Agenda item

Risk Management Update and Strategic Risks

 

The Head of Internal Audit, Anti-Fraud and Assurance will submit a report providing an update on the development of the new Risk Management process and sharing a summary of the current risks on the Strategic Risk Register.

 

Minutes:

The Head of Internal Audit, Anti-Fraud and Assurance submitted a report providing an update on the development of the new Risk Management process and sharing a summary of the current risks on the Strategic Risk Register.

 

It was reported that work was continuing with the IT Service to develop a supporting ‘system’ using SharePoint to record risks.  In addition, the Business Intelligence Team had been enlisted to develop business intelligence tools which would integrate with this system to create dashboard reports for the Senior Management and individual Departmental Management Teams which would enable them to identify risks and concerns at a granular level and thereby take appropriate action.

 

Work was also continuing on the Risk Management Strategy, Policy and Procedures and these would be presented to Committee in the New Year.

 

A new register of Strategic Concerns and Issues had been formulated in discussion with the Senior Management Team and a copy was appended to the report which detailed the key areas of risk and a brief outline of the key actions and assurances required.  Further work was required, however, in order to identify specific actions, assign responsibility and allocate timescales.  As could be seen, there were no concerns regarded as being critical with most being regarded as important.  This reflected the need to keep matters under close monitoring rather than requiring urgent action.

 

The full register, once fully developed, would include how the actions and or/assurance activity was being implemented to provide senior management and the Committee with information and assurance.  Work was now underway in earnest to support this new approach with clear policy, guidance and training materials.

 

Written responses to questions asked by members of the Committee were provided as follows:

 

·         With regard to community cohesion and asylum seeker accommodation, it was noted that the Council worked closely with Migration Yorkshire and all Yorkshire and Humberside authorities in its approach to Migration.  More recently the Council had submitted its response to the Public Accounts Committee and details of this had been circulated to members and could be made available upon request.

 

The Authority continued to have regular liaison meetings with the provider to ensure that in housing individuals, this was done respectfully taking into account individuals’ ethnic origins and in consideration of general community cohesion factors

 

·         The difficulties associated organisational resilience and the fact that assurance could not be given when dealing with external factors, such as Brexit, without the necessary information available were noted

·         In relation to pressures on Mental Health Services for both Adult Services and Children’s Services it was noted that CAHMS waiting times for children accessing the service had reduced.  The comments with regard to the pressure on the Council to provide/commission services that could not be provided without more funding were noted.  The Health and Care Recovery Plan recognised these risks and had developed a reset plan to seek to address the legacies of Covid.  The Health and Well Being Board had also identified mental health as a specific focus and a new Mental Health Partnership was to be established in early 2021

·         Reference was made to the impact of Covid-19 on young carers and their mental health and it was suggested that perhaps some reference should be made to this in remedial action

·         In relation to the External Market in Adult Care, it was noted that Adult Social Care had seen a demand in need for residential care beds both as a consequence of the pandemic but also as a consequence of the strategy to support people to return home wherever possible.  The Service would be working with the care sector and were developing a Market Position Statement which would be brought forward in 2021.  This Statement would describe what housing and support arrangements needed to be developed in Barnsley and would detail how this would be achieved.  With regard to visits to Care Homes it was noted that new national guidance was now available and had been made available to Members of the Committee

 

RESOLVED that the update on the development of the new Risk Management process, including the new register of areas of strategic concern and focus be noted and the action taken be approved insofar as this Committee is concerned.

 

Supporting documents:

 

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