Corporate Governance

Developing the Council's capacity including the capability of its leadership and the individuals within it

Supporting principles

• Developing the Council’s capacity
• Developing the capability of the Council’s leadership and individuals within it

Cheshire West and Chester will:

• Through the constitution set out a clear statement of the respective roles and responsibilities of the Council Cabinet, the full Council and individual Councillors
• Through the constitution set out a clear statement of the respective roles of the Councils committee and senior officer
• Develop and review protocols to ensure effective communication between Members and officers in their respective roles
• Set out the terms and conditions for the remuneration of officers, and publish an Annual Pay Policy statement
• Regularly review and approve the Members allowance scheme in conjunction with the Council Remuneration Panel
• On a regular basis review and update the scheme of delegation within the Constitution
• Ensure effective management arrangements are in place
• Ensure the chief executive is responsible and accountable to the Council for all aspects of operational management
• Ensure the S151 Officer has direct access to the Chief Executive and other members of the leadership team
• Support the s151 Officer in ensuring that all appropriate advice is given on all aspects of financial control and accounts
• Support the Monitoring Officer in ensuring that the constitution and the Code of Conduct for members are adhered to
• Agree and implement personal development for members including financial systems. Address any training gaps to enable roles to be carried out effectively
• Assess skills required by officers through the appraisal process and address any training gaps to ensure roles can be carried out effectively. Link appraisal process to outcomes – golden thread
• Develop skills on a continuing basis to improve performance including the ability to scrutinise effectively and recognise if expert advice is needed
• Ensure that the statutory officers, S151 officer and Monitoring officer have the resources, expertise and systems in place to perform their roles effectively within the Council.

This will be evidenced by:

• Constitution
• Annual Pay Policy Statement
• Members Allowance Scheme
• Scheme of Delegation
• Member/officer protocol
• Employee performance Management Scheme
• Member training plan developed and delivered annually
• All members offered a Personal Development Review meeting with external facilitator to consider their development needs
• Specific training and development offered for those in specific roles e.g. planning, licensing, appeals and audit and governance
• Members on Audit and Governance Committee self-assessment against CIPFA guidance on the role of audit committees, including the Committee’s effectiveness
• Further to the above, an enhanced training plan will be developed to meet any identified training needs
• Council holds Level 2 of the North West Member Development Charter.