To consider the status of the council’s corporate risk register in order to monitor the effectiveness of risk management within the performance management framework.

The committee considered a report on the status of the council’s corporate risk register as at the end of September 2021.

The head of corporate performance introduced the report, the principal points included: the current position with the corporate risk register was summarised, including the inclusion of two new risks in relation to the availability of HGV drivers and labour to support waste collections and in relation to the integration of the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub; attention was drawn to the directorate risk registers and Covid risk register appended to the report; there had been increased movement in risks since the introduction of the new performance management framework and risk management plan in November 2020; the risk management plan refresh was behind schedule but this would enable it to be informed by the findings of a risk management maturity assessment being undertaken with internal audit; the performance team continued to chase and challenge officers on the articulation of risks; work was being undertaken in terms of networking and benchmarking, this had identified a prioritisation approach to strategic, critical operational and technical risks which would align well with the framework; and a number of actions identified in the committee’s action log would be addressed through the refresh.

The chairperson noted that increased movement in the corporate risk register demonstrated that it was a dynamic document.

Responses were provided to questions from committee members, the key points included:

i.        Risks not escalated to the corporate risk register or the directorate risk registers, such as the position with the Shirehall in Hereford, were often captured as service level risks.

ii.       It was suggested that questions relating to the local flood risk management strategy (agenda page 254) and the public realm services contract with BBLP could be raised with the relevant cabinet member.

iii.      The children and families strategic improvement plan should be a mitigation or control for a number of risks identified in the children and families directorate risk register.

iv.      Recent developments in terms of Fastershire delivery (agenda page 247) could affect the scoring in subsequent iterations of the corporate centre directorate risk register.

v.       Vaccination as a condition of employment in the social care sector was likely to be a factor in the market workforce economy risk identified in the corporate risk register (agenda page 237).  A committee member suggested that the horizontal connectivity between risks could be made more evident.

vi.      With reference made to the housing under ‘everyone in’ arrangements risk (agenda page 242), it was recognised that some of the wording in the adults and communities directorate risk register may need to be reviewed to ensure that each risk was articulated correctly and reflected the relevant point in time.

vii.     It was noted that the risk to the local economy in the Covid risk register (agenda page 255) would need to be reviewed, as the risk score after controls was shown as being higher than the risk score before controls.

viii.    Referring to a point made by the vice-chairperson earlier in the meeting, the chairperson commented on the need for consideration to be given at a corporate level as to how capacity across the organisation was affecting organisational performance more generally.

ix.      A committee member considered that the highway condition risk in the economy and place directorate risk register (agenda page 254) may need to be reviewed, with another member suggesting that the risks may not be the same for different categories of roads.

RESOLVED:   That the report has been considered and noted.

Action(s):

Action 132      That horizontal linkages between risk registers be made more evident in risk descriptions.

Action 133      That officers be encouraged to review and refresh the wording of risk descriptions where appropriate.