The Interim Head of Finance submitted a report, the purpose of which, was to provide Members with the outcome of the Corporate Risk Assessment 2019-20 in Appendix A of the report, and inform the Committee of the changes to the Council’s Risk Management Policy in Appendix B and Incident and Near Miss Reporting Procedure in Appendix C.

The report outlined certain background information, confirming in paragraph 3.7, that each year the Council agrees a risk management timeline. This was shown at Appendix 2 within the Corporate Risk Management Policy.

She proceeded to explain, that at present, the Council did not have in place a procedure for the collection of information about incidents and near misses and the investigation of them, in order to ensure that certain lessons are learnt.

The Interim Head of Finance confirmed that the Council’s proposed Incident and Near Miss Reporting Procedure was reported to Senior Management Team on 10 April 2018 and then subsequently to the Audit Committee on 28 June 2018. At that meeting, Members requested that the scoring mechanism be reviewed and that a greater role for Members be considered. Corporate Management Board (CMB) then requested that the procedure be cross referenced with existing Health and Safety Department protocols, to ensure that there was no duplication.

The risk assessment at Appendix A has been reviewed in consultation with Corporate Management Board and the Senior Management Team.  It identified the main risks facing the Council, their link to the priority themes, the likely impact of these on Council services and the wider County Borough, what is being done to manage the risks and where responsibility lies for the Council’s response.  The risk assessment is aligned with the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

The Corporate Risk Management Policy at Appendix B has been changed to incorporate a 5 x 5 risk scoring matrix which will be used as standard across the Council.

She added that the Policy has been amended to define risk appetite as “the amount of risk the organisation is prepared to accept, tolerate or be exposed to before it takes protective action.”

The Corporate Management Board has considered the level that the Council’s risk appetite should be set at.  It has agreed that using the 5 x 5 risk scoring matrix, those with a score of 10 or above exceed the Council’s risk appetite.  These being the risks which are designated as high or medium and are coloured red and amber in the risk scoring matrix.

The Corporate Risk Management Policy timeline at Appendix 2 had been amended for 2019-20 and this has been agreed by Corporate Management Board.

The Incident and Near Miss Reporting Procedure at Appendix C had been changed to incorporate the 5 x 5 scoring matrix.

The Interim Head of Finance advised that once a year, it was proposed that Committee considers a report summarising the incidents and near misses recorded and the action taken to prevent a recurrence of these/others. A further report would have to be presented to Council however, seeking an amendment to the Committees Terms of Reference within the Constitution, to include this function.

Members sought clarification as to why health and safety issues were not also incorporated within the Risk Management Policy, and why the Incident Reporting Flowchart (Appendix 3 to the report), did not include health and safety near misses.

The Interim Head of Finance advised that risks to the Authority were different to health and safety issues it faced, and the latter was an area that was usually considered through the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny process (by the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee).

RESOLVED:                 That Committee:-

(1)       Considered the Corporate Risk Assessment 2019-20 (Appendix A) and the updated Corporate Risk Management Policy (Appendix B), including the timeline at Appendix 2

Noted the Incident and Near Miss Reporting Procedure (Appendix C) and that a report will be presented to Council seeking an amendment to the Committee’s Terms of Reference, to include the procedure as a function of the Committee.