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Code of Corporate Governance

  1. 1. Document history and introduction
  2. 2. Principle 1, 2 and 3
  3. 3. Principle 4 and 5
  4. 4. Principle 6 and 7

3. Principle 4 and 5

Principle 4

Principle 4 - Determining the interventions necessary to optimise the achievement of the intended outcomes.

Local government achieves its intended outcomes by providing a mixture of legal, regulatory, and practical interventions (courses of action). Determining the right mix of these courses of action is a critically important strategic choice that local government has to make to ensure intended outcomes are achieved. They need robust decision-making mechanisms to ensure that their defined outcomes can be achieved in a way that provides the best trade-off between the various types of resource inputs while still enabling effective and efficient operations. Decisions made need to be reviewed frequently to ensure that achievement of outcomes is optimised.

Supporting principles To achieve this, the Council will:
Determining interventions
  • Ensure decision makers receive objective and rigorous analysis of a variety of options indicating how intended long-term outcomes would be achieved and associated risks. Therefore, ensuring best value is achieved however services are provided
  • Consider feedback from citizens and service users when making decisions about service improvements or where services are no longer required in order to prioritise competing demands within limited resources available including people, skills, land and assets and bearing in mind future impacts
Planning interventions
  • Establishing and implementing robust planning and control cycles that cover long-term strategic and operational plans, priorities and targets
  • Engage with internal and external stakeholders in determining how services, service improvements and other courses of action should be planned and delivered
  • Consider and monitor risks facing each partner when working collaboratively, including shared risks
  • Ensure arrangements are flexible and agile so that the mechanisms for delivering goods and services can be adapted to changing circumstances
  • Establish appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) as part of the planning process in order to identify how the performance of services and projects is to be measured
  • Ensure capacity exists to generate the information required to review service quality regularly
  • Prepare budgets in accordance with objectives, strategies and the medium-term financial plan
  • Inform medium and long-term resource planning by drawing up realistic estimates of revenue and capital expenditure aimed at developing a sustainable funding strategy
Optimising achievement of intended outcomes
  • Ensure the medium-term financial plan integrates and balances service priorities, affordability and other resource constraints
  • Ensure the budgeting process is all-inclusive, taking into account the full cost of operations over the medium and longer term
  • Ensure the medium-term financial plan sets the context for ongoing decisions on significant delivery issues or responses to changes in the external environment that may arise during the budgetary period in order for outcomes to be achieved while optimising resource usage
  • Ensure the achievement of ‘social value’ through service planning and commissioning

Principle 4 is evidenced by:

