Financial Year 2023-2024
2023-2024
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT – 7 JUNE 2024
Introduction
City
of York Council is a unitary Council with 47 councillors elected
for a four-year term (2023-2027) to represent 21 local wards.
All out elections were held in May 2023 and a change of political
leadership led to the Labour Group forming an Executive.
Since that time the make-up of the Council has been as
follows:
·
24
Labour
·
19
Liberal Democrat
·
3
Conservatives
·
1
Independent
There
are 31 Parish and Town Councils established within the boundary of
City of York Council.
The
2023-24 financial year is set against a backdrop of challenging
economic conditions where the UK slipped into a short recession,
high levels of inflation and interest rates continued, and the
cost-of-living crisis deepened.
What
is Governance in City of York Council?
City
of York Council (“the Council”) is responsible for
ensuring that its business is conducted in accordance with the law
and proper standards, and that public money is safeguarded and
properly accounted for and used economically, efficiently, and
effectively on behalf the of York council taxpayers.
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
order to discharge this responsibility, the Council must put in
place proper arrangements for the governance of its
affairs.
Governance
is about how we ensure we are doing the right things, in the right
way, for the right people in a timely, inclusive, open, honest, and
accountable manner. Good governance leads to
effective:
·
Leadership
and management;
·
Performance
and risk management;
·
Stewardship
of public money for York council taxpayers; and
·
Public
engagement and outcomes for residents and service users.
The
Council has adopted a Local Code of Corporate Governance which is
consistent with the seven principles set out in “proper
practice” for the public sector, namely Delivering Good
Governance in Local Government: Framework published by CIPFA/SOLACE
2016.
The
overall aim of the Local Code of Corporate Governance is to ensure
that:
·
Resources
are directed in accordance with agreed policy and according to
priorities;
·
There
is sound and inclusive decision making;
·
There
is clear accountability for the use of those resources in order to
achieve desired outcomes for service users and
communities.
A
copy of our Local Code is available on our website at
www.york.gov.uk/CorporateGovernance
This
Annual Governance Statement (“AGS”) for 2023-2024
demonstrates how we have complied with our local code and met the
requirements of Regulation 6(1)(b) of the Accounts and Audit
Regulations 2015, which requires us to prepare an annual governance
statement.
What
is the purpose of our Governance Framework?
Our governance framework aims to
ensure that in conducting our business, we:
·
operate
in a lawful, open, inclusive, and honest manner;
·
make
sure public money is safeguarded, properly accounted for, and spent
wisely;
·
have
effective arrangements in place to manage and control
risk;
·
secure
continuous improvements in the way we operate.
Our governance framework is
comprised of the culture, values, systems, and processes by which
we are directed and controlled. It brings together an underlying
set of legislative and regulatory requirements, good practice
principles and management processes.
Our system of internal control is a
significant part of the 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 on-going process designed
to identify and prioritise risks, evaluate the likelihood and
impact should risks be realised, and efficiently, effectively, and
economically manage such risks.
The
"Delivering Good Governance" framework below envisages it will be a
continuous process of seven principles with a core of A and B being
about the behaviours of integrity, demonstrating a strong
commitment to ethics and respecting the rule of law with practices
being carried out in the spirit of openness and comprehensive
stakeholder engagement.
Our
Governance Roles and Responsibilities
What
is our Governance Framework?
|
What
we do
Constitution
and decision-making framework
Finance
and Contract Procedure Rules
Roles
and Responsibilities
Policy
Framework
Promote
Employee Standards
|
How
we deliver
Executive
and scrutiny framework
Project
management
Risk
management
Performance
management
|
|
How
we set priorities for change
Medium
Term Financial Strategy
Community
Engagement
Partnership
working/framework
Strategic
planning
|
How
we behave
Codes
of conduct
Employee
values
Leadership
behaviours
Whistleblowing,
Standards and complaints procedures
Behavioural
standards
|
What
Does Our Governance Assurance Framework look like?
Good assurance in any organisation
provides confidence, based on sufficient evidence, that internal
controls are in place and are operating effectively and that
objectives are being achieved.
Our assurance framework is the
structure within which Councillors and Senior Management identify
the principal risks to the Council in meeting its key objectives,
and through which we map out both the key controls to manage them
and how they have gained sufficient assurance about the
effectiveness of those controls. Our assurance framework underpins
the statements made within this Annual Governance
Statement.
Assurance can come from many
sources, including:
·
Internal:
Self Assurance Statements, Corporate Management Team, Internal
Audit Reviews, Scrutiny, Audit and Governance Committee, Service
Reviews and performance intelligence, Governance Risk and Assurance
Group (membership is key Statutory Officers), Corporate
Governance;
·
External:
Inspections, External Audit, National Fraud Initiative,
Partnerships, Trade Unions, stakeholders, and local
forums
How
has this Annual Governance Statement for 2023-2024 been
prepared?
In preparing this Annual Governance
Statement we have:
·
Reviewed
our existing governance arrangements against the CIPFA / SOLACE
‘Delivering Good Governance in Local Government framework -
2016 Edition’ good practice guidance;
·
Assessed
the effectiveness of our governance arrangements against the Local
Code of Corporate Governance;
·
Reviewed
External Assessments; and
·
Sought
Self-Assurance Statements from all Directors.
How
do we monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of our governance
arrangements?
