ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT 2012-13
1
SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILITY
Salford City Council is responsible for ensuring that its business is conducted:
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in accordance with the law and proper standards
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that public money is safeguarded, properly accounted for, and used economically, efficiently
and effectively.
The Council also has a duty under the Local Government Act 1999 to make arrangements to
secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to a
combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
In discharging this overall responsibility, the Council is responsible for putting in place proper
arrangements for the governance of its affairs, facilitating the effective exercise of its functions,
which includes arrangements for the management of risk.
Salford City Council has approved and adopted a code of corporate governance which is consistent
with the principles of the CIPFA/SOLACE Framework Delivering Good Governance in Local
Government. A copy of the authority’s code is on our website at
http://www.salford.gov.uk/corporategovernance.htm or can be obtained by writing to the Council’s
Monitoring Officer, Ben Dolan. This statement explains how Salford City Council has complied with
the code and also meets the requirements of Accounts and Audit (England) Regulations 2011,
regulation 4(3), which requires all relevant bodies to prepare an annual governance statement.
2 THE PURPOSE OF THE GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK
The governance framework comprises the systems and processes, and culture and values, by
which the Council is directed and controlled and activities through which it accounts to, engages
with, and leads the community. It enables the Council to monitor the achievement of its strategic
objectives and to consider whether those objectives have led to the delivery of appropriate services
and value for money.
The system of internal control is a significant part of that framework and is designed to manage risk
to a reasonable level. It cannot eliminate all risk of failure to achieve policies, aims and objectives
and can therefore only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance of effectiveness. The system
of internal control is based on an ongoing process designed to identify and prioritise the risks to the
achievement of the Council’s policies, aims and objectives, to evaluate the likelihood of those risks
being realised and the impact should they be realised, and to manage them efficiently, effectively
and economically.
The governance framework, as described below, has been in place at Salford City Council for the
year ended 31st March 2013, and up to the date of approval of the annual report and accounts.
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3
THE GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK
The Council’s control environment encompasses the strategies, policies, plans, procedures,
structures, processes, attitudes, behaviour and actions required to assure the people of Salford of
the council’s sound governance. This document covers those arrangements which were in place
during 2012/13
The 2012/13 good governance arrangements in Salford City Council are described in detail in
Annex 1 of the Salford City Council Code of Corporate Governance described above.
The key elements are:

Following the election, in May 2012, of an Elected City Mayor for Salford a new executive and
decision making structure was introduced. The City Mayor has responsibility for all executive
functions of the Council and may exercise any of these functions personally or choose to
delegate them as appropriate within the Constitution. Where the City Mayor delegates an
executive function, this does not prevent him from discharging such functions personally.

The City Mayor has delegated authority to individual Cabinet members. The Cabinet consists
of a Deputy Mayor, two Strategic Assistant Mayors, and six Assistant Mayors with voting
rights. A further five Assistant Mayors, with specialist portfolios also attend Cabinet meetings
as part of a wider Mayoral team.

The Council procedures and regulations are laid out in a formal Constitution which has been
revised and approved during 2012/13 to reflect appointment of the City Mayor.

During the year the arrangements for scrutiny were revised and a new structure of seven
Scrutiny Select Committees was introduced which monitor and scrutinise the performance
and decision making of the authority and review policies against the strategic plan.

The City Council’s corporate plan for 2010 -13 is aligned to its strategic aims and the
community strategy. This corporate plan links directly to the business plans of the individual
Service Groups within the authority.
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Following the election of the City Mayor, consultation has taken place to inform the creation
of a City Plan to be launched in 2013 -14.

The Council seeks to obtain value for money which is supported through effective
procurement arrangements, a robust procurement strategy, business plans and scrutiny of
decision making.

The authority has adopted codes of conduct for both elected Members and employees.

The Council has a whistle blowing policy and an “Honesty Action” whistle-blowing hotline
telephone number which is advertised both inside the Council and in the wider community.
There is also an on-line fraud reporting form available on the Council’s website.

