Cabinet- 4 September 2024
Strategic Risk Register
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Purpose |
For Decision |
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Classification |
Public |
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Executive Summary |
The Strategic Risk Register (Appendix 1), now included within this report contains the significant risks, as identified by senior and executive council officers in consultation with the Portfolio Holders, in the Council achieving the priorities set out in the ‘For people, place, prosperity Corporate Plan 2024-28’ |
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Recommendation |
Cabinet are asked to recommend Council adopt the Strategic Risk Register. |
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Reasons for recommendation |
Risk Management Policy 2022 confirms the role of Cabinet is to endorse the content of the Strategic Risk Register. |
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Wards |
All |
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Portfolio Holders |
Councillor Jill Cleary – Leader / All |
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Strategic Director |
Alan Bethune – Strategic Director Corporate Resources S151 and Transformation |
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Officer Contact |
James Clarke Insurance and Risk Officer 023 8028 5002 James.Clarke@nfdc.gov.uk |
1. Risk management aims to identify the risks that may impact on the Council achieving its objectives. Its purpose is to evaluate, design and implement effective measures to reduce both the likelihood and potential impact of these risks occurring.
2. The Council has a statutory responsibility to have in place arrangements for managing risks under the Accounts and Audit Regulations; which require a sound system of internal control, facilitates the effective exercise of the body’s functions and includes arrangements for the management of risk. As such it features strongly in the Council’s Local Code of Practice for Corporate Governance and is one of the primary assurance strands in the Annual Governance Statement, which places significant reliance on a robust risk management framework.
Strategic Risk Register
3. The Strategic Risk Register (Appendix 1) outlines the most significant overarching risks to achieving the current Corporate Plan and details the proposed measures to address these risks effectively. The Strategic Risk Register (Appendix 1) captures the most significant cross cutting risks to the delivery of the current Corporate Plan and the proposed actions to mitigate these risks.
4. These risks have been identified through collaboration between senior and executive council officers and Portfolio Holders to ensure a unified approach in identifying and recording these risks.
5. The strategic risk register covers a total of eight significant risks. The updated register in Appendix 1 provides a comprehensive description of the actions needed to adequately control residual risks. Some actions are ongoing, while others have specific completion points.
6. In the narrative detailing the current circumstances and risk controls, each paragraph is labelled with a corresponding letter that matches the narrative in the Risk Control section. For instance, a paragraph labelled 'A' aligns with a reference 'A1' in the Risk Control column, maintaining this lettering system followed by sequential numbers.
7. The column titled 'Further control to mitigate risk' suggests additional measures to enhance the existing risk controls.
8. The term 'Action Owner,' indicates the responsible job title for taking on each action.
9. The below table provides an explanation to the coding used for the CPTC Column (Corporate Plan Priority Theme Code). This ensures each action is geared towards the relevant themes within the Corporate Plan.
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People Priorities |
Code |
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Priority 1: Helping those in our community with the greatest need |
PE1 |
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Priority 2: Empowering our residents to live healthy, connected and fulfilling lives |
PE2 |
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Priority 3: Meeting housing needs |
PE3 |
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Place Priorities |
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Priority 1: Shaping our place now and for future generation |
PL1 |
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Priority 2: Protecting our climate, coast, and natural world |
PL2 |
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Priority 3: Caring for our facilities, neighbourhoods, and open spaces in a modern & responsive way |
PL3 |
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Prosperity Priorities Code |
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Priority 1: Maximising the benefits of inclusive economic growth and investment |
PR1 |
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Priority 2: Supporting our high-quality business base and economic centres to thrive and grow |
PR2 |
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Priority 3: Championing skills and access to job opportunities |
PR3 |
Corporate plan priorities
10. The recommendations are designed to enhance the successful delivery of all corporate plan priorities by proposing risk mitigation strategies that address cross-cutting vulnerabilities facing the Council.
Options appraisal
11. A strategic risk register is essential for the council to effectively identify, assess, and manage risks. Without this register, we may face considerable operational, financial, and reputational repercussions, underscoring the importance of prioritising and managing risks appropriately.
Consultation undertaken
12. Service managers and the Executive Management Team (EMT) conducted an initial review of the Strategic Risk Register. It was determined that specific columns require updates to align with the recent recommendations provided by the internal audit. Additionally, a proposal was made to replace individual names in the action owners' section with job titles to enhance clarity and reference efficiency.
13. The Audit Committee contributed valuable feedback regarding the recent global ICT outage, which has been integrated into Strategic Risk 3A. This includes revisions to Risk Control A14 and the revision of Further control to mitigate risk, No 9. Moreover, input related to Strategic Risk 7 has been addressed, resulting in enhancements to Current Circumstance A, as well as corresponding updates to Risk Controls A4 and A5.
Financial and resource implications
14. There are none arising directly from this report, although strong risk management and a solid understanding of risk helps to support robust financial management.
Legal implications
15. There are no direct legal implications arising from this report.
Risk assessment
16. The Strategic Risk Register is evidence of the risk assessment for the cross-cutting risks.
Environmental / Climate and nature implications
17. There are no direct environmental or climate and nature implications arising from this report.
Equalities implications
18. There are no direct equality implications arising from this report.
Crime and disorder implications
19. There are no direct crime and disorder implications arising from this report.
Data protection / Information governance / ICT implications
20. There are no direct Data protection / Information governance / ICT implications arising from this report.
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Appendices
Appendix 1 – Strategic Risk Register |
Background Papers:
N/A. |