Issue - meetings

To provide an update on the Council’s current strategic risks (report of the Assistant Director – Governance enclosed).

Consideration was given to the report of the Assistant Director – Governance which provided the Governance and Audit Committee with an update on the Council’s current strategic risks.

The Business Intelligence and Change Manager introduced the report which detailed the following:

·       An overview of the key risks to which the council was exposed;

·       The action taking place to mitigate identified risks;

·       An updated assessment of the likelihood and impact of those risks;

·       The SHDC Strategic Register was at Appendix A;

·       The SHDC HRA (Housing Revenue Account) Risk Register was at Appendix B; and

·       The Partnership Risk Register was at Appendix C.

Members considered the report and made the following comments:

• Members asked for the Risk Register to be formatted in such a way to be readable, or that a large copy be circulated in advance of the meeting.  Members suggested that the register outline controllable risks which included actions for improvements against target dates.
  • The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that:
    • Feedback from members was welcomed regarding the streamlining of content columns so that a concise and readable document could be produced;
    • An action list would be considered as part of a reformatting exercise; and
    • In the interim period, a larger version of the report could be made available for members in advance of the meeting and any changes circulated by email ahead of the meeting.
  • The Assistant Director – Governance added that a Risk Scoring Matrix could be utilised to present some elements of information in an infographic format. Members welcomed this approach and which would be developed for the next meeting.

• Members asked whether mitigations were in place for areas with high risk scorings.
  • The Business Intelligence and Change Manager responded that high risk areas were assessed to ensure that they were either treated or tolerated.  Risks associated with a significant impact, such as an IT breach, remained high but due to the level of mitigations in place were deemed to be tolerated.

• Members acknowledged the praise for the Housing Team from the recent Peer review and also the potential risk relating to the recent requirement for Housing Team members to achieve required qualifications to fulfil their roles.

• Members were satisfied with SHDC’s protection/payback approach of nationally recognised qualification fees should an officer leave their employment within a specific period.

• Members noted the appointment of the new Economic Director and looked forward to updates relating to risk in this service area.

• Members requested details comparing missed waste collection data with data before the route changes.

• Members noted that the report reflected a high level of engagement from the Assets and Finance Portfolio Holders and management, which was welcomed.

• Members acknowledged the risk of recruitment for some areas, in particular Finance and Planning, however the new S&ELCP Academy was to be welcomed. Members requested sight of the S&ELCP Academy timeline or business plan if this was available.

AGREED:

That the covering report and appendices, which detailed the latest assessment of the council’s risk at a strategic  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32