Councillors are set to decide whether to proceed with the appointment of independent members to a committee.
The chartered institute of public finance and accountancy (CIFPA) recommends that two such individuals are present on council audit committees.
Lichfield District Council’s audit and member standards group will debate whether to adopt such an approach – although the local authority’s current constitution only allows for the possibility to appoint one independent member.
A report from the cabinet member for finance and commissioning, Cllr Rob Strachan, said:
“Good practice shows that co-option of independent members is beneficial to audit committees because an external view can often bring a new approach to committee discussions and can bring additional knowledge and expertise to the committee.
“It can also reinforce the political neutrality and independence of the committee and maintain continuity of membership where it is affected by the electoral cycle.
“There are some potential pitfalls such as the over-reliance on independent members leading to a lack of engagement across the full committee, or the lack of organisational knowledge or context among independent members when considering risk registers or audit reports.”
Cllr Rob Strachan, Lichfield District Council
The meeting tomorrow (27th September) will decide whether or not to push ahead with the addition of independent members to the committee.
Cllr Strachan’s report added:
“If the committee considers and agrees that more than one member be co-opted to the committee, it is recommended to council that appropriate updates are applied to the constitution to allow the co-option of up to two members.”
Cllr Rob Strachan, Lichfield District Council
