Corporate governance

Lewes District Council recognises the importance of effective corporate governance so that local communities can place trust in the way that the Council undertakes and carries out its duties.

Corporate governance for councils in simple terms is how they are doing the right things. in the right way, for the right people, in a timely, inclusive, open, honest and accountable manner.

The Council has a number of systems and documents in place to ensure that it has effective corporate governance. These include the Council's Constitution, Council Plan, Medium Term Financial Strategy,  Whistleblowing policy, Performance Management Framework and Data Quality Strategy.

The Council has reviewed its corporate governance arrangements against national best practice. As a result of the review the Council has produced the Lewes District Council Local Code of Corporate Governance. The Local Code brings together all of the Council's corporate governance arrangements in one place and identifies a number of issues to be addressed that will improve the Council's approach.

The Local Code has six core principles:

• Focusing on the purpose of the Council and on outcomes for the community and creating and implementing a vision for the local area
• Members and officers working together to achieve a common purpose with clearly defined functions and roles
• Promoting values for the Council and demonstrating the values of good governance through upholding high standards of conduct
• Taking informed and transparent decisions which are subject to effective scrutiny and managing risk
• Developing the capacity and capability of members and officers to be effective
• Engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust public accountability

The Local Code shows under each core principle:

• The individual requirement of the Local Code
• Systems/ processes/documentation demonstrating compliance
• Responsibility for monitoring/review
• Issues to be addressed, target date and officer responsible

The Local Code is reviewed periodically by the Council's Audit Committee.