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Code of Practice for Board Members
Public service values
1. English Partnerships’ Board are committed to ensuring that Board members and staff:
- observe the highest standards of impartiality, integrity and objectivity in relation to the stewardship of public funds and management of the Agency;
- in accordance with the Government’s policy on openness, comply fully with the principles of the Citizen’s Charter and the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information;
- are accountable to Parliament, users of services, individual citizens and staff for the Agency’s stewardship of public funds and the extent to which key performance targets and objectives have been met;
- maximise value for money through ensuring that services are delivered in the most economical, efficient and effective way, within available resources, and with independent validation of performance achieved wherever practicable.
Relationship with the sponsor department
2. Relationships with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) are governed by the Secretary of State’s Guidelines, the Management Statement and the Financial Memorandum. Copies of these are available on request.
The role of the chair
3. The Chairman has particular responsibility for providing effective strategic leadership on matters such as:
- formulating the board's strategy for discharging its statutory duties;
- representing the views of the board to the general public;
- ensuring that the board, in reaching decisions, takes proper account of guidance provided by the Secretary of State or ODPM;
- ensuring high standards of propriety, and promoting efficient and effective use of staff and other resources throughout the Agency; and
- providing an assessment of the performance of individual board members, on request, when they are being considered for re-appointment to the Board or for appointment to the Board of some other public body.
4. The Board meets regularly throughout the year. Accurate minutes of those meetings are maintained to record decisions taken and, where appropriate, the views of individual board members.
5. Communications between the Board and the Secretary of State will normally be through the Chairman except where the Board has agreed that an individual member should act on its behalf. Nevertheless, an individual member has the right of access to Ministers on any other matter which he or she believes raises important issues relating to his or her duties as a member of the Board. In such cases the agreement of the rest of the Board will normally be sought.
6. The main point of contact between the Agency and ODPM on day-to-day matters will normally be the Chief Executive or other members of staff who are so authorised.
7. All Members of the Board, when taking up office, are fully briefed on the terms of their appointment, and on their duties and responsibilities. This briefing includes copies of this Code of Practice, other relevant background material such as the Management Statement and Financial Memorandum; the latest Corporate Plan and Annual Reports and Accounts; the NDPB Accounting Officer Memorandum; notes describing the Agency’s organisational structure and statutory basis of operation and the rules and procedures of the Board. Each Board member is given the opportunity to attend an induction course on the duties of Board members of public bodies or some other suitable form of training related to their new responsibilities.
Corporate responsibilities of board members
8. Members’ responsibilities include:
- ensuring that English Partnerships complies with all relevant statutory or administrative requirements for the use of public funds;
- ensuring that high standards of corporate governance are observed at all times;
- establishing the overall strategic direction of the organisation within the policy and resources framework agreed with the Secretary of State;
- overseeing the delivery of planned results by monitoring performance against agreed strategic objectives and targets set out in the Corporate Plan;
- ensuring that the board operates within the limits of its statutory authority - within the limits of the Board’s delegated authority agreed with the ODPM and in accordance with the Financial Memorandum;
- ensuring that, in reaching decisions, the Board has taken into account guidance issued by ODPM including the Secretary of State’s Guidelines, the Financial Memorandum and Management Statement;
- ensuring that the Agency operates sound environmental policies and practices in accordance with the approach set out in the 1990 White Paper “This Common Inheritance (Cm1200)” and other relevant guidance.
9. The Board has corporate responsibility for all actions taken by Board members, including any wrongful ones. This means that, if judgement is made against the Boards, any financial settlement would normally be met out of public funds rather than from the personal assets of individual Board members.
Responsibilities of individual board members
10. Wider responsibilities of individual members of the Boards include the duty to comply at all times with this Code of Best Practice (or any agreed modification of it) and with rules relating to the use of public funds; and to act in good faith and in the best interests of the Agency. Board members must not use information gained in the course of their public service to promote their private interests. All Board members are required to comply with the Board’s rule on the acceptance of gifts and hospitality. (See Best Practice Note 23).
Handling conflicts of interests
11. The Chairman and other board members should declare any personal or business interests which may conflict with their responsibilities as board members.
12. In Board meetings, Board members must ensure that their interests are declared as soon as practicable after the beginning of a meeting and minuted as appropriate in Board or Committee resolutions. It is at the discretion of the Chairman whether the individual Board member should withdraw from the meeting during discussions of matters in which they have registered an interest.
13. Board members should also declare any interests of which they are aware on the part of spouses and children under 18 and of persons living in the same household.
14. Board members should also declare any shareholdings that are significant or relevant to the work of English Partnerships, either in terms of volume, value or the nature and dealings of the business, if the said shareholdings represent 3% or more of the share capital of the company concerned.
15. Beyond this level, Board members should consider whether they need to disclose relevant non-pecuniary interests or interests of other family members where members of the public might reasonably consider that these could influence the member’s judgement or where participation in the discussion or determination of a matter would suggest a real danger of bias.
16. In considering whether a real danger of bias exists in relation to a particular decision, members should assess whether they, a close family member, or a person living in the same household as the Board member are likely to be more affected than the generality of those affected by the decision in question.
