Borough Secretary & Monitoring Officer

Code of Corporate Governance

What is corporate governance?

Corporate governance comprises the systems and values by which councils are directed and controlled and through which they are accountable to and engage with their communities.

To demonstrate compliance with the principles of good corporate governance, Northampton Borough Council must ensure that it does the right things, in the right way, for the right people, in a timely, inclusive, open, honest and accountable manner.

Delivering Good Governance in Local Government (2007)

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) have published a framework and guidance notes entitled "Delivering Good Governance in Local Government" (the CIPFA / SOLACE Framework). This provides guidance to local authorities on how to establish a locally adopted code of corporate governance.

Northampton Borough Council is committed to applying the six core principles of good governance set out in the CIPFA / SOLACE Framework of:

  • Focusing on the purpose of the authority and on the outcomes for the community and creating and implementing a vision for the local area.
  • Members and officers working together to achieve a common purpose with clearly defined functions and roles.
  • Promoting values for the authority and demonstrating the values of good governance through upholding high standards of conduct and behaviour.
  • Taking informed and transparent decisions which are subject to effective scrutiny and managing risk.
  • Developing the capacity and capability of members and officers to be effective.
  • Engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust public accountability.

What is the purpose of this Code of Corporate Governance?

Good governance is crucial as it leads to good management, good performance, good stewardship of public money, good public engagement and ultimately good outcomes for citizens and service users. Further, good governance enables an authority to pursue its aims effectively whilst controlling and managing risk.

Northampton Borough Council has a robust Constitution and other good governance documents and arrangements in place. Together, these documents and arrangements demonstrate that the Council is seeking to ensure that it is governed well through the integration into its conduct of the core principles of the CIPFA / SOLACE Framework.

The purpose of this Code of Corporate Governance is therefore to provide a simple document with hyperlinks to relevant documents relating to governance which are available free of charge on the Council's website.