Issue - meetings

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property introduced the report, advising Members that it was the final of its kind for the year. He said that the report for Quarter 3 had been seen at the last committee meeting, and that the Quarter 4 position remained much the same.  

Councillor Alder followed on from her question which related to the previous item on the agenda. She asked if additional training had been organised for the staff who were identified as requiring it from the SIAS report.  The Head of Strategic Finance and Property assured Members that training needs were picked up by management via staff appraisals. He said that should systems need changing this would be also addressed, with any mistakes learnt from.

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that he would speak with the Shared Internal Audit Manager outside of the meeting to determine the specifics of the report which Councillor Alder was referring to. The Chairman said that officers would then be able to respond to Councillor Alder’s question.    

Councillor Crofton asked for clarification on the Strategic Risk Register and questioned the inclusion of equalities within this. He asked if the register included training, efficiency and staff retention. The Head of Strategic Finance and Property said that the Corporate Risk Register included all of the things which could send the Council off course, preventing the delivery of the corporate plan and the performing of its statutory responsibilities.

The Head of Strategic Finance and Property went through the register, giving an in depth explanation of the different risks, their triggers, consequences and mitigations/controls. This included at number four, those pertaining to staff capacity and the skills to deliver services. He also explained the risks associated with not having equalities impact assessments. He advised Members on how risks were scored and how these related to the matrix, seen at page 57 of the report. He said that the risks identified as the highest, and therefore in the “hot zone” of the matrix were actively managed by the Leadership Team, with other risks delegated to Heads of Service to monitor.

RESOLVED – that the report be reviewed and received.