ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
West Dorset District Council is required to ensure that its business is conducted in accordance
with the law and proper standards, and 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 and facilitating the effective exercise of its
functions, which includes arrangements for the management of risk
West Dorset District Council has approved 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 code is on our website at www.dorsetforyou.com or can be obtained
from the council offices. This statement explains how West Dorset District Council has complied
with the code and also meets the requirements of regulation 4 of Accounts and Audit (England)
Regulations 2011 which requires authorities to carry out an annual review of the effectiveness of
its system of internal control. Having considered the findings of the review, Members are required
to approve an annual governance statement, prepared in accordance with proper practices in
relation to internal control. The statement must then be included with the Statement of Accounts.
The 2007 Framework is to be treated as proper practice, making publication of an AGS
mandatory.
In addition to this, CIPFA has published its ‘Statement on the Role of the Chief Financial Officer in
Local Government (2010)’. The Annual Governance Statement should therefore reflect compliance
with the statement for reporting purposes.
Purpose of the Governance Framework
The purpose of the framework is to ensure the organisation is doing the right things, in the right
way, for the right people, in an open, honest, inclusive and timely manner.
The governance framework comprises the systems, processes, culture and values by which the
Authority is directed and controlled. It enables the Authority to monitor the achievements of its
strategic objectives and to consider whether those objectives have led to the delivery of
appropriate, cost effective services.
This will include focusing on outcomes for the area and its community, engaging with local people
and other stakeholders to ensure robust public accountability, provide leadership in the
community and promoting values and behaviours for the Council that will demonstrate how it
plans to uphold good governance and maintain high standards of conduct.
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 therefore only provides 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 West Dorset District 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 effectively and economically. The governance framework has been in place at West
Dorset District Council for the year ended 31st March 2015 and up to the date of approval of the
Statement of Accounts.
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
The Governance Framework
Legal and Constitutional Governance
a) The Constitution
The Council’s constitution documents the roles and responsibilities of the Council, Executive
Committee, Overview and Scrutiny, regulatory and officer functions. It includes the Scheme of
Delegation which is put in place to ensure accountability is clear. The constitution is kept under
review by the Audit and Governance Committee. Each agenda for all Council and Committee
meetings contains an item requiring Members at the outset of the meeting to declare any relevant
interests. The agendas and minutes are available on the Council’s website Dorsetforyou.com.
During 2014/15 the terms of reference of the Shared Services Joint Committee have been
updated to include North Dorset DC.
b) Council Structure and Leadership
The Council operates under the Leader and Cabinet model. The Council elects the Leader. The
Leader nominates members of the Executive Committee. The Council approves the appointments
to all non Executive Committees from nominations by political groups.
The main Committees are;
Executive Committee
Policy Scrutiny Committee
Efficiency Scrutiny Committee
Ad-Hoc Call In Committee
Audit and Governance Committee
Development Control Committee
Licensing and Appeals Committee
Joint Appeals Committee
Shared Services Joint Committee
The Executive Committee is the part of the Council which is responsible for most day-to-day
decision making. The Constitution allows for up to 9 councillors appointed by the Leader.
Decisions to be discussed or made are published in the Executive Committee forward plan in so
far as they can be anticipated. Meetings of the Executive Committee will generally be open to the
public and press except where exempt information or confidential matters are being discussed.
The Executive Committee has to make decisions which are in line with the Council’s overall
policies and budget. If it wishes to make a decision which is outside the budget or policy
framework, this must be referred to the Council as a whole.
c) Budget Setting and Resources
The Council is required to set a balanced budget on an annual basis. This sets out how much it
will spend on delivering services, how much it will receive for delivering services and the level of
council tax it will collect from residents. It also includes the Council tax required by Dorset County
Council, Dorset Fire and Rescue, Dorset Police and Town and Parish Councils. The Council has no
control over the amounts set by these bodies.
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
d) Code of Conduct
The Council has a duty under Section 27(1) of the Localism Act 2011 to promote and maintain
high standards of conduct by its Members and co-opted Members. Under 27(2) of the Act, in
discharging its duty, the Council must adopt a Code of Conduct setting out the conduct expected
of Councillors and Co-opted Members when conducting the business of, and representing the
Council. West Dorset District Council adopted a Code of Conduct on 5th July 2012. The code is
part of the Constitution and available on the Councils website, Dorsetforyou.com. On 24th October
2013 Council decided to dissolve the Standards Committee following changes in legislation.
e) Partnership with Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and Tri-Council
Partnership with Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and North Dorset District
Council.
