Report No. 152/2018 was received from the Director for
Resources, the purpose of which was to present the Strategic Risk
Register and provide assurance that strategic risks were being
adequately managed.
Mr Della Rocca, Director for Resources, introduced the
report and explained that the Councils Strategic Management Team
monitored the register. Mr Della Rocca
also noted that some items on the register may be appropriate for
Scrutiny to look into.
During discussion the following points were
noted:
-
Mrs Fox noted that
carrying vacancies may be putting existing staff under more
pressure. Mr Della Rocca explained that
some of the vacancies were planned and as such caused little
impact;
-
Mr Brown highlighted
that some recent changes in processes had reduced the need for
staff in some areas;
-
Miss Waller asked
whether the recruitment risks (risk 1) had been set at the right
level and suggested this could be a future topic for another
committee. Mr Della Rocca agreed to
discuss the issue with the Chief Executive in order to decide the
best medium for discussing this issue (Scrutiny, Audit and Risk or
Employment and Appeals Committee) and advise members of the
Committee accordingly;
-
Miss Waller
highlighted that she did not agree that the Sustainability and
Transformation Plan (STP) outcomes were “strong in most
areas” and requested that this risk level be reviewed in
light of evidence of a lack of communication between the three
CCG’s in the region. Miss Waller
also commented that the plans being put forward to replace the STP
were not explicit about plans for Rutland;
-
Miss Waller and Mr
Conde raised concerns about affordable housing targets. Mr Brown agreed that a
risk around the delivery of 5 year housing supply may be
appropriate and would encompass all targets in this area including
affordable homes;
-
With reference to
risks in relation to budget, Miss Waller asked whether members
should be receiving regular training on the budget. Mr Della Rocca advised that he would be giving a
full presentation on the budget and Medium Term Financial Plan at
the Growth, Infrastructure and Resources Scrutiny Panel on Thursday
evening and that this would also be on the Members Development Plan
for 2018/19;
-
Miss Waller noted that
there was not a risk around the County Elections which were due to
take place in May 2019 and that previously elections were noted on
the risk register. Mr Conde added that
the risk was not just in relation to the election, but also around
changes in key members. Mr Della Rocca
would take this away to discuss further with Senior Management
Team;
-
Miss Waller requested
a written response to all members on the number of staff that had
access to the Emergency Recovery Plans;
-
Miss Waller asked for
assurance from Mr Conde, Chair of Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel,
that there is robust scrutiny regarding safeguarding adults,
particularly oversight of care homes where the Council may not have
placed service users, to ensure vulnerable people are not at risk;
and
-
In relation to the
risk of “Failure to manage the public’s perception of
the Council” Miss Waller would like to see more about the
organisational culture and how openness and transparency was
embedded. Mr Lowe highlighted the
importance of communicating the ways in which the Council was
improving transparency.
RESOLVED
The Committee
NOTED the content of the Risk Register and the
actions underway to address the risks.