6. Engaging with local people and other stakeholders to ensure robust local public accountability

Supporting principle: exercising leadership through a robust scrutiny function which effectively engages local people and all local institutional stakeholders, including partnerships, and develop constructive accountability relationships

The Council is required to: make clear to themselves, all staff and the community to whom they are accountable and for what

We will do this through the following:

Constitution
East Kent Joint Scrutiny Committee
Committee terms of reference

The Council is required to: consider those institutional stakeholders to whom they are accountable and assess the effectiveness of the relationship and any changes required

We will do this through the following:

Committee terms of reference

The Council is required to: produce an annual report on the activity of the Scrutiny function

We will do this through the following:

Overview and Scrutiny annual report

Supporting principle: taking an active and planned approach to dialogue with and accountability to the public to ensure effective and appropriate service delivery whether directly by the authority, in partnership or by commissioning

The Council is required to: ensure clear channels of communication are in place with all sections of the community and other stakeholders, and put in place monitoring arrangements to ensure that they operate effectively

We will do this through the following:

Sustainable Community Strategy
Corporate Plan
Public consultation and engagement
Processes for dealing with competing demands within the community
Thanet Community Safety Partnership Open Forums

The Council is required to: hold meetings in public unless there are good reasons for confidentiality

We will do this through the following:

Public meetings

The Council is required to: ensure that arrangements are in place to enable the authority to engage with all sections of the community effectively. These arrangements should recognise that different sections of the community have different priorities and establish explicit processes for dealing with these competing demands

We will do this through the following:

Residents panels
Community Forums
Equality Impact Assessments
Thanet Community Safety Partnership Open Forums
Community Database

The Council is required to: establish a clear policy on the types of issues they will meaningfully consult on or engage with the public and service users about including a feedback mechanism for those consultees to demonstrate what has changed as a result

We will do this through the following:

Partnership Framework
Communication Strategy

The Council is required to: on an annual basis, publish a performance plan giving information on the authority’s vision, strategy, plans and financial statements as well as information about its outcomes, achievements and the satisfaction of service users in the previous period

We will do this through the following:

Annual performance report
Statement of Accounts
Medium Term Financial Plan
Corporate Plan

The Council is required to: ensure that the authority as a whole is open and accessible to the community, service users and its staff and ensure that it has made a commitment to openness and transparency in all its dealings, including partnerships, subject only to the need to preserve confidentiality in those specific circumstances where it is proper and appropriate to do so

We will do this through the following:

Constitution
Local Code of Corporate Governance
Internet protocol
Communication Strategy
Publication Scheme
Freedom of Information process

Supporting principle: making best use of human resources by taking an active and planned approach to meet responsibility to staff

The Council is required to: develop and maintain a clear policy on how staff and their representatives are consulted and involved in decision making

We will do this through the following: