Amber Valley Borough Council has published its new Local Code of Corporate Governance, which outlines how it plans to account to, engage with and lead communities within the borough.
The new Code was adopted following a review against the revised national framework and is the first of its kind.
Governance is about how local authorities ensure that they are doing the right things, in the right way, for the right people, in a timely, inclusive, open, honest and accountable manner.
Councillor Alan Cox, Leader of the Council, said: “Amber Valley Borough Council is committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of openness, accountability and integrity. We have a responsibility to continually scrutinise and review our structures, systems and processes in order to ensure they remain robust. Adopting the new Code of Corporate Governance will help us ensure we are serving the needs of those living within the borough as effectively as possible.”
The revised Code outlines four key areas of local Council work that provide a focus for corporate governance:
- To provide leadership for and with the community and engage in effective partnerships.
- To ensure the delivery of high quality local services whether directly, in partnership or by commissioning.
- To perform a stewardship role which protects the interests of local people and makes best use of resources.
- To develop local democracy and citizenship.
Amber Valley Borough Council will review its existing governance arrangements against a number of key principles and report annually on their effectiveness. It will produce an annual governance statement confirming that the systems and processes are in place to review the effectiveness of the governance arrangements and setting out any actions to address significant governance issues.
The Council will measure the continued effectiveness of the Code and will do this as a single exercise every three years. It will also periodically publicise selected actions from the Code by highlighting these on the website. This will be monitored by the Governance and Audit Board.
The Local Code of Corporate Governance can be accessed on the Amber Valley Borough Council website at: http://www.ambervalley.gov.uk/services/governmentpoliticsandpublicadministration/localgovernment/corporategovernance/
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For further information please contact Lisa Garnham, PR and Communications Manager at Amber Valley Borough Council, on 01773 841655.
