ITEM 12

AT A MEETING of the HAMPSHIRE FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY - GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE held at The Castle, Winchester on 8 March, 2005.

PRESENT:

Councillors: Mrs. M.D. Snaith (Chairman); A. Bentley; Mrs. P.G.E. Holden-Brown;
R. McIntosh; R. Williams.

7 APOLOGIES

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors P.R.C. Hutcheson and
R. Smith.

8 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should, normally at the time of debate, declare their interest and having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Fire Authority's Code of Conduct consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.

There were no declarations of interest made by members under this item.

9 MINUTES

The Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 25 October, 2004 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

10 DEPUTATIONS

There were no deputations.

11 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE POLICY

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Officer (Item 5 in the Minute Book) on the proposed adoption of a Code of Corporate Governance. The main body of this Code was divided into five areas - community focus; service delivery; management structure and processes; risk management and internal control and standards of conduct.

During discussion Members noted that it was the Chief Officer's intention to provide them with future information on compliance with the Code of Practice. Also, the Committee asked to receive details about the issues which had been raised by the Commission for Racial Equality on the Authority's Race Equality Equality Scheme. Accordingly, it was

RESOLVED:

(i) That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Authority that the Code of Corporate Governance, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, be approved.


(ii) That compliance with the Code of Corporate Governance be reviewed annually by the Governance Committee.


(iii) That the Chief Officer provide for the next Governance Committee a statement against each of the practices mentioned in the Code showing either compliance or non-compliance.


(iv) That the Chief Officer provides an update on progress in dealing with requests made by the Commission for Racial Equality concerning the Authority's Race Equality Scheme.

12 INTERNAL AUDIT STRATEGY AND PLAN 2005/06

The Committee considered the report of the Treasurer (Item 6 in the Minute Book) on the Internal Audit Plan for 2005/06, together with the proposed terms of reference for the provision of internal audit.

Following a full discussion the Treasurer undertook to include for the next meeting, further information on the criteria used to determine the audit risk assessment rating included in the plans. Members expressed concern about the actual level of resources used by the Audit Commission in the delivery of its External Audit Plan. It was noted that the 2005/06 plan would be presented to the next meeting of the Committee and the District Auditor invited to attend and answer questions from Members.

RESOLVED:

That the Internal Audit Plan for 2005/06 and the terms of reference for the provision of internal audit be approved.

13 PROPOSED INDEMNIFICATION OF MEMBERS AND EMPLOYEES

The Committee considered the report of the Clerk (Item 7 in the Minute Book) on a proposal that the Fire Authority adopt a form of indemnity for its Members and Officers.

RESOLVED:

(i) That it be a RECOMMENDATION to the Authority that it grant an indemnity to members and employees of the Authority in the terms set out in the Appendix to the report and instructs the Clerk and Chief Officer to secure insurance to cover the Authority's liability under this indemnity in so far as he/she is of the opinion that such insurance would be financially prudent.


(ii) That appointment to a position with outside organisations, which comes within those indemnities, shall be treated as an appointment as a representative of the Authority for the purposes of the Code of Conduct for Members.

14 CONSTITUTIONAL STATUS OF CORPORATE MANAGEMENT TEAM

The Committee considered the report of the Clerk (Item 8 in the Minute Book) examining the constitutional status of the Authority's Corporate Management Team and assessing whether it should remain a non-executive advisory group as at present or become a formalised Committee of the Authority or whether its working arrangements could be improved.

During a full discussion Members accepted that the CMT, as currently constituted, provided an effective sounding board between senior cross-party members and officers on the development of policies and strategies. However, they felt the existing arrangements, with meetings being held in private, were contrary to the spirit of openness and accountability. They questioned why so few Members were currently involved and expressed some concerns about the communication of CMT items to other Members of the Fire Authority. As a result, the Committee were unable to support the recommendation before them and wished to be presented with further options. Accordingly it was

RESOLVED:

That the Clerk and Chief Officers prepare a report for a future meeting of the Governance Committee on further alternative options in relation to this matter.

15 FUTURE WORK OF THE COMMITTEE

The Committee received an oral update by the Treasurer on progress concerning the Scheme of Delegation and the Financial Regulations since their last meeting. It was noted that both these items had subsequently been considered and adopted by the Authority.

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