The political and managerial leadership of the Council, supported by the One Council Team,
ensure that the Council manages risk effectively and achieves its objectives through the
development of an all-encompassing Corporate Risk Management Strategy.
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A Strategic Risk Register is maintained which is updated on a quarterly basis and progress is
reported to the Audit and Accounts Committee who have the responsibility for ensuring that
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
the risk management structures are operating effectively and to consider the effectiveness of
the actions taken to mitigate the risks.
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Change management and its governance within the council is controlled using a formal
project management methodology called the “Salford method”
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The city council employs a Chief Executive who is the Head of Paid Service for the authority
and holds the responsibility for the corporate management of the city council. The Chief
Executive is also the chief policy advisor to the City Mayor.
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During the financial year 2012/13 the Strategic Director for Customer and Support Services
held the role of Monitoring Officer. The Assistant Director for Human Resources held the
post of Deputy Monitoring Officer.
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The Council has a Chief Financial Officer who is the S151 Officer for the authority and sits on
the Corporate Management Team. His role conforms with the guidance laid down in the
CIPFA statement on the Role of the Chief Financial Officer in Local Government (2010).

The Council has a Head of Internal Audit and an Internal Audit Team. The Head of Internal
Audit has direct access to the Chief Executive, the City Mayor, the Chair of the Audit and
Accounts Committee, and elected Members and her role conforms with the guidance laid
down in the CIPFA Statement on the Role of the Head of Internal Audit (2010).

The Head of Internal Audit is also the Money Laundering Reporting Officer and the Deputy
S151 Officer.

Salford City Council has a well established Audit and Accounts Committee which is currently
chaired by a Member of the official opposition party. The Audit and Accounts Committee has
ten members including two independent members. The Audit and Accounts Committee has
clearly defined terms of reference and responsibilities for the oversight of governance, risk
management and the approval of the Annual Accounts of the City Council.
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Consultation and community involvement undertaken by the City Mayor and the Council and
a number of consultation events with the third sector, business leaders and community
groups have been held throughout 2012/13.
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The council continues to develop its partnership and neighbourhood management approach,
bringing together representatives from the council, Police, Fire Service, housing agencies,
health service bodies and other local organisations to address local priorities.
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A Health and Wellbeing Board was established and met throughout 2012/13 in a shadow
form until April 2013 when it became a statutory body. This Board is committed to working in
partnership with other organisations to promote and improve health in Salford.
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Also in April 2013 the responsibility for public health moved from the Salford Primary Care
Trust within the NHS to the City Council. The Director of Public Health has been part of the
Council’s Management Team since appointment in 2010 which has supported a secure and
effective transfer of the Public Health Service to the City Council.
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The City Council leads the Salford Strategic Partnership, bringing partner organisations
together to work to deliver a shared vision for Salford. The Partnership‘s Sustainable
Community Strategy ‘Connecting People to Opportunities’ gives examples of work that helps
to make the vision a reality, with seven themes mirroring the council’s own Pledges. Within
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the Community Strategy, the Partnership regularly reviews its priorities, publishing those for
2011-14 in early 2012.
4
REVIEW OF EFFECTIVENESS
Salford City Council has responsibility for conducting, at least annually, a review of the effectiveness
of its governance framework including the system of internal control. The review of effectiveness is
informed by the work of the Chief Executive and Strategic Directors within the Council who have
responsibility for the development and maintenance of the governance environment, the Head of
Internal Audit’s annual report, and also by comments made by the external auditors and other
review agencies and inspectorates.
In January 2012 a full review against the Code of Corporate Governance was conducted and this
can be found in Annex 1 on the above link. This review was revisited by the Head of Internal Audit
in May 2013 to ensure it was still current at that time.
The draft Governance Statement has been reviewed by the City Mayor, the Chief Executive, the
Corporate Management Team, Chief Financial Officer and the Monitoring Officer, before being
presented to the Audit and Accounts Committee for approval as a true and fair view of the Council’s
governance and its effectiveness during 2012/13.
The following actions have taken place in order to maintain and review the effectiveness of the
system of governance:

The Council’s Cabinet meets regularly to consider policy issues and key decisions to be made
by the Council.
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All Service Group performance is monitored via regular meetings with the relevant Assistant
Mayors. This information is further examined by the relevant scrutiny select committee.
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The Council operates Overview and Scrutiny Select Committees. Scrutiny Select Committees
and Members can “call in” decisions that have been made but not yet implemented, to enable
them to consider whether the decision is appropriate.
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The Standards Committee, composed of seven Members of Salford City Council plus two Coopted Independent Members, regulates and oversees the locally agreed code of conduct.
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On behalf of the political and managerial leadership of the Council, the One Council Team has
responsibility for developing the Corporate Risk Management Strategy and processes,
including the communications and reporting structure for strategic risk. The One Council Team
oversees operational risk at a Service Group level as part of the overall risk management
strategy framework in order to achieve the Council’s strategic objectives.

The Chief Financial Officer is the designated Section 151 officer and reports regularly to
Members and senior officers on the discharge of those statutory duties.

