Agenda item

To review and note the corporate risk register and consider any necessary recommendations.

The DFR introduced this item. She said that the register had been updated. Some had changed slightly but most had remained the same. The highest risk for the Council at the moment was financial sustainability.

Cllr C Cushing commented that the format was very poor. It was very lengthy but did not include much useful text. Again, he reiterated that it was not clear what actions would be taken to mitigate the risks. There was no detail supporting each score so it was not clear how the scores had been reached. He said that the format of the Civil Contingencies risk register was much better and he queried why the overall risk register could not be presented in the same format. The DFR replied that officers were currently in the process of producing the corporate risk register in a different format. She said it would be along the lines of the civil contingencies one. Cllr Cushing said that if it was just updated each time with key elements it would be much shorter and easier to access.

The PPM said that there were two issues, how it was presented and how historical data should be stored so that trends could be accessed. She added that there were some challenges around having a much shorter report but with members being able to drill down to any detail should they want to. The Chairman suggested that technology may be the best way to address this so that links could provide detail if required. He asked when it was likely that the review of the corporate risk register was likely to be undertaken. The DFR replied that she hoped that it would be in place for the start of the next financial year. Cllr Cushing requested that a ‘last updated’ column was included, adding that it was not the role of members to undertake a deep dive but to review the information in a constructive manner. The Chairman agreed and said that if members wanted more information on a specific risk then they should be able to ask for it. He asked whether any changes would meet internal audit requirements. The HIA said that she was happy to work with officers and have input into any changes to the risk register, adding that it was important for audit purposes to have a narrative at the start of the register.

The Chairman thanked everyone for their input. He said that it was important that members were happy with any changes and suggested that any proposals could be shared more widely. The DFR replied that it was part of a wider project to look at performance management, audit recommendations and the risk register and there was a project group in place to oversee this. She said that workshops could be incorporated into the review process and these could include members from both GRAC and Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

The Chairman referred to page 104 of the report and CRO24 – staffing issues in the People Resources directorate. He said that it showed the likelihood and impact of the risk as being quite low and he queried whether this was correct, especially given the discussions throughout the meeting regarding resourcing and staffing issues in several service areas. The DFR said that she felt it could be reflected as a high risk and said that she would look into it.

Cllr Cushing referred to the Joint Venture Scheme that was set up to mitigate the impact of nutrient neutrality and he asked about the risks presented by this project and the likelihood of it working effectively in negating nutrient neutrality. The DFR replied that she would look into this and provide a written response.

The Chairman referred to page 121, CR024 – not achieving the Net Zero 2030 target. He said given that this was a key objective of the corporate plan, he was concerned to see it listed as a high likelihood and high risk. He asked whether this should be lower, given the priority that it was being given. The DFR replied that it was considered to be a strategic risk due to the size of the achievement and the timescale to achieve it. There needed to be a shift in culture within the Council. It was also affected by externally driven risks too. There was potentially a large fine if the target was not reached. The Chairman said that it was not clear in the report what work was being done to reduce the risk. The DFR said that there were funds available to assist with this work and a reserve had been established but it was £0.5m and it was likely that this would have to be topped up in the coming years.

The Chairman said that this issue was extremely important and that a whole council approach was needed to ensure that any risk around not reaching the target of Net Zero by 2030 was reduced.

RESOLVED

To request that the following changes to the Corporate Risk Register were considered:

-       Details to be provided for each score to explain how the final figure had been reached.

-       To include a ‘last updated’ column

-       Additional information to be included regarding the work being done to mitigate the risk of the Council not achieving its Net Zero target.