UK: governance in the public sector

One of the interesting developments in the past decade or two has been the way in which the 'corporate governance' label has been used to describe governance and accountability issues beyond the corporate sector. A good example was provided this week by the Audit Commission, which published a corporate governance inspection report for Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council: see here (pdf). The report notes:

Good governance is about running things properly. It is the means by which a public authority shows it is taking decisions for the good of the people of the area, in a fair, equitable and open way. It also requires standards of behaviour that support good decision making – collective and individual integrity, openness and honesty. It is the foundation for the delivery of good quality services that meet all local people’s needs. It is fundamental to showing public money is well spent. Without good governance councils will struggle to improve services when they perform poorly".

See here for further information about the Audit Commission's corporate governance inspection work, this includes information about the Commission's key lines of enquiry and policy and methodology in respect of governance inspections.