London Borough of Haringey: putting good governance at the heart of council improvement

What is meant by council-wide assurance? What does it mean in Haringey in particular?

Council-wide assurance at Haringey means ensuring a widespread understanding of the importance of good governance and assurance, being open about areas for improvement and focusing on delivery of improvement actions. 

How does this work in practice?

In November 2022 the council launched the Haringey Deal. This pledged to focus on building greater trust between residents and the council, learning when mistakes are made and putting things right quickly. The Deal recognised the critical importance of ‘getting the basics right’ in terms of public confidence in the council, acknowledged the need to improve and set out how the council would embed changes in the way it works. The council reset its corporate values, recognising that organisational culture is a cornerstone of good governance and enables the organisation to deliver effectively whilst also securing the confidence of residents. 

The council has used its Annual Governance Statement as a tool for improvement, to give an open and honest account of the effectiveness of its assurance framework, areas for improvement in relation to governance, and actions required to resolve issues with a clear timeframe. The council understands that issues identified in the Annual Governance Statement represent significant risks and so are addressed as part of core business. 

Work to develop the Annual Governance Statement is led by the Monitoring Officer and Head of Internal Audit. All directorate management teams are asked to give their perspective on current issues and progress in addressing previous challenges. The Leadership Network (including Heads of Service) also contributes to the drafting of the Statement.

The council ensures that there is read across between the Annual Governance Statement and its Corporate Delivery Plan. The Corporate Leadership Team monitors progress against agreed actions during the year as part of the council’s wider improvement plan and identifies any emerging risks or issues. Audit Committee requires an update on delivery of the action plan during the year. The Statement also informs the Internal Audit plan for the following year.

The Internal Audit service is understood to be a service which supports improvement: directors ask for audits in areas where they have concerns.

Which roles make a particular difference?

The Leader of the Council and Chief Executive have a strong understanding of the importance of good governance, taking an active interest in audit findings and assurance more generally. They recognise their key roles in guarding against the emergence of a ‘blame culture’ and ensure that time and space is allowed to enable improvement. 

The Chief Executive makes a concerted effort to ensure that significant governance issues identified in the Annual Governance Statement are widely known and understood across the organisation. He reads all audit reports with limited or no assurance, asks follow-up questions and ensures these are discussed at the Corporate Leadership Team. This helps to reinforce the organisation’s understanding of the importance of the work of Internal Audit.

Senior corporate governance officers (the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer, Section 151 Officer, Head of Internal Audit and Head of Human Resources) meet monthly, identifying any risks and issues of concern relating to governance and assurance which require closer monitoring. Inclusion of the Head of Human Resources enables close linkages with work on corporate values. The group reflect on any issues which arise during the year which were not identified through the Annual Governance Statement, and consider whether there is any wider learning for the organisation from this.

There are also regular meetings of the Chief Executive, Monitoring Officer, and Directors of Children’s and Adult Services to consider high risk cases and any potential governance or assurance implications.

How is this sustained over the long term?

The council runs 15 workshops for all staff each year, attended by the Chief Executive and directors. These are a platform to discuss the council’s values, highlight where improvement is needed and to enable staff to voice any concerns. 

The aim is to build confidence that any concerns will be addressed appropriately, to achieve a culture in which any concerns about current service provision or historic issues can be raised and dealt with, and for all staff to feel able to ask for help or support. This is supported by creating ‘safe spaces’ for people to raise concerns, as well as ensuring that elected members are reassured that the council is addressing issues as they are identified.

The Chief Executive’s regular blogs and videos address areas for improvement related to governance and improvement, as a way of demonstrating the importance of these issues.

The Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer have weekly ‘open-door’ time for officers to raise any concerns.

Actions identified in the Annual Governance Statement are plugged into the council’s wider improvement plans through robust governance arrangements, with each improvement programme overseen by its own board. 

The Leadership Network meets monthly and the Chief Executive ensures that governance and assurance issues appear regularly and prominently on agendas.  The council engaged a whistleblowing charity to work with the Leadership Network to build understanding of and confidence in whistleblowing arrangements. There is mandatory training on assurance and governance-related topics such as anti-fraud measures.

The council is open to external challenge and in May 2023 commissioned a Corporate Peer Challenge from the Local Government Association.

What are your top tips?

• Maintain an open dialogue with all levels of the organisation, to support a shared understanding of the importance of improvement and assurance.
• Ensure a strong emphasis on accountability for good governance and assurance in the induction for senior staff.
• Understand the importance of the Annual Governance Statement as a tool for improvement. Take ownership of the areas identified for improvement in the Statement and develop robust arrangements for monitoring progress. 
• Acknowledge that no organisation can be perfect all the time and don’t shy away from being open about what needs improvement.

Contact

Fiona Alderman, Monitoring Officer - [email protected]