We continue to review
the effectiveness of our governance arrangements on an ongoing
basis and report on the position annually. The key sources of
assurance that inform this review are outlined below:
·
The
work of Councillors (the Executive, and the Audit and Governance
Committee) and Senior Officers (Corporate Management Team) who,
individually and collectively, have responsibility for good
governance;
·
Consideration
of the council’s constitution and decision-making
framework;
·
The
three statutory officers, being the Head of Paid Service, the
Section 151 Officer, and the Monitoring Officer;
·
The
Head of Internal Audit’s annual report on Internal Audit
Activity 2023-2024, which provides independent assurance that key
risks (financial and non-financial) are being adequately controlled
and provides an opinion on the effectiveness of these
arrangements;
·
Consideration
of any control weaknesses or issues identified by the Head of
Internal Audit as part of the Audit Plan and as reported to the
Audit & Governance Committee;
·
Consideration
of the council’s counter fraud strategy and the level of
conformance to the CIPFA code of practice on managing the risk of
fraud and corruption;
·
Regular
updates to Audit and Governance Committee on the council’s
risk register and any other issues highlighted through the
council’s risk management arrangements;
·
Performance
monitoring of key deliverables in the Council Plan as well as key
performance indicators which are reported quarterly to
Executive;
·
Challenge
through Overview and Scrutiny (for example review of the work
programmes, recommendations to the Executive, call-in’s, etc.
as can be seen in the reports to Corporate Services, Climate Change
and Scrutiny Management Committee);
·
Inspections
and assessments (such as Ofsted Inspection of Local Authorities
Children's Services Framework and Sector Led Improvement activity
in Children’s and Adults Services, NHS data security and
protection toolkit);
·
Any
comments made by our External Auditors in their Annual Report or as
a result of their review of the Council’s arrangements for
securing economy, efficiency, and effectiveness (value for
money);
·
Recommendations
and comments made by any other review agencies and inspectorates;
and
·
Regular updates to Audit and Governance Committee
on complaints, concerns, comments and compliments and FOI/EIR, data
protection and information governance
How
do we know that our arrangements are working?
The table below details the seven
principles of the CIPFA/SOLACE Delivering Good Governance
framework. It provides an analysis of the effectiveness of
how we conform with each element of the framework, and identifies
areas where improvements are required. These are then listed
in the action plan at the end of the statement.
|
Governance
Principle
|
Sub-Principle
|
Assurance
on Compliance
|
|
Acting
in the public interest requires a commitment to effective
arrangements for:
|
|
Principle
A
Behaving
with integrity, demonstrating strong commitment to ethical values,
and respecting the rule of law
|
1.
Behaving
with integrity
|
➢
The
political and managerial leadership sets the tone.
➢
Through
this leadership we ensure that the required policies are put into
place and monitored.
➢
The
Employee Code of Conduct forms part of the Council’s
Constitution and sets out the behaviours expected of
employees.
➢
The
Protocol on Officer Member Relations which forms part of the
Constitution sets out the way Councillors and Officers should
interact.
➢
Training
has been made available to all Councillors following the
whole-Council elections, including specialist training for those
Councillors who are involved in a number of committees including
Licensing, Audit & Governance Committee and Planning
A.
➢
Joint
Standards Committee produces an Annual Report to Council which
includes a synopsis of Code of Conduct related complaints received
during the Municipal Year in respect of Councillors (both City of
York and Parish Councillors).
|
|
2.
Demonstrating
strong commitment to ethical values
|
➢
In
accordance with the Localism Act 2011, and in common with the
majority of Councils, we have adopted the LGA Model Code of Conduct
for our Councillors, which is in keeping with the general
principles of public life. All Councillors and co-opted Members
undertake that they will observe the Code of Conduct. Members and
key Officers have been trained on the Model Code, including
training as part of the Members Induction Programme.
|
|
|
|
➢
The
Joint Standards Committee monitors and reviews the
Councillors’ Code of Conduct and prepares an annual statement
to Full Council.
➢
The
Employee Code of Conduct provides guidance to our employees on the
ethical framework within which we seek to conduct activities; and
on the processes that the Council uses to ensure compliance with
the highest ethical standards. City of York Council has adopted an
Ethics Statement that reflects similar principles to the Nolan
Principles which form the basis of the Members’ Code of
Conduct, and it is included in the constitution.
|
|
|
3.
Respecting
the rule of law
|
Ø
Codes
of Conduct set out the standards of behaviour that are expected of
our Councillors and Officers. Should these standards be breached,
they will be dealt with, either through the Members’ Code of
Conduct complaints process or, in relation to Officers, action
taken under our capability and/or disciplinary
procedures.
Ø
The
Whistleblowing Policy adopted by the Council ensures its
effectiveness from a safeguarding perspective and to make it easier
for staff to raise concerns about malpractice or illegal activity.
The Policy contains clear guidance about how to report a concern,
who to contact and sources of internal and external
support.
➢
The
Whistleblowing Policy is complemented by the Counter Fraud and
Corruption Policy, Fraud and Corruption Prosecution Policy, Counter
Fraud Strategy, Anti-Money Laundering Policy, and Anti-Bribery
Policy.
|
|
Principle
B
Ensuring
openness and comprehensive stakeholder engagement
|
1.
Openness
|
➢
We
are committed to openness and publish information online in
accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Transparency
Code and the Freedom of Information Publication Scheme.
