Appendix C

The Code of Corporate Governance for Hampshire County Council

1 Introduction

1.1 Hampshire County Council (the County Council) has adopted the code of corporate governance set out in the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy/Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (CIPFA/SOLACE) document "A Keystone for Community Governance."

1.2 Corporate governance is the system used to direct, manage and monitor an organisation and enable it to relate to its external environment. The fundamental principles of corporate governance are openness, inclusivity, integrity, accountability and effectiveness.

1.3 The corporate governance framework consists of five interlocking dimensions;

· public focus

· structures and processes

· risk management and internal control

· service delivery arrangements

· standards of conduct.

1.4 The County Council's Code of Corporate Governance identifies for each of the five dimensions of its business:

· how the principles of corporate governance should be reflected

· a series of undertakings that the County Council has made to ensure that those principles are adhered to.

1.5 The Standards and Governance Committee will be responsible for approving this Code and ensuring it is kept up to date by reviewing it on an annual basis.

1.6 The Monitoring Officer will be responsible for an annual review of compliance with this Code and this review will be independently audited by the Chief Internal Auditor. The results of this review will be reported to the Standards Committee.

2 Community Focus

Principles

2.1 Through carrying out its general and specific duties and responsibilities and its ability to exert wider influence, the County Council should:

· work for and with its communities

· exercise leadership in its local communities, where appropriate

· undertake an ambassadorial role to promote the well-being of its area, where appropriate, through maintaining effective arrangements:

_ for explicit accountability to stakeholders for its performance and its effectiveness in the delivery of services and the sustainable use of resources

_ demonstrate integrity in its dealings in building effective partnerships with other public agencies and the private/voluntary sectors

_ demonstrate openness in all its dealings

_ demonstrate inclusivity by communicating and engaging with all sections of the community to encourage active participation

_ develop and articulate a clear and up-to-date vision and corporate strategy in response to community needs.

2.2 To ensure these principles are adhered to the County Council will:

· publish and publicise annual accounts each year in accordance with statutory requirements, setting out an objective and understandable account and assessment of its current performance on service delivery and its plans to maintain and improve service quality

· publish and publicise a Best Value Performance Plan on or before 30 June each year presenting an objective and understandable account of its activities and achievements and its financial position and performance

· establish appropriate relationships with interest groups such as financial institutions, businesses, voluntary groups etc to ensure they are able to interact with the County Council on matters of mutual interest

· co-operate with appropriate organisations to allow independent scrutiny of its financial and operational reporting processes

· have in place proper arrangements designed to encourage individuals and groups from all sections of the community to engage with, contribute to and participate in the work of the County Council. The County Council will implement appropriate monitoring procedures to ensure the arrangements continue to work in practice

· have in place proper arrangements to enable a complaint regarding any aspect of the County Council's activities to be easily lodged, and to ensure that it is properly addressed

· conduct its business on an open basis, subject only to the requirements of appropriate levels of individual and commercial confidentiality

· have in place a clear and up-to-date vision and a corporate strategy in response to community needs.

3 Service Delivery Arrangements

Principles

3.1 The County Council will ensure that continuous improvement is sought, agreed policies are implemented and decisions carried out by maintaining arrangements which:

· discharge its accountability for service delivery at a local level

· ensure effectiveness through setting targets and measuring performance

· demonstrate integrity in dealings with service users and developing partnerships to ensure the "right" provision of services locally

· demonstrate openness and inclusivity through consulting with key stakeholders, including service users

· are flexible so that they can be kept up-to-date and adapted to accommodate change and meet user wishes.

3.2 To ensure these principles are adhered to the County Council will:

· ensure it has a management structure that delivers safe, efficient, effective and economic services

· maximise its resources and allocate them according to priorities

· monitor and report performance against agreed standards and have comprehensive and understandable performance plans in place

· have in place sound systems for providing management information for performance measurement purposes

· set targets for performance in the delivery of services to ensure equality for both staff and customers

· set targets for performance in the delivery of services on a sustainable basis

· foster effective delivery relationships and partnerships with other public sector agencies, the private and voluntary sectors

· consult with key stakeholders, including service users.

