Agenda item

(a)       That the mid-year summary of the strategic risks of the Improvement priorities of the Council be noted;

(b)       That the refreshed risk management strategy be endorsed; and

(c)       That the Certificate of Compliance provided by the Auditor General for Wales in relation to the publication of the Annual Performance Report 2014/15 be noted.

The Policy & Performance Manager provided an update on the areas of risk management under the remit of the Committee.  The mid-year position on strategic risks in the Council’s Improvement priorities reported positive movement with risks being successfully managed.  A summary of all the risks was appended to the report indicating that 34 remained stable, with eight decreasing and three increasing.  An additional paper was circulated to the Committee showing progress and narrative on the four major (red) risk areas.  Members were reminded that detailed progress on risks in the Improvement Plan was reported quarterly to the respective Overview & Scrutiny Committees.

The report also included a copy of the Risk Management Policy & Strategy which had been refreshed to strengthen the approach to risk management, as previously endorsed by the Committee.  The Strategy was now operational across all work areas of the organisation and had been shared with the Wales Audit Office (WAO) and made available on the Council’s Infonet.  A copy of the Certificate of Compliance by the Auditor General for Wales in relation to the publication of the Annual Performance Report 2014/15 was also provided for information.

The Chief Executive said that the information provided demonstrated the way that the system had been used to capture risks in the Improvement Plan, aligned to milestone and performance targets.  He commented on the role of the Committee in seeking assurance of the systems in place and offered to clarify any areas of concern.

In response to earlier comments, Councillor Alison Halford said that she had no hidden agenda and wanted to ensure value for money.  She referred to the additional information circulated on the supply of affordable housing and pointed out that this was already included in the report.  The Policy & Performance Manager explained that the paper provided more clarity on the four ‘red’ risk areas at the time of the assessment and had been omitted from the agenda in error.  In response to a query on the risks relating to the waste transfer station, the Chief Executive explained that the risk status was now closed as there was no longer any risk because the Council’s facilities were now in place.  He provided further explanation on expected movement on the ‘scale of the financial challenge’ once the budget had been approved and on the ‘capacity and capability to implement necessary changes’ linked to the delivery of alternative delivery models.

Councillor Arnold Woolley raised concerns about the risk in delivering the Welsh Housing Quality Standard (WHQS) due to the size of the work programme and the transfer of funding from health and rollout of Superfast Broadband which could involve issues outside the Council’s control.  In response, the Chief Executive stated his confidence in the funding and delivery of the WHQS work programme, explaining that this was the first year of major spend and ensuring capacity was in place.  Any slippage on targets for the second year would be recaptured with no risk to the overall delivery of the programme.  On health, the system for accessing grants could involve delays and negotiations were currently underway about accessing other funding.  The rollout of Superfast Broadband had started to improve coverage in some areas and the risk status was expected to decrease as the programme rolled out further.  It was noted that the new Director of BT had been invited to attend an Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting.

Councillor Woolley also raised concerns about the risk on failing to access external funding programmes to invest in urban and rural areas.  The Chief Executive confirmed that the approach was to maximise opportunities to access funding and that the next phase of European Social Funds would be explored.

Councillor Halford asked whether the Cabinet Member for Economic Development could provide a note for the Committee on whether there was a failure in accessing funds.  The Chief Executive replied that the Council did compete successfully on accessing funding and suggested that more detail on this risk could be reported as part of the regular Improvement Plan report to the next meeting of the Community & Enterprise Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

Mr. Paul Williams stated the remit of the Audit Committee was to ensure the risk management process was robust and suggested that it would be helpful for future reports to include a mechanism showing movement on current risks and that the report could contain more narrative for all red areas to help with monitoring.  The Chief Executive agreed that this would be actioned.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the mid-year summary of the strategic risks of the Improvement priorities of the Council be noted;

(b)       That the refreshed risk management strategy be endorsed; and

(c)       That the Certificate of Compliance provided by the Auditor General for Wales in relation to the publication of the Annual Performance Report 2014/15 be noted.