➢
We
provide regular performance updates relating to information
requests and complaints to management teams and the Audit &
Governance Committee.
➢
We
have in place procedures which allow, within certain parameters,
the recording and filming of Council meetings, and for public
participation in the majority of meetings.
➢
Only
those reports which are considered exempt are dealt with in closed
session (known as Part II), and for the majority of these reports
there is a public facing report (known as Part I) which sets out
the matter to be decided upon, but without the information that is
exempt from publication.
|
|
2.
Engaging comprehensively with institutional stakeholders
|
➢
We
engage with large numbers of stakeholders. We have a comprehensive
engagement system with statutory stakeholders such as the NHS,
Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership (which was
established in July 2022), North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Rescue
Service. We have further subject based stakeholders particularly
regional economic development such as the newly established York
and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (which came into
being on 1st February 2024), Local Enterprise
Partnership (LEP), West Yorkshire Combined Authority and have
strategic links with North Yorkshire Council. Locally, we
regularly engage with key institutions such as the universities,
colleges, business representative and environmental groups,
education system partners such as the academies, together with
health and care partners in the NHS, private sector, and community
sector. We have a comprehensive approach to working with key
city leaders through the monthly partnership group. We also
engage and consult extensively with our Local Trade Unions in
respect of employment related issues.
➢
To
shape the Climate Change plan, a group of sector specific
stakeholders shared their views in roundtable discussions, and we
continue to engage with institutional stakeholders through the
independent York Climate Commission.
➢
We
regularly engage with professional leads at the Head of
Communications Group, the Higher Education Group, the Bus Group and
the Sustainability Leads Group. Each of these groups provide
rich insight about the challenges facing their sectors as we
recover from the Coronavirus Pandemic and respond to the challenges
of climate change and the cost of living.
|
|
|
3.
Engaging
with individual citizens and service users effectively
|
➢
Local
focus and community engagement are successfully promoted through a
number of different activities:
➢
The
Talk About Panel: a group of self-selected residents who comment on
surveys throughout the year, the council actively promotes
engagement in the panel through too hard to reach groups and those
who are underrepresented.
➢
Our
Big Conversation: invites residents to participate in different on
and offline engagement activities designed to inform major council
strategies such as the 10-year plan, the economic development,
local transport plan and climate change strategies and related
action plans. This has included targeted focus groups to
encourage feedback from people who don’t typically engage in
council consultations, such as the disabled community, LGBTQi
community, younger people not in work, etc.
➢
Annual
Budget plan consultation invites residents to confirm their own
priorities for council spend and growth.
➢
The
Council Plan was consulted on prior to publication.
➢
Major
capital programmes activities are heavily consulted on allowing
residents to inform the build, structure, and shape of key
developments across the city, influencing and adapting masterplans
to meet their needs.
➢
Citizen’s
panel: Following a successful engagement activity that used focus
groups to help set and inform waste recycling policy, we trialled a
more regular approach to focus groups by inviting Talk About
participants to join a citizens panel which was designed to explore
key strategic issues presented through the budget
consultation. We are reviewing whether to progress this for
future budget consultations and have used the same approach to
inform the 10-year plan.
➢
Statutory
consultation also takes place in advance of all major
traffic/highways schemes, changes to services and to support the
Local Plan examination.
➢
Public
consultation is undertaken on specific areas of service, or on
matters that may have a substantive impact on residents,
facilitated by our Communications and Consultation
Teams.
➢
The
Communications Team ensure that specific matters are promoted via
the media and engage with the media over enquiries on specific
matters.
➢
The
complaints, comments, concerns, and compliments (the 4Cs) supports
customer customers, residents and service users to have a more
flexible manner to share their comments, complaints, concerns, and
compliments with us. This enables us to identify themes and lessons
learned for service providers across the council.
Individual
members of the public are able to participate in the majority of
meetings, through the Council’s Public Participation
Protocol.
|
|
In
addition to the overarching requirements for acting in the public
interest found in principles A and B, achieving good governance
also requires a commitment to, and effective arrangements
for:
|
|
Principle
C
Defining
outcomes in terms of sustainable economic, social, and
environmental benefits
|
1.
Defining
outcomes
|
➢
Following
the 2023 local elections, the Council adopted a new 10-Year Plan,
which was developed in partnership with city stakeholders and will
respond to resident feedback. This was approved by Council on
21st September 2023.
➢
Resident
feedback and stakeholder engagement is informing the outcomes which
will be detailed in the economic development strategy, climate
change strategy (and carbon reduction action plan) together with
the Local Transport Strategy.
➢
Delivery
of partnership priorities through partnership boards and strategies
(for example Health and Well-being strategy, Children and Young
People’s Plan).
➢
The
Council Plan 2023-2027 “One City, for all” sets out our
vision and priorities. Over the next 4 years, the council will
establish the conditions that would make the city of York a
healthier, fairer, more affordable, more sustainable and more
accessible place, where everyone feels valued, creating more
regional opportunities to help today’s residents and benefit
future generations. The Council Plan identifies 4 core
commitments: Equalities and Human Rights; Affordability; Climate
and Health
➢
The
fourth Monitor report presented to Executive provides an annual
report with evidence about the council plan achievements and
progress made in delivering the priorities and demonstrating value
for money.
➢
A
more robust Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) which aligns
available resources to the activities of the Council Plan and
setting out the financial plans for the next 3-4 years is currently
being developed.
|
|
|
2.
