Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to agree the current risk ratings, mitigations and action plans for each strategic risk.

The purpose of this report was to agree the current risk ratings, mitigations and action plans for each strategic risk.

The Emergency Planning and Risk Manager advised this was a regular report coming to the Committee to review our strategic risks.  One of the recommendations was to remove one of our risks around the Hertfordshire Growth Board.  The Council did not have any sites identified in the District so we were proposing to remove this risk.  It was proposed to include two new strategic risks around recruitment and retention of key staff and potential cyber attacks.

Members raised the following points:

•           The Local Plan would not be ready for 2021 but would be adopted in 2023 – could a tighter timescales be included on that with a specific month.

•           The removal of the Herts Growth Board risk - had the Council put forward any sites which were not possible to deliver?

•           Failure to retain and keep our staff – it was very important to have the right staff to provide the services for our residents. 

•           The action plans did not really clarify the strategic way we were going to deliver this.

•           Thought we reviewed this annually but it stated in the report it was last reviewed in 2018.

•           Should a risk on Covid 19 be included around attending meetings?

In response to the Member questions it was advised that:

•           A timetable would need to be published for the Local Plan probably in the New Year once officers have been able to clarify the timings under the Local Plan process.

•           The Hertfordshire Growth Board did not agree any sites in Three Rivers which were put forward.

•           This report was looking at the strategy and risk register not the detailed action plans.

•           On staff retention the staff morale point was the risk and the Council do not have low morale.  As part of the staff PDRs we monitor two things around staff morale and motivation and they usually come out really well. The mitigation was around looking at those in the staff appraisals and the action plan was included in the table.

•           There was not much of an action plan yet on the two new risks but if the Committee did agree to add them then the actions plans would be developed before coming back next time.  The Council were not experiencing problems in retention it was around recruiting which had been difficult over the last 18 months as there was so much competition particularly around HGV drivers.

•           The report was not listing out problems we have we were scanning the horizon to have strategic risks in place on things which could go wrong in the future if we don’t do something now and putting in mitigation measures.

•           The risk management strategy was last reviewed in 2018.  Strategic risks are reviewed twice a year by this Committee and operational risks reviewed by the Audit Committee.  The strategy is reviewed internally.

•           On Covid 19 it was more of an operational risk and each of the operational risks registers which get attached to the service plans would take that into account.

On being put to the Committee the recommendation was declared CARRIED by the Chair the voting being unanimous.

RESOLVED:

Noted the updated Strategic Risk Register and agreed to the closing of risk ST05 and the inclusion of two new strategic risks.