In line with CIPFA best practice guidance, the Audit and Accounts Committee performs an
annual self-assessment of their own effectiveness and acts on recommendations identified.
The Audit and Accounts Committee Chair also produces an annual report to Cabinet of the
work performed by the Committee during the year.

Internal Audit is responsible for monitoring the quality and effectiveness of systems of internal
control. A risk model is used to formulate the annual work programme that is approved by the
Audit and Accounts Committee. The quality of the Internal Audit processes is reviewed
regularly by the External Auditor who places reliance on the work carried out by the section.
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
The Internal Audit Section is subject to regular scrutiny by the Audit and Accounts Committee
which approves the annual plan and the audit work produced. The work of the Internal Audit
Section is also subject to quality review by the service groups for whom the work is performed.

Under the Accounts and Audit Regulations (2011) an annual review of the effectiveness of
Internal Audit should be performed. This review has been conducted by the Chief Financial
Officer and found that the Internal Audit Team is operating effectively.

The Audit and Accounts Committee have responsibility for overseeing the effectiveness of the
Council’s risk management arrangements. The Strategic Risk Register is updated and
presented to this committee on a quarterly basis and the effectiveness of the actions taken to
mitigate the risks are considered.
The Audit and Accounts Committee has been advised on the implications of the result of reviews of
the effectiveness of the governance framework by our internal and external advisors and that the
arrangements continue to be regarded as fit for purpose in accordance with the governance
framework. The areas already addressed and those to be specifically addressed over the coming
year are outlined below.
5
SIGNIFICANT GOVERNANCE ISSUES
In 2011/12, the Annual Governance Statement identified five significant items which required
improvement, and the Council has taken action during 2012/13 to address these issues.
The Council’s child safeguarding arrangements, which had been judged as inadequate in 2010,
were reviewed by Ofsted in October 2012 and as a result the Service was assessed as being
adequate. A formal review of the Improvement Notice took place in January 2013 and as a result
the Improvement Notice was removed in February 2013.
The election of the City Mayor resulted in constitutional and governance structure changes as
described above and a further review of the Constitution is taking place during the first quater of
2013/14.
The responsibility for Public Health moved into the Council in April 2013. A team drawn from across
both the City Council and the Primary Care Trust worked to ensure that this transition happened
smoothly and without any disruption to services.
Both pupil place planning and the Comprehensive Spending Review Savings programme were
addressed and remain as issues which require specific attention, and will continue to be prioritised
over the next year.
The significant governance issues at the current time are:
Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) Savings Programme
In order to ensure financial stability, whilst implementing the financial savings required meeting the
outcome of the CSR, a Council-wide savings monitoring programme has been established.
Throughout 2012/13 monthly monitoring reports showing progress against the savings targets have
been produced for Budget Strategy Group, the Corporate Management Team and the Finance and
Budget Scrutiny Select Committee. The target of £24 million was achieved and, following robust and
regular monitoring and reporting, an additional £3.6 million savings and/or additional income was
generated in 2012/13.
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Further work also took place as part of a Cabinet strategic review to identify a further £ 25 million of
savings including £17m of new savings and increases in targets for existing savings which will need
to be implemented for 2013/14 and beyond. Looking ahead the council has embarked upon work to
develop a more detailed medium term financial strategy going forward.
Primary School Pupil Place Planning
The City of Salford, like other places, is experiencing a significant increase in the number of children
of primary school age. Additional primary school places have already been created to meet
statutory requirements.
The 2013 programme now has permanent solutions identified to increase the overall capacity of a
number of Salford schools. This requires a programme of building and construction projects, the
result of which will increase the capacity of our schools . This will give us increased capacity in 2013
and for future years in these schools. 2014 and 2015 provision is also now being planned and is
based on the projected demand for places.
The Council is also improving its demographic forecasting as part of its strategic planning to ensure
accurate prediction of future population change.
Constitutional Review
As noted above there have been some revisions to the Council’s Constitution during the year to
reflect the election of the first elected City Mayor for Salford. During the early part of 2013 a full
review of the Constitution has taken place.
6
CITY MAYOR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE
We propose over the coming year to take steps to address the above matters to further enhance
our governance arrangements. We are satisfied that these steps will address the need for
improvements that were identified in our review of effectiveness and will monitor their
implementation and operation as part of our next annual review.
………………………………….
Barbara Spicer
Chief Executive Salford City Council
Date
………………………………….
Ian Stewart
City Mayor
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Date
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