Sustainable
economic, social and
environmental
benefits
|
➢
Service
plans have been agreed which include clear objectives, measures and
risks that are actively managed during the year and inform the
setting of individual objectives.
➢
Service
plans feed into and align with both Directorate plans and in
response to the Council Plan’s priorities.
|
|
Principle
D
Determining
the interventions necessary to optimise the achievement of the
intended outcomes
|
1.
Determining
interventions
|
➢
Corporate
Management Team and Executive review the council’s
performance on a quarterly basis.
➢
Review
and challenge through directorate management team (DMTs) led
Improvement Boards in key areas and regularly reporting to
Corporate Management Team in respect of the provision of
children’s and adults’ services. Peer reviews are
undertaken where necessary and appropriate to inform senior
leaders.
➢
Creation
of cross council performance groups (e.g., enhanced corporate
support for Adult Social Care provision).
➢
Quality
assurance - examples of good practice exist at service level
e.g.,
Children’s
Services.
➢
Regular
challenge from inspectorates such as Ofsted and Care Quality
Commission (CQC). Annual Conversations with Ofsted make sure that
progress of our services is tracked and challenged in between
inspections.
➢
Sector
Led Improvement (SLI) challenge from regional peers in
Children’s and Adults’ services and Public
Health.
➢
Overview
and Scrutiny has a planned work programme that they scrutinise
throughout the year.
|
|
2.
Planning
interventions
|
➢
Performance,
audit, risk, and finance information is used to identify areas of
concern and plan required interventions.
➢
There
is an annual cycle of meetings that are planned through the
municipal year, but internal procedures are flexible enough for
Councillors to intervene, such as via call-in or the calling of
extraordinary meetings, at any point in the year.
|
|
|
3.
Optimising
achievement of intended outcomes
|
➢
Outcomes
are monitored on a regular basis and open to scrutiny. Matters
which are formally project managed are required to be reported upon
via published highlight reports at regular intervals. The
performance framework ensures capacity is considered in balancing
priorities against affordability and social value.
➢
Service
planning and objectives set for the year for services and
individual members of staff and the outcomes of these are reviewed
regularly as part of the performance review process.
➢
Major
Projects Board to oversee major capital projects and seek
assurances from project teams and advisors.
➢
Our
Corporate Management Team has strategic oversight of major issues
affecting the Council with a tightly managed forward
plan.
➢
The
project management toolkit “all about projects”
provides a framework for delivering projects which includes
identifying clear and achievable outcomes.
|
|
Principle
E
Developing
its capacity, including the capability of its leadership and the
individuals within it
|
1.
Developing
the entity’s capacity
|
➢
The
Head of Paid Service is responsible for the organisation of the
staff.
➢
Leadership
and Management is delivered through Corporate Management Team
(meeting once a week) and Leading Together and The Corporate
Leadership Group Network.
➢
The
Council has a performance management framework for all of its
staff. The process also involves appraisal by way of regular
reviews of performance of those objectives including formal
mid-year and end of year performance reviews which are formally
recorded.
|
|
|
2.
Developing
the capability of the entity’s leadership and other
individuals
|
➢
We
have a programme of training available for both Councillors, by way
of the Induction Programme delivered after the May 2023 elections,
and Officers (at all levels).
➢
All
new starters are required to undertake an induction programme,
which is available both virtually and face to face, together with
an evaluation of the sessions after they have been delivered.
Induction is also supported by starter checklists for managers and
employees to ensure all mandatory training and key Corporate and
local information is cascaded.
➢
There
is mandatory training for all staff on key policies via the
e-Learning system.
➢
Professional
members of staff are required to undertake additional training
requirements (continuing professional development) as set by their
professional bodies.
|
|
Principle
F Managing risks and
performance
through robust internal control and strong public financial
management
|
1.
Managing
risk
|
➢
We
have adopted a formal system of risk management overseen by the
Corporate Finance Team.
➢
This
ensures that the council’s assets are adequately protected,
losses resulting from hazards and claims against the council are
mitigated through the effective use of control measures, and that
our managers are adequately supported in their responsibilities in
respect of risk management.
➢
Departments
maintain risk registers which include corporate, operational,
reputational, project and partnership risks in accordance with best
practice.
➢
Key
staff receive training on risk management principles.
➢
We
maintain a Corporate Risk Register containing the council’s
key strategic risks and these are monitored by the Corporate
Management Team, and by the Audit & Governance
Committee.
➢
We
conduct robust and quality risk assessments for data protection and
privacy issues to ensure we comply with the fundamental principles
and requirements of legislation.
|
|
2.
Managing
performance
|
➢
Principal
performance targets are captured within our Performance management
system and are subject to review (including Council Delivery Plan,
Council Scorecard, and Departmental business and service
plans).
➢
Individual
projects have their own targets and performance reviews set within
them and are reported via the projects teams as required. Major
Projects are tracked through the Place Executive Recovery
Group.
➢
Performance
management is reported on a quarterly basis to the Executive, the
Corporate Management Team, and the Corporate Services, Climate
Change, and Scrutiny Management and Economy, Place, Access, and
Transport Scrutiny Committees. Complaints, FOI/EIR, data protection
and associated regulator feedback are included in these reports and
are also reported to the Governance, Risk and Assurance Group,
Corporate Management Team, and to Audit and Governance
Committee.
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3.