In July 2010, the Council formally agreed to join a partnership with Weymouth and Portland
Borough Council and create one single officer structure to support both Councils, estimated to
save £8.5 million over the next 5 years. The Partnership has been formed through a collaboration
agreement and is overseen by the Programme Board and Member Steering Group. In 2014 a new
Tri-Council partnership was formed with Weymouth and Portland Council and North Dorset District
Council. Matt Prosser was appointed Chief Executive on 1st March 2015 and the management
structure will be developed in April 2015, with all staff transferring to the single employer by 1st
November 2015. The key risks and issues facing the Council going forward will be focused on
ensuring it performs in respect of delivering services and achieving savings set out in the business
case for the Tri-Council partnership.
Democratic Governance and Scrutiny
a) Policy Scrutiny Committee and the Efficiency Scrutiny Committee
The Council will appoint the overview and scrutiny committees to discharge the overview and
scrutiny functions conferred by section 21 of the Local Government Act 2000 or any regulations
made under section 32 of the Local Government Act 2000 in relation to the terms of reference for
that committee. The main functions are to review and develop key policies strategies and plans,
review decisions made or actions taken in connection with the discharge of any of the Council’s
functions, to exercise the right to call-in, for reconsideration, decisions made but not yet
implemented by the Executive Committee, to review and scrutinise the decisions made by the
performance of the Executive Committee and committees and council officers both in relation to
individual decisions and over time.
b) Audit and Governance Committee
The Audit and Governance Committee meets 5 times a year and provides an independent
assurance of the adequacy of the risk management framework, corporate governance
arrangements, independent scrutiny of the Council’s financial performance and related major
finance and non-financial systems and controls, as well as overseeing the financial reporting
process. Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972 requires a Council to “make
arrangements” for the proper administration of its financial affairs. In addition the Accounts and
Audit Regulations 2011 require the delivery of a best practice service. The Council’s statutory
auditors rely on Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy guidance in determining
best practice. That guidance requires the establishment of an independent Audit and Governance
Committee. The Audit and Governance Committee is an advisory body which makes
recommendations to the Executive Committee or full Council as appropriate. The Committee
consists of 10 Councillors who are not members of Executive Committee.
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
Organisational Governance
a) Management Structure
A management structure is in place to operate the Council’s services. During 2014/15 the senior
management team consists of a Chief Executive and 3 Directors. The management structure also
includes a number of statutory officers. The Management structure of the new Tri-Council
partnership started to evolve in March 2015.
b) Head of the Paid Service
The Chief Executive is designated as Head of the Paid Service and has overall corporate
management and operational responsibility for the Council. He provides professional advice to all
parties in the decision making process. Together with the Monitoring Officer he is responsible for
the system of record keeping for all Council decisions. The Head of Paid Service will ensure the
Council has a corporate plan and budgetary framework to plan and deliver the Council’s agreed
functions and priorities. Matt Prosser was appointed as Chief Executive/Head of the Paid Service
of the two council partnership on 2nd June 2014. On 1st March 2015 he was appointed Chief
Executive of the Tri-Council Partnership.
c) Monitoring Officer
The Councils Solicitor is designated as Monitoring Officer with responsibility for ensuring
compliance with established policies, procedures, laws and regulations, reporting any actual or
potential breaches of the law or maladministration to the full Council. The Monitoring Officer will
maintain an up-to-date version of the Constitution and will ensure that it is widely available for
reference by Councillors, Officers and the public.
d) S151 Officer
The Council’s Chief Finance Officer is the Director of Resources, Strategic Director from 1 May
2015. He is also the Section 151 Officer and has responsibility for the administration of the
financial affairs of the Council and will be required to contribute to the corporate management of
the Council, in particular through the provision of professional advice. He reports directly to the
Chief Executive and has direct access to Executive and Audit & Governance Committees. The
S151 Officer is responsible for the provision of an effective Finance function, which includes
ensuring that appropriately qualified and experienced staff are employed in the finance service,
ensuring that processes and systems are set up to provide timely and accurate financial
information, ensuring compliance with relevant frameworks, ensuring that an effective internal
audit function is maintained and ensuring that effective financial planning is undertaken. After
consulting with the Head of Paid Service and the Monitoring Officer, the Chief Finance (Section
151) Officer will report to full Council (or to the Executive Committee in relation to a delegated
function) and the Council’s external auditor if it is considered that any proposal, decision or course
of action will involve incurring unlawful expenditure, or is unlawful and is likely to cause a loss or
deficiency or if the Council is about to enter an item of account unlawfully.
