Decision details

(i)       in relation to questions asked relating to whether ALEO Board meetings could be held in public and what the position would be in relation to an ALEO refusing to appoint a Director, to note that the Service Level Agreement would require to be amended however as the ALEO’s were private companies it may not be possible to insist that meetings were held in private or that they appoint a Director and that the Service Manager for Legal Services would clarify the position and advise members outwith the meeting;

(ii)      in relation to a question from Councillor Duncan relating to the Terms of Reference for the Assurance Hub, to note that these would be presented to this Committee at its next meeting;

(iii)      to note the options appraisal undertaken to identify a preferred option for a refreshed ALEO operating model as attached under Appendix A;

(iv)     to note the Good Governance Institute’s recommendation from their report to Council dated September 2016, that the level of ALEO scrutiny should be proportionate to the level of risk to the Council and that the previous iteration of the Governance Hub was administratively burdensome and unsupportable in the future;

(v)      to note CIPFA’s view as detailed in their report to Council dated 9 January 2017, that Council should strike a balance between oversight of ALEOs and allowing their freedom to operate as independent legal entities; and

(vi)     to approve the adoption of Option 3: Assurance Hub Model as the Council’s new ALEO operating model.