Agenda item

To consider a report by PSB Support Officers (copy attached) which informs the Committee of the risks facing the PSB and the measures taken to manage and mitigate those risks.  The report also seeks members’ observations on the identified risks and mitigation measures implemented.

The Corporate Performance and Improvement Officer (CCBC) guided members through the Risk Register for the Public Services Board’s report (previously circulated). The Risk Register focused on the PSB’s ability to fulfil the statutory obligations and deliver the Well-being Plan.

The Risk Register had last been reviewed and discussed by the Board in November 2022. Members were informed that at the next meeting in July 2023, the Board would discuss the risks and issues of the Board and partner organisations in detail.. It was thought it would be a good opportunity to ascertain any common risks and issues.

The last review that had taken place in November had been a detailed review and well debated. Members were guided to section 4.2 which outlined what had been updated in terms of the Risk Register. It was decided to include an additional column to include what further action the Board could take to further reduce the risks identified. It also included some time scales to make sure the Board could monitor actions in a timely manner. 

Risk PSB 2: The risk that partner organisations were not committed to the Board. The Board included three additional mitigating actions:

·       PSB members had agreed to set up informal meetings to discuss upcoming agendas, build relationships and networking.

·       Joint Scrutiny Committee established to evaluate the effectiveness of the PSB.  The PSB viewed the JOSC as a valuable risk mitigation tool.

·       Representatives from the PSB’s invited participant list to be co-opted onto the Joint Scrutiny Committee as and when required, to discuss specific items / areas of work as a way of assessing the effectiveness of the PSB’s plans.

Members were informed of a change to risk PSB 3: The risk that the PSB failed to maximise the potential impact it could achieve through a collaborative approach. This risk included three additional mitigating actions:

·         Support from the co-production network to ensure it successfully collaborated.

·         Joint Scrutiny Committee established to evaluate effectiveness of the PSB.   

·         Representatives from the PSB’s invited participant list to be co-opted onto the Joint Scrutiny Committee as and when required, to discuss specific items / areas of work as a way of assessing the effectiveness of the PSB’s plans.

The Board identified an additional risk PSB 6: The risk that recruitment and retention issues, leading to a loss of expertise and capacity, worsen resulting in poor or inadequate services. The risk identified fell across all partners across the PSB and recruitment had been a challenge across all the organisations.

Included in the agenda pack had been a copy of the full Risk Register, it included the inherent and residual risk scores for each.

At the conclusion of the introduction, members were invited to comment and ask questions. The following topics were discussed in greater detail:

·         Concerns were raised with regards to the holding of informal meetings, therefore not aiding transparency and whether any notes or action points from those meetings were recorded. It was confirmed that the informal meetings were restricted, any discussion at those meetings was then formally put forward to the PSB meeting for discussion. The notion of an informal meeting was following a suggestion from an Audit Wales review. The discussion had at the formal PSB meeting would then be recorded in the minutes of those meetings, which were shared with the JOSC.

·         Concerns were raised in relation to the effects of not engaging with other stakeholders, and low response rates to public consultations. Members were encouraged to contact the Corporate Performance and Improvement Officer with suggestions of ways to encourage the public to engage with the Board or if they had amendments to suggest that would strengthen any of the mitigation actions against the risks. Members were advised that the Board’s work was governed by the Well-being and Future Generations Act.

·         The Scrutiny and Committee Services Officer suggested as part of the forward work programme discussion that members could discuss if they wished to ask other statutory partners to attend to discuss their organisation’s commitment to the work of the PSB.

The Chair thanked the officers for the detailed responses to members questions. Members agreed it would be beneficial to invite each PSB partner to a future meeting of the Conwy and Denbighshire Public Services Board Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee to discuss their meaningful and constructive contributions to the Board’s work. 

At the conclusion of the discussion the Committee, by a majority vote:

Resolved:  subject to the above observations and the information provided, to receive and acknowledge the risks identified in the Conwy and Denbighshire Public Services Board’s Risk Register along with the mitigation measures put in place to reduce the potential impact of those risks if they were to materialise.

Councillor David Carr abstained from the vote to accept the recommendations. All other members present were in agreement with the recommendations.