Agenda item

Corporate Risk Management

1.    Report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

 

2.    Presentation by the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services on ‘Inflation Risk Facing the Council’.

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services which provided an update on the Corporate Risk Register.

 

The Chief Internal Auditor presented the report indicating that the ownership of the content of the Corporate Risk Register lay with the Strategic Leadership Board and that since the last meeting there had been two new risks in respect of Cost of Living and the ability to recruit to the current workforce structures added to the CRR and following the Children’s Services inspection by Ofsted, the four children’s risks had been comprehensively reviewed and updated. No risks had been de-escalated from the Corporate Risk Register to the Service Risk Registers.

 

The risks had been re-scored in accordance with the revised assessment guidance included in the Corporate Risk Management handbook which had been approved by the Committee in December 2020. The updating of the Corporate Risk Handbook due to be completed in June 2022 would now take place in September 2022 following the risk appetite work.

 

The Chief Internal Auditor indicated that although there had been substantial work undertaken over the past six years to embed risk management across the Council, further work was needed to be done to ensure that it was consistently and effectively embedded.  Meetings had been held with Officers and Members to develop the Council’s Risk Appetite and it was proposed that the formal draft definition of the Council risk appetite would be drafted in June and refined before being provided to the Audit and Governance Committee in September 2022.

 

The Committee received a briefing by the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services on ‘Inflation Risk Facing the Council’ and the measures in place to mitigate the risk.

 

Questions / issues were raised on the following risks set out in the report:

 

Risk

Issue / Question raised

 

Gaps in Understanding Community Needs

Availability of the 2021 census results and request for the identification of Wards with low census response rates.

 

Financial Sustainability Beyond 20222/2023

Varied financial considerations, all of which could be considered to have a detrimental impact on council taxpayers.  To what extent can these be financially quantified, issue by issue, and an overall financial figure provided?

 

Historic Records

Request for assessment of the capital value of buildings no longer required / assessment of the Council’s art collection.

 

Inadequate capability to prepare for and respond effectively to a major incident affecting the Council or occurring in Sefton as per the Council’s responsibilities under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004

Humanitarian volunteers - What proposals to involve others with specialist experience (e.g. retired police officers, ambulance service, armed forces.

 

 

Market failure of Social Care Provision across Adult and Children’s

It would be helpful if a time frame could be identified particularly bearing in mind the recent Ofsted Report.

 

Significant impact on Service Delivery for Planning and Sefton LA

Have Sefton MP’s been collectively or individually asked to press this point at national level?

 

Failure to meet the targets set out in the Council’s declared climate emergency

Bidding for external funding.  Have we been able to identify as indicated the sources of such funding, the amounts that are likely to be available and the extent to which Sefton will be able to meet the individual criteria that are bound to exist?

 

Dedicated Schools Grant High needs funding for SEND is inadequate to meet requirements

This shows a projected overspend of £3.9m for 2020/2021 moving the overall figure up to £12.3m.  This has shown as being held on the Council balance sheet but that the DfE do not expect the general fund to cover accumulated deficits.  However, this is still shown as a significant financial risk to the Council and further clarification on both the sums and the accounting mechanisms would be helpful.

 

Failure to mitigate impacts of Covid-19, EU Exit, winter austerity on the Sefton economy

Is there any further specific information concerning EU exit, i.e., details of programmes, continuing funding arrangements and any other aspects which appear relevant?

 

RESOLVED: That

 

(1)

the contents of the Corporate Risk Register, particularly the nature of the major risks facing the Council and the controls and planned action in place to mitigate these risks be noted;

 

(2)

the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Service be thanked for his informative presentation on the risks to the Council associated with inflation and the measures in place to mitigate those risks; and

 

(3)

responses to the issues raised not provided at the meeting would be provided to Members in due course.

 

 

Supporting documents: