Agenda item

Context:

To provide members with an overview of the current strategic risks facing the

Authority.

Key Issues:

1.         The risk assessment ensures that:

·         Strategic risks are identified and monitored by the authority.

·         Risk controls are appropriate and proportionate

·         Senior managers and elected members systematically review the strategic risks facing the authority.

2.         The existing risks on the Strategic Risk Assessment have been updated based on evidence available in 2015, as presented at Appendix 1.   Changes to the council’s risk management policy were approved by Cabinet in March 2015. These are:

·         including pre-mitigation and post-mitigation risk scores, this was also a key recommendation from scrutiny of the 2014 risk assessment

·         ensuring greater clarity to the phrasing of risk so that each statement includes an event, cause and effect as shown below:

 3.     The risk assessment only covers high and medium level risks.  Lower level operational risks are not registered unless they are projected to escalate within the three years covered.  These need to be managed and monitored through teams’ service plans. The pre and post mitigation risk levels are presented separately. In most cases mitigating actions result in a change to the likelihood of the risk rather than the consequences as our actions are generally aimed at reducing the chance of a negative event occurring rather than lessening it’s impact.  Clearly there will be exceptions.

4.         Following presentation to select committees, the risk assessment will be presented to Cabinet for sign off. Prior to this, it will also form part of budget papers for discussion at Council to reflect alignment with strategic risks and proposed budget decisions the Council is taking. 

5.       The risk log is a living document and will evolve over the course of the year as new information comes to light. An up-to-date risk log is accessible to members on the Council’s intranet - The Hub.  This will ensure as well as the ongoing specific scrutiny of the risk assessment annually, that select committees are able to re-visit the information at any point in the year to re-prioritise their work plan as appropriate.

Member Scrutiny:                                                                                     

It was asked by a Member if the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act deserved its own risk. We were advised that it feed into a number of areas of risk, looking at the potential impact especially reputational. Cabinet and Audit Committee had received the report and it was felt we were on track. It is a significant risk with huge challenges.

A Member commented that was important that as a Committee, along with Officers that we pay close attention to the financial standing of the services we are responsible for, with 3 in particular; Children’s Social Services, Youth Services and Adult Education.

We were reassured by the Cabinet Member that the Children’s Social Care budget had the full support of Cabinet, it was appreciated that it is an under resourced Directorate and the pressures are understood.

A Member discussed the difficulties of finance and felt that as an Authority we should encourage people to engage with income generating projects. An Officer briefed the Committee on the Adult scheme ‘My day, my life’ which aims to give people a sense of purpose and move them away from services.

A Member commented that training for Safeguarding had improved significantly over recent years which reflected how seriously the Authority took Safeguarding matters.

In regard to reductions in the workforce, a Member expressed concerns and stressed the importance of a healthy working environment and talked about having a duty of care for staff.

Recommendations:

1. That members consider the strategic risks presented for the next three years, in particular those of relevance to the committee and scrutinise the extent to which:

2. That members use the risk assessment on an on-going basis to hold the responsibility holders to account to ensure that risk is being appropriately managed.

3. Use the risk assessment to inform the future work programme of the

Committee.