Governance
LCC (as the FRA) is responsible for ensuring:
- its business is conducted in accordance with the law and proper standards
- public money is safeguarded, properly accounted for, and used:
- economically
- efficiently
- effectively
One of the executive councillors (portfolio holder) has specific responsibility for the exercise of executive functions in relation to our role as fire authority.
We have adopted a governance and assurance structure. This is consistent with the principles of the:
- chartered institute of public finance and accountancy
- society of local authority chief executives framework delivering good governance in local government
Our annual governance statement:
- sets out our commitment to good governance
- describes the governance framework and processes
- provides details of measures taken by us to ensure:
- appropriate business practice
- high standards of conduct
- sound governance
- sets out the actions we have taken to review the effectiveness of our governance framework, including the system of internal control
Our annual governance statement is included in our statement of accounts publication.
Our internal audit department publishes an annual internal audit report. This provides an independent opinion of the overall adequacy and effectiveness of our governance framework, risk and internal control system. The opinion of the head of internal audit in respect of the year ended 31 March 2024 was considered by the audit committee on 17 June 2024. Their opinion was that:
- the frameworks of governance, risk management and management controls are adequate
- audit testing has demonstrated controls to be working in practice
The portfolio holder, chief executive and chief fire officer provide routine oversight of the fire and rescue service. Key decisions are processed through the county’s informal executive and executive as necessary. We report to the community safety scrutiny committee on a regular basis. This is in accordance with the scrutiny work programme. Copies of committee reports can be found on our Moderngov website.