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
e) Internal Audit
Internal Audit is provided by South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) a company limited by
guarantee, formed by former Internal Audit staff from various Councils in the South West of
England to share auditing expertise. Their work is completed to comply with the International
Professional Process Framework of the Institute of Internal Auditors, further guided by
interpretation provided by PSIAS (Public Sector Internal Audit Standards). SWAP prepare an
annual plan, agreed with the S151 officer and approved by Audit Committee. It includes a number
of governance audits which provides assurance for the Councils governance arrangements. The
service undertakes fraud investigation and proactive fraud detection work which includes
reviewing the control environment in areas where fraud or irregularity has occurred. Significant
weaknesses in the control environment identified by Internal Audit are reported to relevant senior
management and the Audit & Governance Committee. The Council’s appointed external auditor
will consider the work of internal audit in their overall review of the Council.
f) Counter Fraud and Corruption Arrangements
The Council has an anti-fraud and corruption policy that demonstrates its commitment to tackling
fraud and corruption within or external to the Council. It includes key principals, the role of
members and officers and investigation procedures. The Council also has a whistleblowing policy
as part of this policy. The policy is reiterated to all staff and members with a letter from the
Management Team every six months.
Planning and Policy Framework
a) Corporate Plan
The Corporate Plan represents the Council’s high level strategic plan and the properties for the
administration. It is refreshed on a rolling basis to cover the following 4 years. It contains 4
corporate aims, 16 priorities together with specific projects.
b) Resource Planning and Medium Term Financial Plan
The Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) sets out the latest estimate for budget over the next five
years. It tries to identify known changes and fluctuations well in advance. It does not represent
the approved Council budget. It is a working document that is constantly being refined and
updated that will eventually become the Council’s approved budget.
Performance Management Framework
a) Performance Management
A system of performance management is in place for the Council to monitor and manage
performance against the corporate plan, service plans and individual targets. This is managed on
bespoke software. Audit recommendations relating to finance are also recorded and monitored.
Performance management is based on what’s happened in the past, enabling intelligent planning
for the future. Reports are presented to Management Team and Audit and Governance Committee
and are included in the business review to Executive Committee.
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
b) Financial Management
The Council has in place a detailed framework for financial and budgetary management. Executive
Committee receive a quarterly Business Review report which details variations against the revenue
and capital budget. The report also includes an explanation for these variances and officer’s
proposals for dealing with the variances. The Council uses Civica Financials as its main financial
information system. Financial services contain appropriately qualified and experienced staff to
manage the production of the accounts and provide training for staff in services on managing
their budgets.
c) Risk Management
The Council maintains a corporate risk register, which defines and assesses risks to the Council’s
objectives and records actions to manage these risks. Heads of Service maintain a service risk
register to manage specific risks to their services. A review of risks is included in the Business
Review report to Executive Committee and examined by Audit and Governance Committee.
d) Project Management
A revised project management process has recently been implemented. All Heads of Service were
provided training on the new process through the Management Development Programme. All
corporate projects such as Service Reviews have to be submitted on a central project
management software system (Project In A Box). This includes a formal process of submitting
documents which need to be agreed by a project sponsor before any projects progress.
Stakeholder Governance
a) Corporate Feedback and Complaints
The Council has a formal customer feedback and complaints procedure which describes how
feedback will be handled and responded to. The Council will monitor and track complaints through
the Customer Contact Centre and ensure that feedback is proactively used to improve services
and identify training needs. Complaints are allocated to a named officer who will respond whether
the complaint has been fully or partially upheld, whether there has been any discrimination and
what action has been taken to remedy the complaint.
b) Stakeholder Communication
The Council has an established communications strategy to engage with stakeholders. This
includes direct engagement with interested parties, information on the Councils website and also
through consultation exercises.
c) External Auditors
The Council maintains an objective and professional relationship with its external auditors KPMG
to seek assurance that the Council is providing efficient, effective and economic services and are
proactive in securing continuous improvement in the ways it manages its functions.
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
Review of Effectiveness
West Dorset District Council has responsibility for conducting, at least annually, a review of the
effectiveness of its governance framework including the system of internal control. This is achieved by
the follow work.
a) Management Assurance
Review of compliance with the adopted Local Code of Corporate Governance
Review of the implementation of the Risk Management Strategy every 2 years.
Review of SWAP audit report findings and recommendations.
Review of fraud and special investigations completed during the year.
Review of external audit report and inspection letter.
Extended management team meeting with Heads of Service to go through a Governance review.
Review of performance management software to identify performance against corporate plan
b) Statutory Officer Assurance
Consultation with the Council’s statutory officers (Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Director of
Resources) to discuss their responsibilities and any issues identified during the year.
c) Service Assurance
Consultation with the Council’s statutory officers (Head of Paid Service, Monitoring Officer and Director of
Resources) to discuss their responsibilities and any issues identified during the year.
d) Performance Reporting
Review of performance management reporting in Business Review
Review of financial management reporting in Business Review.
e) External Review Assurance
Examination of external audit reports and inspection letter.
