audit
• Constitution

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Annual Return Highlights

• Annual Report
• Committee on Standards in Public Life
• Confidential reporting
• FOI
• Human rights
• Links

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Annual Return Highlights

• Annual Report
• Raise awareness, interest, understanding,
  confidence
• Focal point
• Officers
• All members
• Town/parish councils

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Annual Return Highlights

• Annual Report
• Standards committee
• Audit committee
• Cabinet
• Council
• Website

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Annual Return Highlights

• Promoting standards
• Town and parish councils
• 16 councils
• Pre-meeting agenda links/summaries
• Leaflets
• Training events
• Parish Liaison Forum
• Observing meetings
• Clerks
• Parish representatives

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Annual Return Highlights

• Promoting standards
• Partnership toolkit
• Register
• Link officer and self assessment health checks
• Audit
• Interests
• Gifts and hospitality

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Annual Return Highlights

• Complaints
• Council newsletter
• Stockton News
• Press
• Website
• Egenda agendas, reports and minutes
• Libraries
• Third sector
• Parish councils
• Parish Liaison Forum

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Annual Return Highlights

• Member/officer relations
• Informal resolution of concerns
• Management team
• Mayor and Group Leaders
• Officer protocol
• Standards Chair meetings

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Outcomes

• Awareness, understanding of importance of high
  standards
• Improved standards
• Public perceptions, public confidence

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Outcomes

• Standards committee
• More involved and integrated
• More confident and proactive
• High profile
• Carries a central role
• Effective and seen to be so

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Outcomes

• Leadership
• Standards Chair and Monitoring Officer
• Chief Executive quarterly
• Group Leaders
• Cabinet Member standards and probity

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Next steps

• Quarterly meetings with Chief Executive
• Tees Valley
• Independent Members
• Standards committees
• Parish Clerks Forum

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Next steps

• Observing council and parish meetings
• Scrutiny of partnerships
• Reporting on wider governance
• Officers Registers of Interests

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Next steps

• Further publicise standards committee/ membership
• Local assessment training all members
• Review Tees Valley Annual Returns/Reports
• Publicise Return and Annual Report

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Conclusions

• Senior member and officer buy in and leadership
• Standards committee
• Composition
• Be seen to be involved
• Role beyond local determination
• Integration

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Conclusions

• Standards committee meetings
• Monthly
• Terms of Reference
• Constitutional framework
• Internal audit
• Scrutiny
• Case studies
• Work programme

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Conclusions

• Standards committee meetings
• Benefits
• Awareness/understanding/confidence
• Team building
• Training and development
• Culture
• Involvement and proactive approach

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Conclusions

• Promoting standards
• Staff newsletter
• Observer
• Audit committee
• Cabinet
• Full council
• Chairs meetings

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Conclusions

• Promoting standards
• Management team corporate and extended
• Stockton News
• Website
• Libraries etc
• Local Democracy Week

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Conclusions

• Improving ethical arrangements and standards
  profile takes time
• No quick fix
• Gradual development generates sustainable results
• Improvement specific to authority

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Comprehensive Area Assessments, Use of Resources,
standards committees and the annual return to SfE
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Introduction

• CAA
• Use of Resources
• Annual returns, our findings
• Next steps

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Introduction

• Examines how effectively local public services
  are performing and improving the lives of the
  people they serve

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What is Use of Resources? Assessment of local
organisations feeds into CAA
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(No Transcript)
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KLOE

• 2.3 Does the organisation promote and demonstrate
  the principles and values of good governance?

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Scope of KLOE 23

• Organisation
• Adopted, promotes and demonstrates good
  governance
• Focuses on purpose and vision
• Demonstrates strong ethical framework and culture
• Applies good governance to partnerships

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Role of standards committee

• CAA will consider how far.
• Encouraging positive internal and external
  relationships with public and other
  stakeholders
• Council area leader on standards of conduct

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More active standards committees

• Standards committee members work closely with
  councils leadership
• Close links between standards committee and work
  of council
• implications for ethical behaviour and public
  confidence policies, protocols and partnerships

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More active standards committees

• Training part of standards committee meetings
• Member Development Charter status
• Openly accountable
• Greater London Authority website - easy to find
  remuneration, registers, roles, responsibilities,
  interests and mayoral appointments

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Less active standards committees Examples

• Isolated, insular, parochial
• Monitoring officer not integral
• No lead member
• No officer code and registers
• No training
• No forward plan
• Not openly accountable

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Council websites

• Difficult to find
• Complaint mechanism, what happened when complaint
  made
• Registers of interests
• Councillors remuneration
• Forward plan and annual report
• When standards committee meets
• Information buried in SC minutes

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Annual returns and the Audit Commission

• Annual returns used to verify initial Use of
  Resources judgement of auditors

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Annual return 2010
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Questions you might like to ask yourself and your
standards committee

• How well does your standards committee compare to
  the most active?
• Might you now want to do something different?

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Questions you might like to ask yourself and your
standards committee

• Did you see your annual return before it was sent
  to SfE?
• Have you seen it now?
• Fair reflection of your standards committee?
• Will your next return be different?

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Questions
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Joined up regulation

• David Bond, Director of Law and Democracy,
  Stockton on Tees
• Borough Council
• Frances Hayes, Chair of Standards Committee,
  Stockton on Tees
• Borough Council
• Vivienne Horton, Director of Risk, Standards for
  England (chair)
• Alison Kelly, National Lead for Audit Commission
  on Governance and
• Accountability

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Annual Assembly of Standards Committees