Robust
internal control
|
➢
Preventative
procedures are in place which include the segregation of duties,
approval/authorisation process, security of assets and regular
reconciliations.
➢
Assurance
is gained through regular internal audits and reporting.
➢
Our
Internal Audit Service has received an independent external review
which demonstrates that the service conforms with the Public Sector
Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS). The Head of Internal Audit also
presents the results of the Quality Assurance and Improvement
Programme as part of the annual report to the Audit and Governance
Committee.
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4.
Managing
data
|
➢
We
have in place a suite of Policies and Procedures covering
information governance and information security that are managed
and monitored by the Corporate Governance Team and ICT.
➢
We
have senior officers who fulfil the roles of the Senior Information
Risk Owner, Caldicott Guardians, and Information Asset Owners and
Administrators.
➢
All
officers and Councillors are required to undertake mandatory
e-Learning training on data protection and information
security.
➢
Regular
council wide communications and targeted awareness sessions with
teams are provided to ensure the need, and process, for reporting
of all potential breaches of Data Protection legislation is clearly
understood and also that lessons are learned and implemented from
them.
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5.
Strong
public financial management
|
➢
We
have a budget setting process with the Budget and Medium
Term
Financial
Plan decided annually by Council.
Ø
Budget
setting includes resident and business engagement.
➢
The
Finance Strategy sets the overall direction for how we will fund
our activities and invest in the future.
➢
We
have in place a statutory Section 151 Officer with finance teams
that support the budget holders.
➢
Financial
Procedure Rules and Contract Procedure Rules are in place and are
regularly updated.
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Principle
G
Implementing
good practices in transparency, reporting, and audit to deliver
effective accountability
|
1.
Implementing
good practice in transparency
|
➢
Agendas
for all Council meetings are publicly available on the
website.
➢
We
comply with the local Government Transparency Code 2015, publishing
required information at https://www.yorkopendata.org/
➢
We
comply with The Openness of Local Government Bodies Regulations
2014 and the Freedom of Information Act publication
scheme.
➢
We
have a Whistleblowing Policy in place which is actively
publicised.
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2.
Implementing
good practices in reporting
|
➢
We
have in place comprehensive procedures for the making of decisions,
either by Full Council, Committees, the Executive, or individual
decisions made by Chief Officers or Executive Members.
➢
All
reports are taken through Democratic Services and require clearance
by legal and finance as a minimum.
➢
Reports
for Council, Committees and Executive business and minutes of these
meetings are available on our website, save for reports which
contain information that is exempt from publication.
|
|
3.
Assurance
and effective accountability
|
➢
The
Constitution has been fully reviewed and a refreshed version was
implemented in May 2022, following its approval by Full Council in
April 2022. A rolling review of the Constitution is
underway.
➢
The
Constitution sets out the executive arrangements and the roles and
responsibilities of the Leader of the Council, the Executive and
each of the Cabinet Members and the roles and responsibilities of
other Council Members.
➢
The
Constitution sets out the functions of Council, Executive and the
various committees.
➢
We
have an effective Scrutiny function with a number of Scrutiny
Committees whose responsibilities are also set out in the
Constitution.
➢
The
principal roles and responsibilities of the Chief Operating Officer
and senior officers, including the Section 151 Officer and the
Monitoring Officer, are also set out in the
Constitution.
|
What
specific assurances do we receive?
Whilst a number of assurances have
been obtained to support this conclusion, it is important that we
consider the following specific assurances to support this
statement:
1.
Chief
Finance Officer (Section 151 Officer)
The CIPFA Statement on the Role of
the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) in Local Government (2016) requires
that assurance is provided on a number of governance arrangements
relating to the organisation including financial control,
reporting, the approach to decision making, compliance with
relevant codes and the influence of the CFO within the
organisation. These have been considered within the context of this
Statement and it has been established that our arrangements conform
to the CIPFA requirements and the Section 151 Officer has no
significant concerns.
2.
Monitoring
Officer
The Monitoring Officer is required
to report to the Council in any case where it appears that any
proposal, decision, or omission by the authority has given rise to
or is likely to or would give rise to any contravention of any
enactment, rule of law or code of practice or maladministration or
injustice in accordance with Sections 5 and 5A of the Local
Government and Housing Act 1989; (LGHA 1989). These have been
considered within the context of this statement and the Monitoring
Officer has no significant concerns to report.
3.
Head
of Internal Audit
In accordance with the Accounts and
Audit Regulations 2015, the CIPFA Statement on the Role of the Head
of Internal Audit 2019 and the Public Sector Internal Auditing
Standards (PSIAS), the Head of Internal Audit provides an annual
opinion on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of our risk
management, internal control, and governance processes.
The Head of internal Audit is
satisfied that sufficient work has been undertaken to allow him to
draw a reasonable conclusion on the adequacy and effectiveness of
our arrangements. Based on the work performed during 2023-2024 ,
the Head of Internal Audit has provided the following opinion on
our risk management, internal control and governance processes, in
operation during the year to 31 March 2024:
The
overall opinion of the Head of Internal Audit on the framework of
governance, risk management and control operating at the council is
that it provides Reasonable Assurance.
The
opinion given is based on work that has been undertaken directly by
internal audit, and on the cumulative knowledge gained through our
ongoing liaison and planning with officers. No reliance was
placed on the work of other assurance providers in reaching this
opinion, and there are no significant control weaknesses which, in
the opinion of the Head of Internal Audit, need to be considered
for inclusion in the Annual Governance Statement.