  • The Annual budget (2024/25) ensures that the council meets its legal responsibilities for sound financial management, whilst enabling the Council to align funding of local services and projects over the forthcoming year to meet its Corporate Plan objectives and statutory duties. Public consultation is undertaken as part of the budget process to reflect the views and priorities of residents and local stakeholders in the Council’s spending plans.
  • The Annual Statement of Accounts ensures that the Council presents a true and fair view of its financial position, including a statement of income and expenditure, cash flow, use of reserves, and balance sheet at the end of the financial year.
  • The Capital Investment Strategy and Capital Programme provides a mechanism by which investment and financing plans can be prioritised, ensuring that capital decisions contribute to the achievement of the Council’s Corporate Plan priorities, and take account of stewardship, value for money, prudence, sustainability, affordability, and risks.
  • The Commercial Strategy ensures that the Council’s commercial activity is ethical, and consistent with the Council’s statutory responsibility to promote economic, environmental and social wellbeing in the borough, and our corporate objectives. It also requires that there is appropriate due diligence and risk assessment of investment options; and, that surplus income generated through our commercial activities will be used to ensure the financial sustainability of the Council and continued delivery of services for local people.
  • The Constitution sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures that are in place to ensure decisions are efficient, transparent, and accountable to local people.
  • The Corporate Plan (‘Reigate & Banstead 2025’) explains the Council’s priorities for the next five years and how we will deliver services to those living, working and spending time in our borough. This includes things like how we will deliver leisure and housing services, neighbourhood services (including parks and refuse collection), our plans to tackle climate change and how we will support our towns, villages, and local businesses.
  • The Financial Sustainability Programme aims to reduce the Council’s reliance on one-off measures, such as the use of Reserves, to fund services in the long-term. It focusses on four key areas to achieve this, including income generation, use of assets, prioritisation of resources, and achieving value for money.
  • The Housing Delivery Strategy 2020-25 outlines the borough housing challenges, considers affordability issues across tenures as well as the planning policy background and construction challenges. It sets out six objectives which aim to enable more households working or living in the borough to access a home that is affordable to them. Underpinning these objectives is a commitment to partnership working with housing associations, public landowners, investors, developers, and others.
  • Key Performance Indicators are reported by the senior management to the Executive, Audit, and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on a quarterly basis to measure the progress of key areas of work against targets/objectives, to highlight areas for improvement, and thus improve outcomes for stakeholders, such as residents, businesses and local communities.
  • The Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2021/22 – 2025/26 provides a framework for managing council finances, aligning spending with strategic priorities, and addressing funding challenges. It ensures a balanced budget, maintains reserves, supports prudent investment, and promotes financial sustainability through income generation, collaboration, and value for money in service delivery.
  • The ‘Notice of Key Decisions and Corporate Forward Plan’ (CFP) gives 28 days’ statutory notice of forthcoming Executive key decisions, in addition to other non-key business for Audit, Overview and Scrutiny, and Full Council meetings. The CFP ensures that public notice is given for forthcoming decisions in an open and transparent way, and supports the efficient coordination of committee business.
  • The Overview and Scrutiny Committee aims to develop and review policy and make recommendations to the Executive and Council. It has the power to ‘call-in’ decisions made by Executive Members, Committees and officers for further review if they do not follow the decision-making principles of the Council’s Constitution, or if they are outside the budget and policy framework.
  • The Risk Management Strategy explains how the Council identifies, assesses, manages and reports on the risks that it faces in delivering its objectives. It integrates risk management into council operations, promoting informed decisions, early problem detection, and a culture of risk awareness. It ensures best practices, anticipates changes, and minimises loss and disruption.
  • The Statement of Key Executive Decisions ensures that all key Executive decisions by the local authority are published in a transparent and open manner, with a clear statement of the decisions, reasons, and options considered, within three working days of the decision.
  • The Treasury Management Strategy (2024/25) explains the Council’s approach to management of cash flows, borrowing and investments, and the associated risks.
  • Working in Partnership is a theme within the Council’s Corporate Plan 2020-25 to deliver best value for residents by working closely with partner organisations to align our activities and to ensure their future funding decisions benefit our borough, help deliver our ambitions, and do not have a disproportionately negative impact on residents and businesses.

Principle 5

Principle 5 - Developing the Council's capacity, including the capability of its leadership and the individuals within it.

Local government needs appropriate structures and leadership, as well as people with the right skills, appropriate qualifications and mindset, to operate efficiently and effectively and achieve intended outcomes within the specified periods. A local government organisation must ensure that it has both the capacity to fulfil its own mandate and to make certain that there are policies in place to guarantee that its management has the operational capacity for the organisation as a whole.

Because both individuals and the environment in which an organisation operates will change over time, there will be a continuous need to develop its capacity as well as the skills and experience of individual staff members.

Leadership in local government is strengthened by the participation of people with many different types of backgrounds, reflecting the structure and diversity of communities.

