Agenda item

(a)       That the Committee accepts the latest update risk register and risk mitigation within the corporate portfolios; and

(b)       That for future updates, the Committee requests that when a risk trend is static, it should be annotated with the appropriate arrow but can remain red, amber or green in that static condition.

The Chief Officer (Governance) presented a report to update the Committee on the Corporate Portfolio Risk Register and mitigating actions as part of recovery planning, following the item at the previous meeting.

The Chief Officer, Corporate Finance Manager and Senior Manager for Human Resources & Organisational Development gave a joint presentation on the main changes and live issues on risk and recovery within their respective portfolios as follows:

·         Open and closed risk trend

·         Current risk status analysis

·         Risk trend status analysis

·         Finance

·         Workforce

·         Governance

Finance

Councillor Richard Jones said that to avoid any confusion, the data should differentiate between improving risk trends and static trends, therefore risk trends that were static should be annotated with the appropriate arrow but could remain red, amber or green in that static condition.  The Chief Officer said that the data was presented to provide context on the current status alongside the trend, but could be reviewed if other Members shared the same concern.  Councillor Jones proposed his suggestion as a recommendation and also questioned the title of the Recovery Strategy as he felt that this did not reflect the current phase of the pandemic.  The Chief Officer said that the three phases followed national terminology and that the Recovery stage looked at forward planning.  Inevitably each phase could be subject to change at any time.

Councillor Jones referred to the change in risk rating on national funding to replace lost income (CF01) which he said should be annotated to reflect the update in that month.  In response to questions, the Chief Officer spoke about the proactive approach taken by the Revenues team to engage with private companies to access Welsh Government (WG) grant funding and to provide support through repayment agreements where possible.  On the retention of Deeside Leisure Centre as an emergency hospital, the Corporate Finance Manager said that negotiations were ongoing on financial support for private companies operating within the building.

On financial risks, Councillor Johnson asked about the potential impact on Council Tax setting.  The Corporate Finance Manager said that the budget report for the forthcoming Cabinet meeting detailed a range of known cost pressures and the limited solutions available to the Council to meet them.  The start of the budget consultation process in November would provide an opportunity for Overview & Scrutiny committees to review and challenge those cost pressures alongside the broader approach to identify efficiencies.  In addition, councils in Wales were currently working with the Welsh Local Government Association on the financial impact of the emergency situation.

In response to questions from Councillor Dunbobbin, the Corporate Finance Manager agreed to liaise with the Chief Officer (Housing & Assets) to provide more information on the value and reasons for the increase in rent arrears.  A report on rent arrears would be considered by Overview & Scrutiny prior to Cabinet.

Following a question by Councillor Bateman, it was confirmed that although the loss of car parking income from quarter 2 did not meet the eligibility criteria for WG funding, officers were pursuing a possible claim for reduced footfall.  Councillor Roberts explained that the Council’s decision to withdraw charges during the period was regarded as a local decision by WG.

Councillor Banks reminded Members that the rationale behind the Council’s decision was to support local town centres.  Councillor Jones said that this case could be evidenced to WG.  The Chief Officer assured Members that the Council was doing everything possible to maximise funding available from WG to support the recovery process.

Workforce

In response to a question from Councillor Jones on workforce availability as a result of caring responsibilities, the Senior Manager outlined the arrangements in place to support employees who were unable to work from home.  She also referred to the impact on the workforce arising from the risk around the personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain which was being monitored by Procurement.  The Chief Officer advised that WG had agreed to procure the appropriate levels of PPE for social care and councils during the forthcoming winter.

When asked by Councillor Dunbobbin about the risk on employee availability in the education sector, the Senior Manager said that this was low and that pupils had been mainly affected, with schools adopting creative methods to deal with the situation.  She also provided information on continuing positive engagement with Trade Union colleagues during the emergency period.

In response to a question from Councillor Johnson, the Senior Manager spoke about changes made to the recruitment process using digital means which were proving efficient.  She also provided clarification on recruitment to critical roles including the approval process.

Governance

Councillor Dunbobbin thanked officers for the response to the recent data breach which he suggested could be used as a training opportunity for employees.  The Chief Officer gave examples of actions put in place to safeguard against reoccurrence.  In response to concerns about the rise in cyber-crime across the region, he gave an overview of the maintenance and renewal programme to update ICT hardware and software and would provide a separate response on the type of firewall software used by the Council.

In thanking officers for the report, Councillor Heesom took the opportunity to raise his concerns about aspects of the Planning function.  As the matter was outside the remit of this Committee, the Chief Officer would ask the Chief Officer (Planning, Environment & Economy) to liaise directly with Councillor Heesom.

Councillor Jones reiterated his earlier proposal which was seconded by Councillor Heesom.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee accepts the latest update risk register and risk mitigation within the corporate portfolios; and

(b)       That for future updates, the Committee requests that when a risk trend is static, it should be annotated with the appropriate arrow but can remain red, amber or green in that static condition.