Business Board Governance

Government requires all Mayoral Combined Authorities and all Local Enterprise Partnerships to produce and publish a Local Assurance Framework that sets out the arrangements they have put in place to ensure that public money is being managed effectively.

The Local Assurance Framework

Read the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority Assurance Framework here

The Assurance Framework sets out:

• How the seven principles of public life shape the culture within the Combined Authority in undertaking its roles and responsibilities
• The respective roles and responsibilities of the Combined Authority, the Local Enterprise Partnership and the Section 73 Officer
• The key processes for ensuring accountability, including public engagement, probity, transparency, legal compliance and value for money
• How potential investments to be funded through the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Medium Term Financial Plan are appraised, prioritised, approved, signed off and delivered.
• The processes for oversight of projects, programmes and portfolios and how the progress and impacts of these investments will be monitored and evaluated.

Below you can see the checklist of documents that the Assurance Framework requires that we make available to the public.

1. Assurance Framework

• National Assurance Framework
• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Assurance Framework

2. Strategic Documents

• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Devolution Deal
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Independent Economic Review
• Local Industrial Strategy
• Mayor’s Growth Ambition Statement
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Business Plan
• Combined Authority Medium-Term Financial Plan

3. Accountability & Transparent Decision Making

Combined Authority

• Constitution of the Combined Authority
• Combined Authority Members

Business Board

• Constitution of the Business Board
• Business Board Members
• Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority and Business Board Joint Statement (published in the Local Assurance Framework)
• Governance Assurance Statement
• Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative & Agri-Tech Programme Board
• Eastern Agri-Tech Growth Initiative Guidance Notes and Pre-Qualification Questionnaire
• Enterprise Zones: Alconbury Weald and Cambridge Compass Enterprise Zone
• Greater South East Energy Hub & Energy Hub Board

Other

• Officer Decision Notices
• Statutory Committees
  • Overview & Scrutiny Committee
    • Terms of Reference (Constitution)
  • Audit & Governance Committee
    • Terms of Reference (Constitution)
• Data Protection
  • Data Protection Policy
• Board Review for the Chair and Vice Chair

4. Audit Reports

In-line with the Combined Authority’s risk-based approach to audit the newly formed governance around the Business Board, following it’s incorporation into the Combined Authority, was subject to an internal audit in 2018-19. This resulted in a reasonable assurance opinion (a positive opinion) with 9 agreed management actions.
The Combined Authority acted rapidly to address the findings and the follow-up audit carried out in 2019-20 identified that all the actions identified in the original audit had been addressed and resulted in a substantial assurance opinion (the highest level of assurance possible).

The original 2018-19 audit, and follow-up, are linked below:

• Business Board Internal Audit
• LEP Assurance Report

5. Accountability and Transparency – Supporting Policies and Procedures

• Combined Authority Agendas and minutes
• Business Board Agendas and minutes
• Business Board annual report and delivery plan

Financial information

• Annual accounts, external audit letter and annual governance statement
• Quarterly return to BEIS on Growth Fund projects, spend and performance
• Funding programme with description of the scheme, promoter and funding award

Remuneration and Expenses

• Business Board Expenses Scheme
• Allowances and Expenses paid
• Salaries of senior officers earning more than £50,000 (published annually in the Statement of Accounts)
• The numbers of staff who earn over £50,000, in bands

Freedom of Information

• Freedom of Information Policy
• Publication scheme
• Published FOI requests and responses

Conflicts of Interest

• Code of Conduct for Business Board Members
• Code of Conduct for staff
• Declarations of Interest forms
• Register of interests for Chief Executives
  • Register of Interest for Kim Sawyer

Gifts and Hospitality

• The register of gifts and hospitality declared by Business Board

Complaints and Whistleblowing

• Complaints Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Business Board Complaints Policy
• Business Board Whistleblowing Policy
• Business Board Third-Party Complaints and Confidential Reporting Policy
• Fraud and Corruption Policy

Diversity Statement

• Business Board Diversity Statement

Government Branding

• Guidance for signage, social media, press notices and other marketing materials for every Government funded project

6. Robust Decision making

Expressions of Interest/Open Calls

• Local Growth Fund: expressions of interest under the Growth Prospectus

Business Cases

• 10-point guide on Project Management

Ensuring Value for Money

• Monitoring & Evaluation Framework

7. Delivery Phase

• Growth Fund and investment update reports (presented in Business Board papers monthly)
• Risk Management