Full details on the assurance
provided by the Head of Internal Audit are detailed within the
Internal Audit Annual Report for 2023-24 will be presented to
the Audit & Governance Committee on 31 July 2024.
Under the Public Sector Internal
Audit Standards (the Standards), we are required to undertake a
review of the effectiveness of our Internal Audit function and to
report the results to the Audit and Governance Committee. An
independent assessment against the Public Sector Internal Audit
Standards must be carried out every five years. The most recent
independent assessment was completed in September 2023 by the
Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors. The assessment concluded
that the Internal Audit function generally conforms to the
Standards. This is the highest rating that can be awarded. The
Standards also require us to perform a self-assessment each year.
The outcome of the recently completed self-assessment, included in
the Internal Audit Annual Report for 2023-24, demonstrates that the
service continues to generally conform to the Standards, including
the Code of Ethics. The Council can therefore continue to place
reliance on the work of internal audit and the opinions
given.
4.
External
Audit
External Audit of the Council is
undertaken by Mazars LLP. They presented their Audit
Completion Report for the year ending 31st March 2023 to
Audit & Governance Committee on 31st January
2024 . At the time of writing, their work on the 2022/23
accounts is substantially complete, awaiting assurance on one
area. The 2023/24 audit will commence in July
2024.
Mazars also took the Auditor’s
Annual Report to Audit & Governance Committee on
22nd
May 2024 which provided
conclusions on the value for money (VFM) arrangements for the
Council in 2022/23. Following the recommendations arising from the
Public Interest Report , a significant weakness was identified in
the 21/22 VFM arrangements. In the latest report it was noted
that the recommended actions had been addressed and the significant
weakness no longer applied.
5.
SIRO
and Data Protection
The Director of Governance is the
Council’s Senior Information Risk Officer (SIRO) and Senior
Responsible Officer (SRO) for surveillance systems and use of
investigatory powers. The Corporate Governance Team support
these roles and is responsible for data protection, information
governance, records management and oversight of the surveillance
systems framework and use of investigatory powers policy and
procedures.
There
have
been small decreases in the number of
reported potential and actual personal data breaches in
2023-24 financial
year from the previous year. The reporting of potential as well
as actual breaches indicates the ongoing awareness that timely
reporting ensures
the Council can take the
necessary actions in a timely way, to safeguard information, inform
individuals and regulators where it has been
determined appropriate to do
so, conduct robust investigations and make recommendations to
reduce the risk of further breaches.
The number of significant breaches
reported to Information Commissioners Office has remained the same
i.e., 1 in 2022-2023 and one in 2023-2024.
The Council maintains the required
level of assurance on the annual NHS Digital data security and
protection toolkit.
The Council received positive
assurances in respect of its use of investigatory powers and covert
surveillance e.g., RIPA in its last inspection by the Investigatory
Powers Commissioner Office (IPCO) inspection that took place on
27th August 2021. These are undertaken by the IPCO
every three years. Updates on the required work and
ongoing actions from this inspection were reported to Audit and
Governance Committee and training was provided for the Committee to
enable their oversight of the council’s use of covert
surveillance, acquisition of communications data and use of a
Covert Human Intelligence Source (CHIS).
The Council continues to provide
mandatory data protection and information security e-learning for
all staff including agency staff and Elected Members. The
requirement for this training to be completed annually is
reinforced by regular all staff communications and targeted
messages to senior managers. There is also ongoing targeted
guidance and support provided for the roles of SIRO, information
asset owners, Caldicott Guardians, and for investigatory
powers/covert surveillance applying and authorising
officers.
Ongoing work
continues in the Council’s ICT infrastructure to strengthen
against Cyber-attacks, improve disaster recovery arrangements and
record retention.
6.
Senior
Management Assurance Statements
Senior Management Assurance
Statements were produced by all Directors for the financial year
2023-24 . In the Assurance Statements, the Directors’
self-assessed compliance and detailed the basis of Assurance and
the frequency of testing and review. Most of these
statements/assurances evidenced full compliance with the principles
of good governance. Areas for development are detailed at the end
of this statement.
Significant
Governance Issues
The
governance and internal control arrangements can provide a
reasonable assurance but not an absolute assurance against material
misstatement, safeguarding of assets or loss. This Statement is
intended to provide reasonable assurance. In concluding this review
of the Council’s Governance Framework and Internal Control
arrangements, new issues identified have been included in the
tables below. There are also three issues that have
previously been identified that have been progressed sufficiently
and no longer require disclosure in this statement, although have
been included for completeness this year.
A
detailed plan to address existing weaknesses and ensure continuous
improvement in the system of internal control has been produced in
response and this will be subject to regular monitoring by the
Council’s Corporate Management Team and the Audit &
Governance Committee, where appropriate.
COMPLETED
Governance issues arising from the previous Annual Governance
Statement (2022-23 )
|
YEAR
IDENTIFIED
|
Issue
|
Action
taken to date / Planned
|
PROGRESS
MADE DURING 2023-24
|
|
2021-22
|
Absence
Management
Following
the introduction of the one-day reporting system for absence,
manager have had a consistent and easy tool to manage, update and
report employee absences which is now an embedded process.
