Agenda item

To consider the latest version of the Council’s Corporate Risk Register.

10.05am – 10.45am

The Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Assets introduced the Planning and Performance Officer’s report (previously circulated) which presented the Committee with a copy of the Council’s Corporate Risk Register and a narrative on the proposed deletions, additions and amendments to the Register. 

During his introduction the Lead Member outlined the review process for the Register and gave a definition of the terms ‘Inherent Risk’ and ‘Residual Risk’.  The Corporate Risk Register contained the high-level risks identified by the Council, lower level risks were included in Service Risk Registers.  The Corporate Risk Register could be updated at any time but is formally reviewed every six months and Service Risk Registers are reviewed on a quarterly basis.

Risks could be escalated from Service Risk Registers to the Corporate Risk Register if necessary, conversely Corporate Risks could be downgraded to Service Risks and entered into the relevant Service’s Risk Register.  

The Lead Member also advised that Appendix 1 to the report had been reformatted at the Committee’s request, to enable members to easily identify which ‘risks’ were new, had changed, been removed or had not been subject to any changes.  

Members’ attention was drawn to two new ‘risks’ which had been added to the Register as part of the recent review:

·         Risk number 00036:  the risk that any negative impacts of leaving the European Union cannot be mitigated by the Council – this risk had been added as the impact of the United Kingdom’s (UK) exit from the European Union (EU) was still unclear.  Due to the current uncertainties surrounding this specific matter, both the ‘inherent’ and ‘residual’ risks had been classified as B1 (red).

·         Risk number 00037:  the risk that partners do not have the resources, matching priorities or commitment to support the delivery of shared plans and priorities. This risk had an ‘inherent risk’ classification of B1(red) and a ‘residual risk’ classification of C2(amber) due to the fact that collaborative boards were attended by senior management and collaborative plans and priorities (e.g. the Public Service Board’s Well-being Plan) had been developed to reflect broader public sector priorities (Denbighshire County Council’s Corporate Plan, for instance).

Responding to members’ questions the Lead member and Planning and Performance Officer:

·         advised that both the ‘inherent’ and ‘residual’ risk classification for 00035 relating to the Regional Growth Deal were classified at C1 (red) at present.  This was because the details of the Deal were still being compiled.  When more specific details on the Deal were available the risk scores would be reviewed based on the new information;

·         confirmed that the preparatory work the Council had undertaken in relation to the potential impact the introduction of Universal Credit (UC) in Denbighshire could have on residents and the Council (risk number 00016) had been very successful. Consequently the ‘Inherent Risk’ classification of B2 (red) had been reduced to a ‘Residual Risk’ classification of D3 (Yellow). 

Communities Scrutiny Committee had examined this work in detail earlier in the summer.  This ‘corporate risk’ could potentially reduce even further and be transferred to the Service Risk Register to be managed by the Service in future;

·         advised that whilst ‘risks’ could potentially change at any time and that the Register would be amended to reflect this at the time, a formal review of the Corporate Risk Register in its entirety was undertaken by the Corporate Executive Team (CET) every six months. 

If a risk was downgraded to a Service Risk or removed completely it did not mean that it could not be re-entered on to the Corporate Risk Register at a later date if circumstances necessitated its inclusion;

·         advised that with respect of risks 00033 and 00034 - the risk that the cost of care outstrips the Council’s resources and that demand for specialist care could not be met locally – more money had been set-aside for social care services, particularly specialist services.  However demand for such services were difficult to predict and could fluctuate. 

In addition the Health Services could at times have responsibilities in relation to the funding of specialist care.  With a view to mitigating against the risks in this particular area reserves had been set-aside to help support the Council during times of peak demand for expensive specialist services.  It was highly unlikely that either of these two risks would be removed from the Corporate Risk Register in the foreseeable future;

·         advised that whilst the UK Treasury had guaranteed certain funding to replace EU funding that would be lost, this guarantee was time limited and no details were available yet on long-term funding.  The WG had also committed to replace some EU funding, but details were not yet available on:

o   what type of funding would be available;

o   whether it would replace lost EU monies with like for like; or

o   if it would be available across Wales or confined to certain geographic areas. 

Whilst a commitment had been made that funding already guaranteed would be honoured to ensure that all projects were delivered as originally planned, no undertakings had been received to date with regards to funding that may be available for future projects;

·         informed the Committee that a piece of work had been started during the year on compiling a register of community risks e.g. climate change, Welsh Language etc.  The information gleaned from this exercise had been used for informing the Well-being Needs Assessment and for assessing any potential impact on communities entailed with the risks identified;

·         advised that risk number 00011 related to the Council’s ability to respond to a ‘one-off’ event i.e. similar to the Grenfell Tower disaster.  The ‘residual risk’ score for this risk was E2 (yellow) due to the availability of assistance via the North Wales Regional Emergency Planning (NWREP) Service and the North Wales Resilience Forum (NWRF). 

Dependent upon the nature of the incident these organisations would appoint a ‘lead’ organisation to co-ordinate a response i.e. Police, Fire & Rescue etc.  The Scrutiny Chairs and Vice-Chairs Group had already requested a report on agencies’ response to the recent fire on Llantysilio Mountain; and

·         confirmed that with respect of risk number 00021 relating to effective partnerships and interfaces between the Health Board and the Council being developed, whilst both organisations worked closely together there would always be challenges in this area.

Prior to drawing the discussion to a close members requested that future reports include a copy of the ‘Risk Matrix’ with the report to enable them to analyse the ‘inherent’ and ‘residual’ risk determinations and that they be provided with a copy of the ‘Guide to Risk Management’ document.  Members also emphasised the importance of all Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks, especially those required for school-based staff, to be kept current and up to date. 

Following a detailed discussion the Committee:

Resolved: - subject to the above observations –

(i)           to note the proposed deletions, additions and amendments to the Corporate Risk Register (Appendix 1): and

(ii)          to recommend that the Corporate Risk Register, along with Performance Scrutiny Committee’s observations, be presented to Cabinet Briefing at its meeting on 15 October for discussion.