Looking glass 1

**BOX A The characteristics of modernising councils**
The Enthusiastic Moderniser		The Reluctant Moderniser
Clear understanding of the role of the political executive and managerial responsibility. Good corporate governance supports effective corporal management. It is clear to whom the officers are accountable when scrutiny function investigates the executive. Councillors respect the role of the three statutory officers.	Accountability	Ambiguous understanding of the roles of the executive responsibilities of the officers. Confused corporate governance confounds effective corporate management. Officers are unclear about their role in supporting the executive and their role in advising the scrutiny function. Councillors complicate the role of the statutory officers by resisting advice that is not politically expedient.
The council's culture gives evidence of constant striving for higher standards of behavior among members, officers and towards members of the community. The Standards Committee develops a rolling programe of attention to behaviors, standards, culture and style.	Integity	Lipservice is paid to equality, diversity, integrity and standards, but behavior remains little changed. Having adopted written codes, the Standards Committee hibernates, awaiting a complaint to investigate.
The executive sees leadership of the community as the collective nuturing of shared approach. Local organisations are treated as equal contributors to community improvement. Councillors are able to suspend party competion in particular situations in the search for improved impact on the community. The council is open to challenge from outside, incusive of the views of others and attentive to innovative practice elsewhere.	Openness and inclusivity	The executive sees community leadership as a basis for telling other agencies what the local priorities are. Local organisations are treated as subordinate and supplimentry to the council's dominance. Party antogonism leads to premature closure of issues and the ridiculing of dissent.. The council is closed to alternatives, intermittently consults the community and is convinced of the validity of it's previous approach.
The scrutiny function has the capacity to use challenge, consensus and confrontation in a constructive way. Using it's community strategy, the council selects from the menu of government initiatives to address local needs and opportunities. The council is relentless in it's review of existing activities and resources, and is conscious that greater effectiveness is possible. Members and officers recognise their need for development and update their skills to cope with the new environment. A reduction in committee meetings enables councillors to invest more enegy in partnership working with the community engagement. The council is ambitous, focusing on outcomes, demonstrably 'making a difference' to local social, economic and environmental well-being. The council is an appreciated, vibrant testimony to the effectiveness of local democracy.	Effective, and up-to-date	The xrutiny function is ineffective because either political compliance or endemic controversy results in a dysfunctional contribution. The council is overwhelmed by the extent and variety of new policy initiative from the government. The prevailing mood is that the only real problem is the need for more money. Members and officers continue in old practices, seeking to modify the modernisation agenda to conform with old styles of working. New structures overlaid on old committee arrangements increase the number of meetings that members need to attend. The council is cautious, focused on processes, implimenting the administration of the the new structures, but with limited impact on the local problems. The council is a tolerated, lacklustre interpretation of local democracy.

1. Making sense of the government’s modernisation agenda [EXHIBIT 1], not just to meet legal requirements, but also to meet local needs.

2. Seeing political restructuring, not as a distraction, but as a fresh opportunity to revise the way in which the council works, improving its performance and enhancing its propriety.

3. And the consequences for officers need to be clarified. For example, will core staff assist the scrutiny function in asking questions of the executive or assist the executive in answering questions? Will the executive and scrutiny roles require some officers to be dedicated exclusively to each? Will political restructuring change the accountability of the three statutory officers? And, what will be the boundary between the political executive and managerial activity? To be an effective moderniser, a council need clear answers to these and related issues. And their answers need to respect the principles of corporate governance – accountability, integrity, openness and inclusivity in systems that are effective and up-to-date.

The issues raised in this briefing are explored in greater depth in the Commission’s series of three discussion papers on the modernisation agenda. We Hold These Truths to Be Self-evident examines the design of new local constitutional settlements to meet the new agenda; To Whom Much Is Given explores the implications for councillors, while May You Live in Interesting Times examines the consequences for officers. Copies of these papers can be obtained from Audit Commission Publications, freephone 0800 502030. Additionally, a diagnostic questionnaire entitled Modernisation Through The Prism sets out over 200 questions which may help councils through the process of implementing the detail of new political arrangements.