Training for all new managers with staff responsibilities takes
place. The system went live in Sept 2019 and was valuable
during the COVID periods. This system is now due to be
reconsidered and expires in late 2022. Options for an
alternative inhouse system with similar or appropriate electronic
recording and live real time alerts is not available in iTrent and
the risk of not having a system for the future could mean that
managers do not have effective and efficient tool to assist to
manage absence and absence may not be recorded consistently across
the Council
|
|
The new contract with Medigold for absence management was
implemented in July 2023 and is now integrated within the
council’s Occupational Health service. Efficiencies are
being met with the two services under one contract and employee and
managers are able to access new dashboards and tool to assist with
absence management. This is in addition to training and
support from HR to manage absence.
Service reviews with the contractor take place monthly to raise any
system issues.
Latest
data published for “Average Sickness Days per FTE - CYC
(Excluding Schools) - (Rolling 12 Month)” is:
|
|
2022/23
|
Robust
Delivery of the City Election in May 2023
|
Extensive
preparatory work and regular involvement from the Returning
Officer, together with the Monitoring Officer, electoral staff,
communications team, and representatives from the Electoral
Commission ensured a safe and well-run election in May 2023, with
no challenges to results and with an increased postal vote base and
turnout.
|
Following
the success of the 2023 election, continued preparation is underway
in the electoral team to deliver the 2024 Combined Authority
Mayoral Election and the 2024 General Election. This has been
boosted by the arrival of the Head of Democratic
Governance.
|
|
2022/23
|
Impact
of North Yorkshire devolution and creation of combined
authority
|
Significant
work has been undertaken by the Chief Operating Officer, Chief
Finance Officer, and Head of Human Resources, together with other
Corporate Directors and Directors, to prepare the Council for the
forthcoming YNYCA.
|
The Combined Authority was officially launched on 1st February
2024. A significant amount of work has been undertaken to
reach the creation date, with key officers adding to the
success.
Work continued up to May 2024 when the Mayor was elected.
Preparation for the Mayor included ensuring an appropriate
induction was available to welcome them, a suitable staffing
structure is in place for the Mayor to serve York and North
Yorkshire, funding sources are in place, a safe and legal
constitution with appropriate governance structures and the
efficient transition of the Office of the Police Fire and Crime and
Fire Service to the Combined Authority.
As its own legal entity the Combined Authority now has its own
Audit and Governance structure.
Work
will continue to take place to develop new relationships with
officers across City of York Council as new funding opportunities
become available as a result of the Devolution deal.
|
CURRENT
Governance issues arising from the 2023-24 Annual Governance
Statement
|
|
Issue
|
Action
taken to date / Planned
|
PROGRESS
MADE DURING 2023-24
|
|
1
– Existing Issue, updated
Existing
Issue
|
Financial
Risks
(i)
Pressures - Impact of funding reductions -
The
council continues to face significant funding pressures and changes
to both national and regional funding regimes which naturally
present a potential risk to the council's overall governance
arrangements and financial resilience.
There
is currently uncertainty around any future government funding and
the long-term impact on income streams, including business rates
and council tax.
The financial position of the health economy in York, and the
impact that may bring for the Better Care Fund, and implications on
the Adult Services budget
(ii)
Major capital projects
The
council has a number of major capital projects at different stages,
including Guildhall, York Central, York Outer Ring Road, and the
Housing Delivery Programme. As outlined above, the Coronavirus
pandemic will have a significant, ongoing financial impact on the
capital programme.
|
The
outturn position for 2021/22 was an overspend position and
therefore this remains a significant risk. The Council again
set a balanced budget for 2022/23 and made proper provision for
growth along with a contingency to support continued recovery from
the pandemic.
The
Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) reflects the expected need to
make future savings over the medium term taking into account
anticipated changes in financing. This continues to be updated and
refreshed. This informs the budget process for future years.
There remain significant challenges to deliver savings and
outturn within the approved budget.
The
uncertainty around central government funding remains an
issue.
Ongoing
discussions with Health Organisations in York, and reporting to
Health & Wellbeing board
There
are significant risks associated with the range of major schemes
which have been identified in various reports, including the
potential implications for both capital and revenue budgets. Key
programmes include Housing Delivery and York Central. Ongoing
regular reporting to various member meetings, alongside effective
project management continues to be essential to ensure risks can be
mitigated/ managed.
The
council has put in place dedicated project management expertise for
its major projects and invested in a project management system to
manage programme / cost risks attached to these major
projects.
Major
projects will need to be reviewed to assess any new risks and to
ensure that the financial assumptions are still sound.
Clarity
of delineation of the roles of those Members and Officers concerned
with the delivery of projects and those concerned with regulatory
decisions has been factored into the project management and
protocols are in place in respect of decision making to provide
necessary ethical walls within the organisation and in line with
the council’s constitution.
|
The outturn position for 2022/23 was also an overspend position and
there is again an overspend in 2023/24, therefore this remains a
significant risk. A balanced budget was set for 2023/24 and
2024/25. Significant provision for growth were made as well
as allocations to support the increased cost from high inflation
throughout 2023.
The Medium-Term Financial Strategy continues to be updated and
presented to CMT and Executive.
The uncertainty around central government funding remains an issue.
The 2024/25 settlement was again a one-year deal, with no longer
term indication of local government finance reform.
Further
development of the medium-term financial plan will be needed during
the year to ensure continued financial resilience.
|
|
2
– Existing Issue, updated
|
Local
Plan
The
Council has submitted a draft Local Plan for inspection, however a
final version is yet to be approved.
Planning
policy sits within a national regulatory framework; non-compliance
with that framework means that planning decisions by the local
authority can be successfully challenged both in the Courts and
through the Secretary of State. In addition, failure to adopt a
compliant Local Plan, given the expectations embodied in the
National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) leaves undeveloped areas
of the city vulnerable to development proposals which the council
will be unable to stop.
Also
given Ministerial statements failure to progress a plan could lead
to interventions by Government into the City’s planning
services
|
At
an extraordinary meeting of Full Council on 17th May 2018 members
resolved to submit the Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate for
examination. The Local Plan was submitted on 25th May
2018. The Council will have proceeded through three phases of
the public inquiry by the end of July 2022 with a fourth and final
stage being held in September 2022. This is significant
progress however the Local Plan making process is highly procedural
and still needs to progress through multiple statutory processes
before adoption which will if successfully completed be in 2023.
Updates to the Local Plan examination timetable and correspondence
with the Inspectors can be found at www.york.gov.uk/localplanexamination
|
The Council continues to respond to the requests of the planning
Inspectors in respect of their requirements in the Local Plan
public enquiry process. Clearly the Council is not in control of
the process and there remains risks with the adoption of the plan
and the associated timetable. In respect of resources the Councils
2021 budget provided permanent ongoing funding for the Councils
forward Strategic Planning team beyond the Local Plan process. The
Corporate Director of Place has also taken direct responsibility
for the next phase of the public enquiry and whilst interim
staffing arrangements have been made the skills remain in high
demand and capacity is stretched within the team.
Following on from a hearing on the 6th March 2024 regarding the
Gypsy and Traveller policies / site provision the Council is
expecting the Examination process to conclude in 2024. New
Legislation is anticipated with regard to the Local Planning
framework and all political parties at a national level have
identified this as an issue for the next Government.
|
|
3
– Existing issue, updated
|
Embedding
Good Governance across the Council –
To
continue to promote a culture of good governance across the council
by continuing to embed the revised constitution and ensure it
remains fit for purpose; to continue to embed member development
following the city Election in 2023.
|
The work of embedding good governance continued throughout
2022-2023, with no significant governance issues identified
(although occasional human errors required remedial action to be
taken). As a consequence, the Audit and Governance Committee
noted the completion of the Governance Action Plan in November
2022.
|
Good progress has been made over the year 2023-24 in embedding good
governance, supplemented by increased stability within the
Democratic Services team brought on by the arrival of the new Head
of Democratic Governance.
The Audit and Governance Committee received an update on the
cultural change programme at its meeting on 19 July 2023, and
endorsed the proposed approach of incorporating the necessary
change training into the overall Members’ Induction and
ongoing training programme.
Further reports will be brought to the Committee across the 2024-25
year, in order to ensure that progress is maintained, and that all
actions identified by the Local Government Association are included
in the ongoing Member training programme.
|
|
4-
New Issue for 2023/24
|
Contract
Management arrangements – To
reestablish the correct contract management procedures for both
officers and members ensuring there is clarity around any issues
arising.
|
|
|
|
5-
New Issue for 2023/24
|
Resourcing
and capacity –
the Council has an ambitious set of major projects, as well as key
developments in regional devolution alongside the provision of key
services to residents. All are competing demands on the limited
resources available which creates risk in achieving
objectives. This is a cross cutting issue that impacts on the
progress of all the governance issues identified.
|
|
|
What Are Our Key Governance Development
Priorities
for 2024-25
?
City
of York’s key governance priorities for 2024-25
are:
|
2024-25
Priority
|
Planned/Proposed
Action
|
Responsible
Officer(s)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Financial
Risks/MTFS/Financial sustainability
|
Existing
priority
|
Director
of Finance (Section 151 Officer)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Local
Plan
|
Existing
priority
To
secure the adoption and implementation of the Local
Plan.
|
Director
of City Development
|
|
|
|
|
|
Embedding
Good Governance across the Council
|
Existing
priority
To
continue to promote a culture of good governance across the council
by continuing to embed the revised constitution and ensure it
remains fit for purpose. Implementation of new Corporate
Improvement Framework will be key.
|
Head
of Paid Service
Monitoring
Officer
Section
151 Officer
CO
HR & Support Services
|
|
|
|
|
|
Embedding
good contract management across the authority
|
New
priority
|
Head
of Paid Service
Monitoring
Officer
Section
151 Officer
|
|
|
|
|
|
Resourcing
& Capacity
|
New
priority
|
Head
of Paid Service
CO
HR & Support Services
|
Assurance Opinion of the Leader of the Council
and the Chief Operating Officer
We have been advised on the
effectiveness of the governance framework by senior management. The
arrangements continue to be regarded as fit for purpose in
accordance with the governance framework.
It is our opinion that the
Council’s governance arrangements in 2023-24 were sound
and provide a robust platform for achieving the Council’s
priorities and challenges in 2024-25 .
Having considered all the principles
contained in the CIPFA Code of Practice on Managing the Risk of
Fraud and Corruption, we are also satisfied that the Council has
adopted a response that is appropriate for its fraud and corruption
risks and commits to maintain its vigilance to tackle
fraud.
……………………………………..
Councillor
C Douglas
Leader
of the City of York Council
……………………………………...
Ian
Floyd
Chief
Operating Officer
