The purpose of the report was to present for approval, the Council’s Code of Corporate Governance as at Appendix A.

Members raised and discussed issues such as the Mod.Gov app and when it would be fully rolled out, the issue of openness and the use of reserves and contingencies, data quality, and the need to be more explicit in the document about the climate emergency and the net zero strategy.

A lay member raised the issue of whether a) the attached document was a first draft and if not then it would be helpful to include a statement of changes when it was reviewed; b) the Code would be subject to frequency of change guidelines [it was noted that the document is subject to an annual review]; and c) the reference on p.66 to ‘strong public management’ could be reworded as ‘strong public financial management’.

The Chairperson noted that some minor changes, especially in regard to net zero and data, could be made to the document.

RESOLVED:

Governance and Audit Committee considered and, subject to some minor changes, approved the Council’s Code of Corporate Governance.