The council ensures that everyone involved in its governance and assurance framework contributes to regular reviews of its application and take ownership of improvement actions relevant to their role.
What is meant by council-wide assurance? What does it mean in Burnley in particular?
Council-wide assurance at Burnley means a shared understanding of the importance of good governance, based on open conversations and a ‘no blame’ culture. All participants involved in the council’s governance and assurance framework, contribute to regular reviews of its application and take ownership of improvement actions relevant to their role within the framework.
How does this work in practice?
Members and officers across the council understand that they each have important roles and responsibilities which contribute to an effective governance and assurance framework. The constitution is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that it reflects the needs of the council. This is supported by an informal cross-party working group which regularly discusses issues, looks at best practice and considers how to introduce this in a way that is relevant to Burnley’s context.
There is a focus on the application of governance and ensuring mechanisms enable, rather than obstruct, good practice. It is recognised that this relies on effective relationships between members and officers, which are nurtured through a respect of each other’s distinct roles and an understanding of how they should work together to achieve an effectively governed council that provides positive outcomes for its local community.
There are regular meetings ahead of each meeting cycle between Group Leaders, their deputies and senior officers to inform members, plan business and identify any initial concerns. In addition, the Chief Executive and other senior officers provide all members with regular, accessible, online briefings on key issues affecting the council. This ensures a universal understanding of the council’s position and helps members to understand their responsibility to oversee effective governance. This enables decision-making to operate on a ‘no surprises’ basis.
Officer reports to the Executive are balanced with a focus on risks (especially financial, legal and reputational risks) and associated mitigations together with consideration of alternative options where appropriate. The Council’s Scrutiny Committee has access to the same level of information as the Executive to facilitate their investigation of proposed decisions, their impact and areas for improvement, and provide constructive challenge. From time to time the Scrutiny Committee provides recommendations to the Executive for consideration.
Openness with all members is central to both ensuring mutual understanding of their priorities and concerns, but also that they are aware of key risks which affect the council and the measures taken or proposed by officers to mitigate them. This enables open, frank dialogue when negotiations are required to find a way forward on member priorities, finding solutions which are consistent with the spirit of the law and the constitution.
As the council has been in a position of no overall control since May 2019, there is an informal agreement between the Group Leaders to consider sharing proposed amendments in advance of Full Council meetings to ensure ‘no surprises’ and to aid good decision making. Mature relationships between the Group Leaders support open, informal conversations to ensure effective governance.
The council’s member training and development programme focuses on strengthening members’ understanding of all aspects of the council’s and their own responsibilities and ensures they have the opportunity to use their learning straight away.
Which roles make a particular difference?
Group Leaders play a key role in ensuring good governance by setting clear expectations around members’ conduct, roles and responsibilities in discussions in their Groups, including ensuring compliance with governance procedures. Officer openness with Group Leaders supports Group Leaders to be open with their Groups.
The Chair of the Scrutiny Committee has an important role in ensuring that the committee takes a non-political, evidence-based approach to its work. This is enabled through a bespoke development programme for the Chair, which focuses on supporting them in their understanding of their responsibilities, the execution of their role and the purpose of scrutiny within the council’s governance framework. Their fellow Scrutiny Committee members benefit from training which includes a focus on undertaking effective deep dive reviews.
The Chief Executive helps to set the organisational culture, so that everyone is working to the same values and understanding. This ensures a wide understanding of the application of governance across the organisation, including policy and strategy development, procurement processes, for example.
In addition to exercising their individual responsibilities in the council’s governance and assurance framework, senior officers play a vital role in role modelling and ensuring that standards are recognised, understood and practiced by all staff.
How is this sustained over the long term?
High standards of governance are supported, monitored and assured by the regular meeting of the council’s corporate statutory officers. This is further supported by joint meetings which include corporate statutory officers and their respective deputies, this ensures accountability, issue and improvement identification, and oversight of improvement action implementation.
The resourcing of professional governance and assurance services, including internal audit and democratic services, ensures that the council has the long-term capability and capability to sustain and support an effective, risk aware, governance and assurance framework.
Training and the organisational culture stress the importance of ‘doing things the right way to support our residents’: this is in the DNA of the organisation. Everyone plays their part, drawing in skills from across the council to work on big projects. The organisation has developed ‘muscle memory’ from doing the right thing repeatedly and consistently.
Senior officers have a key role in sustaining effective council-wide governance, not only through holding officers to account for their actions, but by recognising good practice in action. This helps to increase the profile and awareness of good governance as well as the positive impact it has on the health of the council.
What are your top tips?
- Visible leadership: ‘walk the talk’ and highlight the demonstration of good governance and assurance practice at all levels of the council.
- Check-in: from time to time, seek assurance that things are happening in the right way.
- Openness to challenge: senior officers should be open to challenge and advice from expert officers regardless of their seniority, in a ‘no blame’ culture, seeing this as an opportunity for development.
- Horizon scan: look ahead to what’s coming up and plan for when it lands.
- ‘Steal with permission’: Recognise good practice at other authorities, don’t invent it if it already exists and share your good practice and ideas too.
Contact
Chris Gay, Governance Manager - [email protected]