Principle G: Implementing good practices in transparency, reporting, and audit to deliver effective accountability
1. Implementing good practice in transparency
The Council complies with the Local Government Transparency Code, which sets out which information we should be publishing and the timeframe for doing so.
Our report templates are standardised and designed to make sure that it is clear why a decision has been taken and that the appropriate information is provided to explain the decision. The reports and minutes of meetings are published and meetings are open to the public.
2. Implementing good practices in reporting
We report our performance through the One Coventry Performance Report. This is available on our website.
We compile our Statement of Accounts on an annual basis. The Statement of Accounts gives residents and other interested parties clear information about the Council’s finances and operational and financial performance. The statement summarises; the cost of services provided by us in the year; how services were paid for and our assets and liabilities at the year end. The Statement of Accounts is available on our website. The Council’s External Auditors assess the Council’s arrangements for providing value for money as part of their audit on the Statement of Accounts.
The Coventry Municipal Holdings Ltd Board provide the Shareholder Committee and Scrutiny Co-ordination Committee with a summary of the activities and financial performance of Coventry Municipal Holdings Ltd Group over the preceding year.
3. Assurance and effective accountability
The Council are subject to a number of external reviews and inspections including OFSTED and CQC, as well as external audit. The outcomes of these inspections and reviews are published. Governance and oversight of these reviews and inspections are undertaken through the local authority. For example, recommendations from the OFSTED review of Children’s Services are addressed through the Children’s Services Improvement Board.
Services participate in peer reviews which are designed to support the council’s performance by identifying its areas of strength and areas for development. A Peer Review is conducted by a team of people with experience and knowledge of the service being reviewed.
Improvement plans are developed and monitored to implement recommendations from reviews and inspections and this is overseen by Cabinet Members in their regular briefings with Directors and by the One Coventry Leadership Team.
The Council has an Audit and Procurement Committee that ensures that there is sufficient assurance over governance, risk and control within the Council. They also monitor the implementation of internal audit and external audit recommendations.
The Council produces an Annual Governance Statement which provides accountability to stakeholders on how well it has delivered on governance over the course of the previous year.