PrintDelivering Good Governance in Local Government: Briefing Note
Introduction
Following extensive research and consultation, the CIPFA/SOLACE Joint Working Group has produced Delivering Good Governance in Local Government: Framework and accompanying guidance note. The principles and standards set out in the Framework will help local authorities to develop and maintain their own codes of governance and discharge their accountability for the proper conduct of business. The Framework will help authorities to improve their performance, give local people better local services and provide stronger leadership for communities.
The Framework’s development has been well received. It has been endorsed by key organisations in local government.
The Framework and guidance note are available to order from the CIPFA Shop.
Background
Governance arrangements in the public services are closely scrutinised and sometimes criticised. Significant governance failings attract immense attention and one significant failing can taint a whole sector. Local authorities are big business employing over 2 million people and accounting for 25% of public spending. They are vitally important to all tax payers and citizens. Local authorities have a key role in leading their communities as well as ensuring the delivery of high quality services to them. Good governance structures enable an authority to pursue its vision effectively as well as underpinning that vision with mechanisms for control and management of risk.
Local government has been subject to continued reform intended to improve local accountability and engagement. These are challenging as well as exciting times for local authorities as the change agenda continues. The Local Government White Paper Strong and Prosperous Communities, the Lyons Inquiry into local government, the introduction of new electoral systems in Scotland in 2007, the Beecham review of public services in Wales and the restructuring of local government in Northern Ireland will result in a period of significant upheaval for councils across the UK. In England, the drives for higher performance, increased efficiency and the emphasis on the role of political and managerial leadership have remained key but at the same time the Government’s agenda for local government and the Lyons Inquiry have contributed to a debate on the very purpose of modern local government.
Increasingly, local authorities work with and through a range of organisations and partnerships in order to deliver services and enhance local prosperity. Partnerships are regarded as an essential part of the pattern of public service provision. Working in partnership can bring many benefits that public bodies could not achieve by other means. However, partnership working brings governance challenges. A one-size-fits-all approach to governance is inappropriate. Governance arrangements must be proportionate to the risks involved. In future it is likely that authorities will be less concerned with direct service delivery and more with commissioning and regulation, influencing behaviour and supporting their communities. Community leadership may become the most important feature of local governance.
The CIPFA/SOLACE Joint Working Group
A joint working group sponsored by CIPFA and SOLACE with representatives from key local government bodies together with practitioners from local authorities from across the UK has been working to update Corporate Governance in Local Government: A Keystone for Community Governance published in 2001. Since its publication, local government has been subject to continued reform to improve local accountability and engagement. A revised Framework is timely as it re-emphasises the importance of maintaining good governance throughout all councils’ activities.
The Framework
The new Framework illustrates best practice for developing and maintaining a local code of governance and making adopted practice open and explicit.
The Framework recommends that authorities must be able to demonstrate that they are complying with the principles of good governance. The six core principles defined in the Framework are taken from the Good Governance Standard developed by the Independent Commission on Good Governance in Public Services with support from the Office for Public Management (OPM) and CIPFA , in partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and have been adapted for local government purposes.
Good governance means:
- focussing on the purpose of the authority and on outcomes for the community and creating and implementing a vision for the local area
- members and officers working together to achieve a common purpose with clearly defined functions and roles
- promoting the values for the authority and demonstrating the values of good governance through upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour
- taking informed and transparent decisions which are subject to effective scrutiny and managing risk
- developing the capacity and capability of members and officers to be effective
- engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust public accountability.
The Framework urges local authorities to test their structures against these principles by:
- reviewing their existing governance arrangements against the Framework
- developing and maintaining an up-to-date local code of governance including arrangements for ensuring its ongoing application and effectiveness
- preparing a governance statement in order to report publicly on the extent to which they comply with their own code on an annual basis, including how they have monitored the effectiveness of their governance arrangements in the year, and on any planned changes for the coming period.
Guidance Note
A guidance note has been developed to accompany the Framework. It provides practical assistance to authorities in:
- Considering how they might go about reviewing their governance arrangements
- Developing and updating their own local codes of governance
- Demonstrating compliance with the principles of good governance.
The guidance note outlines how good governance principles have evolved and looks at how the ‘governing body’ operates in local government. The guidance note also provides good practice examples and case studies, and includes examples of the systems, processes and documents that might be cited by an authority as evidence of compliance with good practice. Further help is also offered on developing and maintaining effective audit and standard committees, the scrutiny function and risk management. To view Section 5, Schedule to Assist in Putting the Principles into Practice click here [PDF 112KB].
The Framework and guidance note are available to order from the CIPFA Shop.