Issue - meetings

To submit the report of the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer.

It was resolved to recommend to Full Council that it approves the proposed amendment to the Constitution to provide for the final approval of the Council’s Annual Governance Statement by the Governance and Audit Committee, in place of the Council.

The report of the Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer which sought the Executive’s views on a proposed amendment to the Council’s Constitution to provide for the final approval of the Council’s Annual Governance Statement (AGS) by the Governance and Audit Committee, in place of the Council was presented for consideration.

Councillor Gary Pritchard, Leader introduced the report noting that it proposes a practical amendment to the Constitution so that the Governance and Audit Committee rather than the Full Council, gives final approval to the Annual Governance Statement.

The Director of Function (Council Business)/Monitoring Officer outlined the reasons for the proposed change which include a shorter audit timetable set by Audit Wales for 2025/26. Under the revised timetable, the accounts must be authorised by 30 September 2026,  one month earlier than the previous year. Welsh Government guidance also states that the AGS should be published at the same time as the unaudited accounts are signed, leaving limited time to revise the AGS after it has been reviewed by the Governance and Audit Committee. If approval remains with the Council, the September 2026 Council meeting would need to be rescheduled an extraordinary meeting convened.

Delegating approval to the Governance and Audit Committee is therefore considered a more efficient process and aligns the approval of the AGS with the approval process for the Council’s annual accounts which has already been delegated to the Governance and Audit Committee. The proposed change would not disadvantage councillors or the public as reports would continue to be available in the usual way, and the draft AGS would be circulated to all members in June for comment.

It was resolved to recommend to the Full Council that it approves the proposed amendment to the Constitution to provide for the final approval of the Council’s Annual Governance Statement by the Governance and Audit Committee, in place of the Council.