Decision details

The Audit Committee’s Contribution to the Review of the Constitution was presented by the Finance Lead Specialist (Section 151 Officer).  The review concentrated on the areas of the Constitution with a direct impact on the financial controls of the Council contained within the Financial Procedure Rules and the Contract Procedure Rules and fed into the Monitoring Officer’s annual review of the Constitution.

The review had identified a number of changes to paragraph 30 (Insurances) of the Finance Procedure Rules, as highlighted within Appendix 1 to the report.

As part of the implementation of Customer Connect, all staff and teams would be encouraged to identify areas where the Constitution could be improved to increase understanding or to improve processes.  The service redesign process would also contribute to potential changes in the Constitution.  These proposals would be reported to Audit Committee as they occurred.  The Monitoring Officer had requested proposed amendments to the Constitution from all services, and would include an external review of the Constitution.

The Legal, Governance and Democracy Lead Specialist (Monitoring Officer) added that the Constitution was a living document and that the Legal Team would also be carrying out an independent review of the document in order to find ways in which to streamline delegations and processes whilst ensuring that the Council was complying with legislative requirements.

RESOLVED – That the proposals for amendments to the Constitution, as set out within Appendix 1 to the report, be recommended to Council for approval.