Supporting principles To achieve this, the Council will:
Developing the Council’s capacity
  • Review operations, performance and use of assets on a regular basis to ensure their continuing effectiveness.
  • Improve resource use through appropriate application of techniques such as benchmarking and other options in order to determine how resources are allocated so that defined outcomes are achieved effectively and efficiently.
  • Recognise the benefits of partnerships and collaborative working where added value can be achieved.
  • Agree an approach to employee engagement with the Employment Committee and Council’s Management Team.
  • Review and agree exact priorities for this approach.
  • Scope individual projects to meet the will flow from the priority work, include priorities around Leadership and Management Development, the Wellbeing of our staff, employee voice and improving our two way internal communication, concluding our review on how we attract talent to the organisation and also our organisation revisioning.
  • Undertake the annual Service and Financial Planning process to agree resources. Including work between Finance and HR colleagues with Heads of Services and team managers to review Business Plans and the HR plans required to deliver team/organisational objectives. Produce Business Plans for each service area and the corresponding Council’s establishment (agreed positions) managed by HR, with the help of Finance colleagues.
Developing the capability of the Council’s leadership and other individuals
  • Develop protocols to ensure that elected and appointed leaders negotiate with each other regarding their respective roles early on in the relationship and that a shared understanding of roles and objectives is maintained.
  • Publish a statement that specifies the types of decisions that are delegated and those reserved for the collective decision-making of the Council.
  • Ensure the Leader and the Head of Paid Service/Directors have clearly defined and distinctive leadership roles within a structure whereby the Head of Paid Service/Directors lead in implementing strategy and managing the delivery of services and other outputs set by Members and each provides a check and a balance for each other’s authority.
  • Develop the capabilities of members and senior management to achieve effective leadership and to enable the organisation to respond successfully to changing legal and policy demands as well as economic, political and environmental changes and risks by:
    • ensuring Members and staff have access to appropriate induction tailored to their role and that ongoing training and development matching individual and organisational requirements is available and encouraged.
    • ensuring Members and officers have the appropriate skills, knowledge, resources and support to fulfil their roles and responsibilities and ensuring that they are able to update their knowledge on a continuing basis.
    • ensuring personal, organisational and system-wide development through shared learning, including lessons learnt from governance weaknesses both internal and external.
  • Ensure that there are structures in place to encourage public participation.
  • Take steps to consider the leadership’s own effectiveness and ensure leaders are open to constructive feedback from peer review and inspections.
  • Hold staff to account through regular performance reviews which take account of training or development needs.
  • Ensure our people are healthy and supporting their wellbeing remains a priority for us. To do this we:
    • have access to an employee assistance programme (EAP) that offers employees and their families counselling support if required.
    • provide numerous tools online to support wellbeing (physical and mental health).
    • have occupational health support when required.
    • run specific wellbeing events throughout the year to focus on physical and/or mental health.
    • encourage managers and staff to have regular 121s when managers can check in about a person’s wellbeing on an individual level and any necessary interventions made to help support a person (potentially helped by the HR team). 121s also form part of our performance appraisal process when regular check ins take place with managers throughout the year and pay is reviewed annually.
  • The recognised Trade Unions also support a number of wellbeing events through the year and open these up to members and non-members.
  • We will continue to work on understanding individual wellbeing needs and how the organisation can support individuals.

Principle 5 is evidenced by:

  • The Constitution sets out how the Council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures that are in place to ensure decisions are efficient, transparent, and accountable to local people.
  • (NEW) The Employment Committee is responsible for deciding matters falling outside personnel policies and procedures, and oversight and engagement of the development of the Council’s Organisational Development Strategy – which includes the talent, attraction, development, and retention strategy for staff and the Council’s Management Structure.
  • (NEW) The Employee Assistance Programme (internal) is a free and independent service which provides confidential wellbeing support for Council staff who are facing difficulty or stress either at work or in their personal lives.
  • The Member Learning and Development Programme (Internal) ensures that Members have the appropriate skills and knowledge to fulfil their roles and responsibilities and that they are able to update their knowledge on a continuing basis.
  • The Pay Policy Statement 2024/25 sets out how the Council determines appropriate employee remuneration, in terms of salary and performance related pay. It therefore plays an indirect role in helping attract and retain talented, high performing employees, and thus helps to ensure that the Council has the right skills to deliver its Corporate Plan.
  • Personal Performance and Development Agreements (Internal) ensure that the personal objectives of individual staff are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound, and are aligned with Corporate Plan priorities and Service Business Plan objectives. This enables line managers and staff to monitor and appraise performance fairly and effectively and define training and development needs.
  • The Staff Induction and probation procedure (internal) is designed to promote the effective induction of all new staff and assess their performance and further training needs in the early months of employment.
  • Working in Partnership is a theme within the Council’s Corporate Plan 2020-25 to deliver best value for residents by working closely with partner organisations to align our activities and to ensure their future funding decisions benefit our borough, help deliver our ambitions, and do not have a disproportionately negative impact on residents and businesses.
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