Review of complaints, if any, considered by Local Government Ombudsman
f) Other Sources
Examination of the minutes of the Audit and Governance Committee
Review of any action taken by Monitoring Officer
Review of the adequacy of the complaints procedure including handling, monitoring and outcomes.
Review of Management Team minutes
Scrutiny Committee minutes holding Executive Committee to account.
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
Significant governance issues for 2014/15
Asset Management
Overview
Governance arrangements regarding property services remain high priority for review. There are
ongoing staffing issues within property services as well as rents, rent reviews and leases. In
addition an update of the Asset Management Plan is outstanding.
OWNER: HEAD OF ASSETS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Comment
It is anticipated that the Asset Management Plan will be completed by December 2015. There
have been difficulties in recruiting staff in property services and other options are now being
explored.
Planning Development Management
Overview
Governance arrangements regarding planning and development management are high priority
due to poor performance and the lack of a local plan following the suspension of examination and
the requirement for further consultation on main modifications arising from the Examination
hearing sessions.
OWNER: HEAD OF PLANNING DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT
Comment
The inspectors report has now been received and due to be reported to September full Council for
approval. The Planning service is subject to service review as part of the partnerships stronger
together transformation plan.
Waste Management
Overview
There have been concerns over the governance and financial control of the Dorset Waste
Partnership following an overspend in the year.
OWNER: HEAD OF COMMUNITY PROTECTION
Comment
There is an agreed action plan to address performance issues and these are now being
implemented.
Land Charges
Overview
Following an internal audit covering the Land Charges service various issues have been identified
that has given rise to high priority audit recommendations. These covered the merging of IT
systems and sharing workloads and also a review of budgets and fee setting process to maximise
income whilst also complying with legislation. The service has encountered significant delays in
its completion of searches following the increase in demand and also with resourcing and
resilience issues.
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
OWNER: HEAD OF PLANNING DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT/HEAD OF COMMUNITY AND POLICY
DEVELOPMENT
Comment
Discussions have commenced with NDDC regarding future IT requirements and the merging of
systems. There are possible legislative changes pending in 2016 with regard to the way in which
Land Charges will operate and where responsibilities will lie.
Charles Street Development
Overview
The developer of Charles Street is considering the financial viability of the scheme going forward.
OWNER: STRATEGIC DIRECTOR
Comment
The Council will look to protect its position with regard to the development and take appropriate
legal advice when necessary.
Tri Council Partnership Governance Arrangements
Overview
The Partnership with Weymouth & Portland Borough Council is the most significant change in the
Council’s structure in recent years. Under the collaboration agreement all partnership staff are
employed by Weymouth & Portland Borough Council (WPBC) and therefore in theory WPBC could
take all decisions in respect of the joint workforce without reference to WDDC. This needs to be
addressed to ensure both partners have an equal role in decision making on employment related
matters. In addition a new collaboration agreement was reached in 2014/15 for a tri-Council
partnership with Weymouth & Portland Borough Council and North Dorset District Council. This
has been dealt with under the Shared Services Joint Committee decision making and the
collaboration agreement along with S113 agreements.
OWNER: CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Comment
The terms of reference of the shared services joint committee have been revised to cover the
three Councils in the Partnership. Governance issues will emerge as the partnership with
Weymouth & Portland Borough Council and North Dorset District Council develop.
Tri Council Partnership Information Technology
Overview
Following internal audits covering IT hardware, asset management and software licencing various
issues have been identified that has given rise to high priority audit recommendations. A road
map was established with required actions. Following this an external report was commissioned
which identified further serious issues.
OWNER: HEAD OF BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT
Comment
The tri council partnership information technology is critical to the partnership, at present North Dorset
District Council has an outsourced approach but this will be integrated and transferred to an in-house
approach from April 2016. This follows an independent assessment of future IT provision has been
undertaken which concluded that an in house provision of the service is the best value at this time. As part
of the transformation team an IT project manager will be tasked with transferring the currently outsourced
IT provision to our own in house approach. The service has completed and implemented many of the
recommendations including PCI & PSN compliance and service improvements and control through the
introduction of the IT change protocol.
Statement of Assurance
To the best of our knowledge, the governance arrangements, as defined above, have been effectively
operating during the year with the exception of those areas identified as significant issues. 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 review.
Signed
Matt Prosser
Date
22/9/15
Matt Prosser, Chief Executive
Signed
AAlford
Cllr A Alford, Leader
Date
22/9/15