Agenda item

Committee considered a report in relation to the current position regarding the Council’s Risk Management arrangements and Strategic Risk Register as at November 2020.

Under relevant good practice and to facilitate the development of robust managerial arrangements, the Council was required to prepare a Strategic Risk Register as part of its risk management framework. 

Given the importance of these arrangements for the overall governance of the Council it was necessary to subject them to regular comprehensive review.  This review had now taken place to ensure that the continued effective and systematic management of risk was achieved.

Members and officers at this meeting were asked to consider both the Strategic Risk Register, together with the Council’s wider framework for managing risk and partnerships.  A significant change to note was the inclusion of a COVID-19 specific Strategic Risk.

The approach to managing risks was applied within decision making processes and was continuous with a structured review process overseen by the Risk Management Group.

The Risk Management Group, which was Member led and included the Council’s Senior Risk Officer (SRO), Senior Information Risk Officer (SIRO), S151 Officer, representation from senior management, Internal Audit and Health and Safety, provided a comprehensive oversight of risk throughout the organisation and was becoming the conduit to and from the whole organisation in terms of risk management.  The Group was able to provide risk management reporting to stakeholder groups across the Council and would support the production of the Annual Governance Statement.  By leading on the development and review of all risk related policies, plans and strategies across the Council, the Risk

Management Group would provide consistency of approach and alignment of all service areas in relation to risk management.  Further, by overseeing and championing the implementation of the Risk Management Strategy and associated action plan, including training ‘relating to’ and the ‘embedding of’ an effective risk management culture, the Risk Management Group would be pivotal in the organisations future success.

Members welcomed the report and noted that it was a clear and concise report to read.

A Member suggested matters which were not included on the Register, for example, the potential of Derbyshire County Council (DCC) to go bankrupt and the impact of a unitary authority on the Council.  The LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership), who were repurposing their strategy for investment in the District around the green industrial revolution policy from the Government and that the Council needed to quickly repurpose itself with regard to green issue opportunities.  ‘Call Ins’ by Scrutiny Committees and officers making a judgement on their own decisions with regard to issues which impacted on communities.

The Director of Corporate Resources replied that the Member’s points in relation to DCC had been recognised and discussed at a recent Risk Management Group with a view to being included on the Risk Register.  With regard to green issues, the Council had its own Carbon Reduction Group and a Carbon Reduction Plan.  The Director of Corporate Resources provided detail of three current projects that he was leading on, all of which had a countywide footprint in terms of climate change; ‘Thanks a Tonne’ was an awareness and promotion campaign, electric vehicle infrastructure - taking a strategic approach and a countywide coordinated approach on tackling ‘hard to treat homes’, of which there were around a 100,000 in the County that were leaking energy.  Some funding had been acquired by way of green home grants but the Director of Corporate Resources was hoping to push and develop a scheme to gain serious Government funding to back up a 10 year proposal to underpin the development of businesses to grow via a green economy.  This would also project large energy savings for residents and businesses alike and giant steps towards a cleaner, greener economy.

With regard to Call Ins, the Member agreed to discuss this in further detail at a Growth Scrutiny Committee when ‘risk’ would be on the agenda.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources, who was also a DCC Councillor, provided some reassurance to the meeting with regard to the viability of DCC.

A Member queried if there was additional risk around performance and delivery due to staff working from home due to the current pandemic.  The Director of Corporate Resources replied that an Agile Working Policy had been recently adopted by the Council and this reflected new ways of working due to the pandemic.  He added that the Council had continued to be a very productive and successful organisation since the implementation of the policy and management were confident that staff continued to perform and deliver their work from home during lockdown.

A Member suggested that all Members receive training on how to identify risk and this be carried out via the Member Development Working Group.  The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Resources agreed and noted that as Chair of the Risk Management Group, he was pleased at the way in which officers were working at identifying risk and the discussions which took place at the Risk Management Group meetings.  He thanked the Director of Corporate Resources for all his work over the previous 12 months with regard to risk management.

Moved by Councillor Tom Munro and seconded by Councillor Jim Clifton

RESOLVED that the report be noted.