4 Structures and Processes

Principles

4.1 The County Council has established effective political and managerial structures and processes to govern decision-making and the exercise of authority within the organisation. It will maintain arrangements to:

· define the roles and responsibilities of members and officers to ensure accountability, clarity and ordering of its business

· ensure that there is proper scrutiny and review of all aspects of performance and effectiveness

· demonstrate integrity by ensuring a proper balance of power and authority

· document clearly such structures and processes and ensure that they are communicated and understood to demonstrate openness and inclusivity

· ensure such structures and processes are kept up-to-date and adapted to accommodate change.

4.2 To ensure these principles are adhered to the County Council will:

· ensure there is corporate ownership of policy decisions

· clearly document the roles and responsibilities of members

· clearly document the roles and responsibilities of officers

· meet on a regular basis, with meetings open to the public except where reasons of commercial or individual confidentiality require the meeting to be closed

· ensure appropriate processes are in place to set its strategic direction

· ensure it has a documented scheme of delegation that reserves appropriate responsibilities to the Executive and provides managers with the powers necessary to conduct routine business

· ensure that all activities are legally correct, fully documented, appropriately authorised and carried on in a planned manner

· ensure that a chief officer is made responsible for each aspect of operational management

· ensure that a chief officer is made responsible for ensuring that appropriate advice is given in all financial matters, for keeping proper financial records and accounts and for maintaining an effective system of internal financial control

· and to maintain proper records to ensure that the annual accounts show a true and fair view and that expenditure has been properly authorised and allocated in an appropriate manner.

5 Risk Management and Internal Control

Principles

5.1 The County Council has established and maintains a systematic strategy, framework and processes for managing risk. These arrangements will:

· Include making public statements to stakeholders on its risk management strategy, framework and processes to demonstrate accountability

· include mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing effectiveness against agreed standards and targets and the operation of controls in practice

· demonstrate integrity by being based on robust systems for identifying, profiling, controlling and monitoring all significant strategic and operational risks

· display openness and inclusivity by involving all those associated with planning and delivering services, including partners

· include mechanisms to ensure that the risk management and control process is monitored for continuing compliance to ensure that changes in circumstances are accommodated and that it remains up-to-date.

5.2 To ensure these principles are adhered to the County Council will:

· maintain robust systems for identifying and evaluating all significant risks

· maintain an effective risk management system, including systems of internal control and an internal audit function

· ensure that risk management systems, including systems of internal control and internal audit, are reviewed under the County Council's performance management system

· ensure that its members are provided with the necessary training to perform their roles

· ensure that its staff are competent to perform their roles

· maintain an objective and professional relationship with their external auditors and statutory inspectors

· include in the annual accounts an objective and understandable statement and assessment of its risk management system, including systems of internal control and internal audit and their effectiveness in practice.

6 Standards of Conduct

Principles

6.1 The openness, integrity and accountability of individuals within the County Council form the cornerstone of effective corporate governance. The reputation of the County Council depends on the standards of behaviour of everyone in it, whether members, employees or agents contracted to it.

6.2 Therefore members and senior officers of a local authority will:

· exercise leadership by conducting themselves as role models for others within the County Council to follow

· define the standards of personal behaviour that are expected from members and staff and all those involved in service delivery, and put in place arrangements to ensure:

_ accountability, through establishing systems for investigating breaches and disciplinary problems and taking actions where appropriate, including arrangements for redress

_ effectiveness in practice though monitoring their compliance

_ that objectivity and impartiality are maintained in all relationships to demonstrate integrity

_ that such standards are documented and clearly understood to display openness and inclusivity and are reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they are kept up-to-date.

6.3 To ensure these principles are adhered to the County Council will have in place:

· formal codes of conduct which define the standards of personal behaviour to which members, staff and agents of the County Council are required to subscribe

· appropriate systems and processes to ensure that all codes of conduct are complied with

· arrangements and mechanisms to ensure that all codes of conduct continue to operate in practice, to ensure that members and employees are not influenced by prejudice, bias or conflicts of interest in dealing with different stakeholders

· operational procedures that will be designed in conformity with appropriate ethical standards

· arrangements for reporting concerns at work (whistle blowing) which are accessible to all staff and contractors