'Draft Code of Corporate Governance' and it's not even April 1st yet

The Council's Audit Committee is meeting next week, it's been six months since the last meeting so there should be plenty to scrutinize although, as it's not a scrutiny committee it's doubtful. The agenda doesn't look very inspiring so we can just hope that some of the more controversial spending decisions, such as the Towy Community Church, and others, are questioned and will pop up in the minutes. (I am still waiting for a response from the Wales Audit Office to my complaint about the council's involvement with the Towy Church, see previous posts)

Under the 2011 Local Government Measure the Audit Committee now has responsibility to approve a 'Draft Code of Corporate Governance' which appears on the agenda. Up until now, the annual monitoring of whether the council is behaving itself and has been meeting the aspirations of the public and staff has been within the remit of the Leader and the Chief Executive.
There are of course multiple codes and protocols which, often required by legislation or guidance, are supposed to provide a system of standards under which a council operates, the trouble with such lists of churned out promises is, that without adequate avenues for complaint, redress or any accountability whatsoever, questioning the outcome is difficult.
As we also know, these codes are merely jargon filled paper exercises, enabling the Authority to tick the relevant boxes whilst an entirely different situation occurs in the real and bizarre world of Carmarthenshire Council.

Although it seems someone is having a laugh, as the meeting is not scheduled for April 1st we must assume it is to be taken seriously;


"The Council sees Corporate Governance as “doing the right things, in the right way, for the right people in a timely, inclusive, open, honest and accountable manner

Promoting values for the authority and demonstrating the values of good governance through upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour...ensure that members and officers exercise leadership by behaving in ways that exemplify high standards of conduct and effective governance...requiring the authority’s leadership to set a tone for the organisation by creating a climate of openness, support and respect..

taking informed and transparent decisions....

...use its legal powers to the full benefit of the citizens and communities in their areas...actively recognising the limits of lawful activity due to, for example, the ultra vires doctrine...recognising the limits of lawful action and observing both the specific requirements of legislation and the general responsibilities placed on authorities by public law....

engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust public accountability....

...exercise leadership through a robust scrutiny function which effectively engages local people and all local institutional stakeholders, including partnerships, and develops constructive accountability relationships considering those institutional stakeholders to whom the authority is accountable....

holding meetings in public unless there are good reasons for confidentiality....

ensuring that the authority as a whole is open and accessible to the community, service users and our staff, and that it has made a commitment to openness and transparency in all its dealings, including partnerships..."

We will endeavour that this document will be accepted, stamped, approved blah blah and then popped in a drawer to gather dust in County Hall for all eternity. (I have added this bit)