Agenda item

The report of the Director of Central Services and Monitoring Officer set out proposals for realignment of responsibilities relating to corporate governance together with amendments to the Constitution to reflect changes in working practices in respect of procurement and delivery of summonses for Council meetings.

In the light of new CIPFA guidance it was considered appropriate to give the Audit Committee overall responsibility for corporate governance matters and a correction to paragraph 1.3.2 of the report was made at the meeting to the effect that where the decision was previously a delegated decision, that delegated power would transfer to the Audit Committee. 

Details were given of proposed changes to the Contracts Procedure Rules regarding tendering thresholds.  The report also referred to legislative changes which permitted the use of electronic communications in the sending of summonses to meetings.

RESOLVED:  That the Monitoring Officer be authorised to make the following amendments to the Constitution:

(1)                                         deletion of the responsibilities of General Purposes Committee in Part 3 – page 6 “Audit: Overview of internal and external audit”;

(2)                                         revision of Part 3 - page 9 the function of the Audit Committee to be changed to reflect the position statement of CIPFA as set out in paragraph 1.2.1. of the report;

(3)                                         deletion of Part 3 – page 32 paragraph 7 relating to General Purposes Committee “To consider initially general and specific audit reports from the Audit Commission, the District Auditor and the Director of Finance and Transformation, to make recommendations to Council for future action and to monitor the Council’s implementation of those recommendations.”  This responsibility to be transferred to the Audit Committee;

(4)                                         amendment of  Part 3 – page 33 paragraph 1 so as to change Director of Finance and Transformation’s annual report to Chief Internal Auditor’s annual report;

(5)                                         amendment of Part 3 – page 34 paragraphs 12, 13, 14 and 15 to be removed from the Corporate Governance Framework and to be included under Audit Committee responsibilities;

(6)                                         under Part 3 - page 73 the reference to the Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board responsibility for Benefit Fraud Investigation to be deleted and the core function as set out in paragraph 1.2.2 of the report to be added to the responsibilities of the Audit Committee;

(7)                                         under part 3 – page 32 delete paragraph 9 regarding the responsibility of the General Purposes Committee “To approve the Council’s statement of accounts, income and expenditure account and balance sheet”;

(8)                                         to amend Part 4 of the Constitution to give effect to the changes outlined in the report by amending CPR 3.2, 7.4, 8.3, 11.1, 13.7, 14.2, 14.3 and 14.7 to change those  thresholds which are currently set at £75,000 to refer to £100,000;

(9)                                         to amend rule 7.4 by changing the procedure to be used in column three for contracts valued at £5,000 up to but not including £75,000 to read “at least three written quotes in advance, one to be from a local supplier where possible” and also amending the procedure for contracts valued at £75,000 up to but not including £172,514 to read “At least three written tenders in advance following advertisement by public notice, one to be from a local supplier where possible”.  In addition a new note will be added to each such place to explain the meaning of local by adding “***For these purposes a local supplier means a supplier which has its principal place of business or an office in Kent”;

(10)                                amend paragraph 4.3 of Part 4 of the Constitution (Council and Committee Procedure Rules) so that it reads “At least five clear days before a meeting, the Chief Executive will send a summons to every member of the Council by an appropriate method in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972”; and

(11)                                delete paragraph 4.5 of Part 4 (Council and Committee Procedure Rules).