Council considered the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for 2020-21 (circulated previously).

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that:

·         The AGS was part of the accounts and has been received by the Governance Committee at their meeting of 20^th October 2021 (which immediately preceded this meeting).

·         The Devon Audit Partnership (DAP) had given an opinion of Reasonable Assurance.

·         The Governance Committee, at its meeting on 20th October 2021, had recommended approval.

·       A series of recommendations had been presented to the Governance Committee which included items around Member Training and Code of Conduct, a review of the Corporate Plan Priorities and an update to the procurement strategy.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive advised that:

·         The Corporate Plan was being examined in detail with the Solicitor and Data Protection Officer and

·       The Corporate and Community Services team were reviewing the community engagement strategy.

Councillor Roome reported the recommendations of the Governance Committee held on 20th October 2021 and advised that a plan to address the issues raised was already being created.

It was moved by Councillor Roome and seconded by Councillor Jenkins “that the Annual Governance Statement for 2020-21 be approved”.

RESOLVED that the Annual Governance Statement for 2020-21 be approved.