Agenda item

Report and appendices attached.

The Risk Manager presented a report which provided an updated position with regards to the risks identified and assessed on the Council’s Corporate Risk Register.

23 risks were currently present on the Corporate Risk Register and had been identified as those that have the potential to disrupt the Council’s strategic objectives and service delivery.

The report presents all relevant information and scoring of these risks, an overview being:

Of the 23 risks, 16 risks are currently rated as Significant (risk score 15-25)

7 risks are currently rated as High (risk score 8-12)

·         0 have increased in score

·         2 have decreased in score

·         21 have remained static

·         0 are proposed for closure

·         Councillor Moss referred to CR29 Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) because the Council had been unable to satisfy the External Auditors in December that all its buildings are free of RAAC. Councillor Moss asked why the risk score  remained unchanged from the last report (15) as the last comment under Current Controls looks positive.

It was explained that the report and Corporate Risk Register review is as at 13^th December 2024, However, further to risk assessments and inspections/surveys carried out over the last 2 months, the risk has since been reviewed and now scores a Likelihood of 2, Impact of 5, with an overall score of 10. Resource has been significantly prioritised since September 2024 in order to ensure the desired target score of 5 is achieved at the earliest opportunity.

·         Councillor Moss raised a further point regarding CR29 RAAC and explained that at the Special Audit Committee meeting on January 9, the Chief Executive agreed that it was unsatisfactory that any Risk sat under multiple owners and said it would/should be changed to sit under just 1. However, the current Risk Register shows it as still having 3.

It was reported that the risk review was prior to this being agreed (as at 13th December). The removal of multiple risk owners has since been explored and so at the next Audit Committee meeting, you can expect to see only one risk owner against this risk.

·         Councillor Moss referred to CR21 - Project Safety Valve and stated that the Risk is 1 of only 2 that have decreased in score. Its likelihood has reduced from 5 to 3, reducing the score from 25 to 15.

Councillor Moss explained that he was in attendance at Budget Overview & Scrutiny last week and asked questions regarding the Risk. The Executive Director Children and Young People did speak encouragingly about various things improving post March 2026, but at present the deficit is increasing and is forecast to increase further during 25/26. Councillor Moss explained it does not seem the right time to lower the risk score. 

The Risk Manager reported that the Executive Director of Children’s Services had given the following explanation: The national context for Project Safety Valve (PSV) has changed with the new government, with an acceptance that the programme has not delivered what was intended largely because of the scale of the challenge nationally and locally. As a result no new Local Authorities (LAs) will join the PSV programme and, while those LAs currently in the PSV programme will remain in the programme, there is an acceptance that there is a broader problem around Dedicated School Grants deficits that affects almost all LAs and requires a national solution. Given this acceptance, it is less likely and therefore a lower risk that individual LAs within the PSV programme will be ejected from the programme, following the policy shift.

The Director of Finance explained that PSV was a challenging target but Bury are performing well and better than many other council’s in managing the system pressures which is a national rather than local issue.

·         Councillor Moss raised concerns that the risk had reduced and asked if the Audit Committee should request the score is re-evaluated by its owner.

The Committee agreed that this request should be made.

The Director of Finance reported that he would discuss the request of the Audit Committee at the next meeting of the ELT.

It was agreed that the Audit Committee:

1.    Note the report;

2.    Receive the Corporate Risk Register at Appendix A,

3.    Receive the Risk Matrix presented at Appendix B;

4.    Request that the level of assurance provided against CR21 Project Safety Valve  be reviewed;

5.    Confirm the level of assurance provided against the other risks is sufficient.