Agenda item

The Director of Corporate Services submits the Strategic and Operational Risk Registers to the Governance and Audit Committee.

The Governance and Audit Committee are recommended:

·         To note and make any comments on the latest versions of the SRR and ORR, as provided.

·         To note and make any comments on the proposal of reporting Strategic Risks at Appendix 1c.

The Director of Corporate Services submitted and presented the Strategic and Operational Risk Registers to the Governance and Audit Committee.

Points highlighted included:

• The report considered updated the status around operational and strategic risk.
• The risk control action plans are not included in the report but exist and are maintained by the respective risk owners.
• No new strategic risks had been identified during this review. Of the 14 strategic risks identified, 13 had remained the same risk score as the previous cycle. 
• It was noted that future iterations of the report would aim to explicitly demonstrate how risk controls relate to the strategic risk profile.
• The second part of the report that was presented was the operational risk register. Four risk scores had changed. Two of the risks were reduced, scoring below 15 so were removed from the operational risk register but retained within the respective divisional risk register. Two risks remained high after re-scoring and one new risk had been added.
• A risk that was removed was ‘the inability to deliver savings’ within Adult Social Care’. The risk score had now reduced to eight. 
• Another risk removed was around Children’s Social Care and Community Safety, in relation to a potential reduction of service due to savings.
• The risks still rated ‘High’ included the budgetary risks and the use of data. The budgetary risk for Public Health had now reduced to 16, attributed to increased certainty from the Public Health Grant.
• The risk around the use of data increased to 20, due to restructuring around services which had affected the access to critical information.
• The new risk related to Post-16 SEND home-to-school transport was rated high at 16.

Members sought further clarification and raised the below points:

• A query was raised regarding the presentation of strategic risks and risk controls. It was noted that in future reports, the impact of controls would be considered to demonstrate their effectiveness.
• In response to a query about the detail around strategic risks, it was clarified that in previous reporting, risk controls in place for Strategic Risks were presented to the committee. A consideration for future reporting is that some information could be sensitive and would be required to be considered in private session if it was brought to the Committee.
• With regard to a query on the Post-16 SEND home-to-school transport risk, it was proposed that a discussion around the proposal, options and timescale would be more appropriately considered by the Children, Young People and Education Scrutiny Commission.
• Members were informed that the Operational Risk Register process is covered in corporate risk training.
• A question was raised about what is captured in the ‘cost of risk’ which included the cost of current controls, the cost of the target controls, and the potential impact if the risk materialised. It was noted the financial risk can be difficult to accurately to predict. 
• In response to a query about political risk, it was expected that the organisation would have wider conversations on local government reorganisation, following the Council submitting it is initially proposal on Local Government Reform.
• In response to a point made about Covid-19 and pandemic-planning. It was clarified that this was about general pandemic-planning and not solely Covid-19 specific risks.

RESOLVED

“The Governance and Audit Committee:

Noted and make any comments on the latest versions of the SRR and ORR, as provided.

Noted and made any comments on the proposal of reporting Strategic Risks at Appendix 1c.”