Corporate Governance

Corporate Governance is the term used to describe the system by which Local Authorities direct and control their functions and relate to their communities. The Council has adopted a Local Code of Corporate Governance, which is consistent with the principles and reflects the requirements of the CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance) and SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives) Framework for Corporate Governance in Local Government - a Keystone to Community Governance.
The term 'corporate governance' came into common use in the UK in a private company context, following the publication of the Cadbury Report in 1992, which identified three fundamental principles of corporate governance, openness and inclusivity, integrity and accountability.

In order for the public sector to embrace corporate governance, the Committee on Standards in Public Life (the Nolan Committee) subsequently identified seven general principles of conduct, which should underpin public life and recommended that all public services should adopt Codes of Conduct. These seven principles of public life are selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
The Local Government Act 2000 has moved forward the issue of high personal standards and furthermore much of the Government's modernisation agenda has impacted on the requirements of corporate governance.

CIPFA and SOLACE have issued a document, Corporate Governance in Local Government: A Keystone for Community Governance, which outlines how the principles underpinning good governance should be reflected in authorities' business systems and has provided practical guidance on how Councils might review their position and provide evidence of compliance with good practice.

Officers carried out an initial review of the Council's existing governance arrangements, using the CIPFA/SOLACE framework and have produced a local Code of Corporate Governance incorporating the level of our compliance and, where this compliance falls short of the standards within the framework, the key actions required.

The arrangements and standards set out within the Local Code of Corporate Governance will help Coventry City Council to enhance its process of modernisation, community leadership, community engagement, continuous performance improvement and is essential in the Council's ambition in achieving excellence.

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Code of Corporate Governance