31 Proposed Changes to the Financial Procedure Rules PDF 74 KB
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Minutes:
The Council considered a report which sought approval of revised Financial Procedure Rules which had been undertaken by the Joint Constitutions Review Group (JCRG), at their meetings held on 29 May and 20 June 2024, as part of the ongoing review of both Guildford’s and Waverley’s Constitutions.
The JCRG had recommended approval of the revised Financial Procedure Rules, a copy of which was appended to the report, to both the Corporate Governance & Standards Committee and to Waverley’s Standards & General Purposes Committee at their special meetings held simultaneously on 1 July 2024.
The Corporate Governance & Standards Committee had recommended that Council adopts the revised Financial Procedure Rules into the Constitution.
The Council was informed that, on 8 July, Waverley’s Audit & Risk Committee had also considered the proposed revised Financial Procedure Rules and had requested a number of minor amendments, details of which were set out in the report and had been incorporated into the proposed Procedure Rules.
The revised Financial Procedure Rules would also be presented to Waverley Borough Council’s meeting on 16 July 2024, with the intention that both Councils adopt the same revised set of Rules.
Upon the motion of the Lead Councillor for Finance & Property, Councillor Richard Lucas, seconded by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Julia McShane, the Council
RESOLVED: That the Financial Procedure Rules set out at Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Council (as recommended by the Corporate Governance & Standards Committee and incorporating the further changes requested by Waverley’s Audit & Risk Committee) be adopted into the Council’s Constitution.
Reasons:
· Financial Procedure Rules which are materially the same for Waverley Borough Council and Guildford Borough Council, whilst being owned by each Council in respect of their services, will help to promote more efficient joint working and will support the transformation programme by aligning officer decision making across both Councils.
· The recommended changes will improve the governance procedures for each Council and will ensure that there is greater clarity over financial decision making.
· The reductions in financial limits will ensure that key decisions are made by the Executive, thereby promoting accountability and transparency.
· Aligning both Councils’ Financial Procedure Rules supports the Councils Collaborative and Transformation programme and provides clarity for those officers employed to provide a joint service across both Councils. The rules will replace the existing Financial Procedure Rules (Guildford) and Financial Regulations (Waverley).
22 Proposed Changes to the Financial Procedure Rules PDF 72 KB
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Committee considered a report on the recent review of the Financial Procedure Rules, which had been undertaken by the Joint Constitutions Review Group (JCRG), at their meetings held on 29 May and 20 June 2024. The JCRG had recommended approval of the revised Financial Procedure Rules, which were appended to the report, with a further recommendation that this Committee recommends the adoption of the revised Financial Procedure Rules to the full Council.
During the debate, the following comments were made:
· In response to a question as to what, if any, difference the proposed revised Financial Procedure Rules would have made in respect of the issues relating to the overspend on Guildford’s housing maintenance contracts, the Strategic Director of Finance indicated that in terms of both the proposed new Financial Procedure Rules and Contract Procedure Rules, adjustments had been made to some of the financial limits therein which would require officers to seek proper approvals at times when expenditure was exceeding those limits. It was noted that a combination of the proposed new scheme of delegation and the new financial and contract procedure rules would provide a level of safeguarding for the Council that had not been present before, so any expenditure over £200,000 would require Executive approval.
· In response to a further question which sought reassurance on the process for approval of batches of invoices the Committee was informed that following a change in process and procedure within Housing Services for the batching of invoices, which had been worked up by the officers separately to the new Financial Procedure Rules, they would go through the workflow of Business World and would each require express approval of the relevant Strategic Director.
· It was suggested that the Executive summary of the report should make it clear that the revised Financial Procedure Rules were designed to strengthen governance within the Council and to mitigate some of the shortcomings in governance which had been uncovered as part of the recent investigations. In response to a question as to whether the proposed Financial Procedure Rules should be reviewed externally by internal/external auditors to establish whether they were in line with best practice, officers confirmed that there were frequent discussions and meetings with the internal auditors, and that they would be asked to comment on the new procedure rules.
Having considered the report, the Committee
RESOLVED: That the full Council at its meeting on 23 July 2024, be requested to adopt into the Council’s Constitution, the revised Financial Procedure Rules as set out in Appendix 1 to the report submitted to the Committee.
Reasons:
· Financial Procedure Rules which are materially the same for both Councils, whilst being owned by each Council in respect of their services, will help to promote more efficient joint working and will support the transformation programme by aligning officer decision making across both Councils.
· The recommended changes will improve the governance procedures for each Council and will ensure that there is greater clarity over financial decision making.
· The reductions in financial ... view the full minutes text for item 22