Register of Members' Interests
17. Board members are required to ensure that their interests are recorded in a Register of Interests and that the register is updated as these changes occur.
18. The register lists all direct or indirect pecuniary interests of Board members which members of the public might reasonably think could influence judgement; non-pecuniary interests of Board members where these have a direct bearing on the business of the Agency; and interests of spouses and of children under 18 and of persons living in the same household.
19. Particular attention should be paid to the need to specify the nature of the interest and to ensure that all significant shareholdings over 3% are recorded. The register should include in the interests column the following explanation: -
´e.g. shareholder/owner/Director/works with organisation/relative with interest´
20. The Register of Board Member’s interests is open for public inspection.
Delegation
21. The Board has agreed delegations to the executive for day-to-day management of the Agency, for example, for project approval. These are formally recorded in the minutes and subject to review.
22. The Board may also decide to delegate responsibility for specified matters to individual members, or committees of the Board. Committees will be set up to deal with property, planning and projects matters, audit and remuneration. The Board reserves to itself issues of corporate strategy; key strategic objectives and targets; major decisions involving the use of financial and other resources; and personnel issues such as key appointments and standards of conduct.
Strategic Planning Control
23. One of the main tasks of the Board is oversight of the production of a Corporate Plan. This is the basis for agreeing, with the Secretary of State, the policy and resources framework within which the Agency will discharge its duties, and for determining its key strategic objectives and targets.
Openness and Responsiveness
24. The Board is responsible for providing Parliament (including its Select Committees) and the public with as full information as may be requested concerning their policy decisions and actions. Board members and staff should conduct all their dealings with the public in an open and responsible way, including full compliance with the principles of the Citizen´s Charter. The Board has adopted procedures to ensure compliance with the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Accountability for Public Funds
25. Members of the Board have a duty to ensure that public funds – including all forms of receipts from fees, charges and other sources – are properly safeguarded, and that at all times, the Agency conducts its operations as economically, efficiently and effectively as possible, with full regard to the relevant statutory provisions.
26. Members of the board are responsible for ensuring that the Agency body does not exceed its powers or functions, including any limitations on its authority to incur expenditure. They are normally advised on these matters by the Chief Executive, where appropriate, and the Agency’s legal advisers.
Annual Report and Accounts
27. As part of its responsibilities for the stewardship of public funds, the board will ensure that a full statement of the use of such resources is included in the Agency’s Annual Report and Accounts. Such accounts should be prepared in accordance with the Accounts Direction issued by the Secretary of State and such other guidance as may be issued, from time to time, by ODPM and the Treasury.
28. The Annual Report and Accounts provides a full description of the Board's activities; states the extent to which key strategic objectives and agreed financial and other performance targets have been met; lists the names of the current members of the board and senior staff; and provides details of remuneration of board members and senior staff within the range of prescribed salary bands. It also provides information on access to registers of interest in accordance with paragraph 12 & 17 above.
The Role of the Accounting Officer
29. The Chief Executive is English Partnerships’ designated Accounting Officer. He/she takes personal responsibility for ensuring that appropriate advice is given to the Board on all matters relating to financial propriety and regularity, for the keeping of proper accounts and for the efficient and effective use of resources. The Accounting Officer is liable to be examined on these matters by the Committee of Public Accounts of the House of Commons.
Audit Committees
30. An Audit Sub-Committee has been established as a Committee of the Board and is chaired by a member of the Board, other than the Chairman. For further information see the Audit Committe page.
The Board as Employer
31. The Board has taken steps to ensure that it complies with all relevant employment legislation and that it employs suitably qualified staff - for example, in key areas such as finance - who will discharge their responsibilities in accordance with the high standards expected of staff employed by such bodies. The Board believes all staff should be familiar with the Agency’s corporate strategy, including its main aims and objectives, and the internal management and control systems which relate to their work. In filling senior staff appointments, the Board ensures that an adequate field of qualified candidates is considered, and normally operates full open competition for recruitment of external candidates.
32. The Board has taken steps to ensure that its members, and the Agency’s staff, have access to expert advice and suitable training opportunities which they may require in order to exercise their responsibilities effectively.
33. The Board have ensured that the Agency’s rules for the recruitment and management of employees provide for appointment and advancement on merit on the basis of equal opportunity for all applicants and staff, and that the rules of conduct for its employees reflect the public service values set out in this code and management practices which will use resources in the most efficient and economical manner.
34. The Board monitors the performance of the Chief Executive and senior staff. Where the terms and conditions of employment of the Chief Executive and other members of staff include an entitlement to be considered for performance-related pay, these are assessed by the Remuneration Committee on the basis of the necessary information and advice.
APPENDIX 1: THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC LIFE
Selflessness
Holders of public office should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.
Integrity
Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties.
Objectivity
In carrying out public business, including making public appointments, awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of public office should make choices on merits.
Accountability
Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.
Openness
Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.
Honesty
Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that protects the public interests.
Leadership
Holders of public office should promote and support these principles by leadership and example.
