Council constitution and corporate governance

'Corporate governance' means the way the council is run - how we manage ourselves, how we make decisions, run our services and relate to the public.

View the Powys County Council Constitution

Principles of the Council

• Openness - we're open about our decision-making, how we're managed, and council staff are open with the public.
• Inclusivity - we make sure that the community can engage effectively with decision-making processes and council actions
• Integrity - we are honest and objective, put the public good before personal benefit and manage public money responsibly.
• Accountability - we make sure that council staff and councillors are responsible for their decisions and actions, and are open to appropriate external scrutiny.

Good corporate governance is especially important to these activities: 

• Community Focus
• Service Delivery
• Structures and Processes
• Risk Management and Internal Control
• Standards of Conduct

Community Focus

We are committed to working with the community and delivering high quality services.  To do this we will make soundly based decisions, manage the risks we face and demand high standards of conduct from Councillors and officers.  We'll work with the local community and listen and respond to local concerns. Where appropriate, we'll take the lead in promoting the wellbeing of residents and at all times it will listen and respond to local demands.

We will: 

• Engage with the community to make sure that we understand what the public expects from us and to show how we are trying to achieve this.
• Make sure that we communicate with all sections of the community and encourage active participation in our activities.
• Act as 'ambassadors' to promote the interests of Powys and its residents.

Service Delivery

We recognise that our residents, local businesses and other customers expect continuous improvements in the quality of services that they receive.

We will:

• Use objective measures of performance to drive up standards.
• Be flexible and responsive to new demands and be open to new ways of providing services.
• Be open when we make decisions about the best ways to deliver local services

Structures and process

Since we're responsible for running many services that people depend on, residents expect us to make sound decisions and implement them effectively. 

We will:

• Make a clear distinction between the roles and responsibilities of staff and Councillors.
• Open the work of the Council to proper and effective scrutiny.
• Maintain up to date and transparent decision-making processes.

Risk management and internal control

We're responsible for spending large sums of public money and looking after valuable public land and property.  We can't avoid all risks but we can manage the risks we can't avoid. We should also make the most of opportunities, which may mean taking a risk.

We will:

• Identify, control and monitor the risks that we face in the course of our work.
• Maintain systems and procedures to control risks and monitoring their effectiveness to ensure that these are being followed.

Standards of conduct

Since the decisions we make affect people's lives, it's important that we act fairly and impartially.

We will:

• Make sure that councillors and staff follow the highest standards of conduct.
• Maintain a fair and effective disciplinary procedure to investigate alleged breaches of the standards of conduct