Agenda item

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submits a report to provide the Audit and Risk Committee with an update on the Strategic and Operational Risk Registers and Health & Safety data.

18.25 Cllr Moore withdrew from the meeting during discussion of this item.

The Director of Delivery, Communications and Political Governance submitted a report providing an update on the Strategic and Operational Risk Registers as well as Health & Safety data.

The Risk Manager introduced the report providing an overview of the strategic risk register documenting the key strategic risks facing the council and how those were being managed together with the operational risk register process managed by the Divisional Directors and their divisional management teams risks that detailed risks associated with the daily business.

Members were reminded of the discussion last time and the approach taken to introduce the strategic risk register using the PESTLE analysis framework.

Members attention was drawn to the following points:

·         The amended appendix 1a Strategic Risk Register (SRR) summary which indicated risk scores from the previous risk reporting period and showed there had been no change on the SRR ratings this reporting cycle. The amended document also now made the link to the Operational Risk Register (ORR) in the end column.

·         A new socio-cultural risk was included at 3.4 of SRR, about the impact arising from the numbers and complexity of needs of asylum seekers and refugees which was scored high at 20.

·         There were no new strategic risks identified under the Political theme since the last report was presented although the uncertain political and policy environment remained a significant red risk to the organisation.

·         Appendix 2 indicated the number of high operational risks for each department/strategic area which affect the daily running of the business, and the in depth detail behind those risks were shown at Appendix 3.

·         With regards the ORR, 27 existing risks had been amended, 6 deleted and 4 new risks added during this reporting period.

The Risk Manager then provided an update on Health and Safety data noting that a total of 171 incidents were reported this period, (compared to 189 incidents last time), of those 84 were reported as near misses, 6 were work-related illnesses and 81 were injuries. Compared to the same Q3 reporting period 2021-22 this represented a 33% decrease.

The Chair welcomed the report and invited members to consider the report which included the following comments:

There was discussion on the risks around financial sustainability, and it was suggested this should be more about the risk to delivery of services as opposed to the revenue that drives it.  The Director of Finance advised that financial sustainability was included as a risk sitting at CEO level as it was seen as a risk for the council, and there was a general feeling that the council’s income does not sustain and it was not just a problem that sits in finance.

In relation to the presentation of two registers, it was advised where those risks were connected and if treatment of a risk on the operational register was reducing the risk score this may have an impact on the scoring of the related strategic risk.  Members requested that they be provided with a comparison to the previous risk register so they could see the horizontal movement as regards risks too.

In terms of IT systems and training around cyber risk that was included on the  risk registers at 4.3 although it did not specifically say “cyber”. As regards IT being a high risk, it was confirmed that with external factors and changes in the technology industry this area was a high risk nationally and when that changed if would filter down through the organisation too.

Discussion moved on to the Health and Safety data presented and it was reminded that this information was provided as it formed part of the risk management. There was a focus on near misses and the report provided more detail of what a near miss was. Management was required to act, liaising with Health & Safety officers and obtain advice to reduce likelihood of a near miss and to reduce the risk of an actual incident.

In relation to incidents of verbal abuse and verbal threats it was clarified that related to external people not other employees. Members asked whether the Health & Safety data around incidents of verbal abuse and threats captured details of race/gender. The officer was aware that a database was managed by the Health & Safety team and undertook to ask those questions.

The Chair thanked officers for the report.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the Strategic Risk Register and Operational Risk Register update be noted,

2.    That the Health and Safety data report be noted.