Agenda item

(Director of Resources) To consider the attached report (FPM-031-2015/16).

The Director of Resources presented a report regarding the Council’s Corporate Risk Register.

The Corporate Risk Register had been considered by both the Risk Management Group on 18 February 2016 and Management Board on 2 March 2016. These reviews identified amendments to the Corporate Risk Register but no additional risks or scoring changes and were as follows:

(a)        Risk 1 - Local Plan

Additional vulnerabilities had been added which centred on the potential delay of seeking approval from Highways England on the strategic modelling and protracted process in achieving local highway modelling. The consequence of these delays underlined the possibility of the loss of control of the Local Plan and also the potential loss of New Homes Bonus. Existing Controls/Actions had been added to advise that the Council was lobbying DCLG and Local Members of Parliament (MP) and also continuing to work closely with Essex County Council. The Required Further Management Action advised the need for a joint letter from Council leaders to local MP’s.

The retention of Planning Policy staff had also been identified as a vulnerability to the Local Plan risk. It was felt that consideration should be given to outsourcing aspects of the work. A buoyant Planning job market within Essex had been identified as the trigger with the consequence being the delivery of the Local Plan to timetable.

(b)        Risk 2 - Strategic Sites

The Effectiveness of controls/actions had been amended to advise the updated position for the key sites. The Winston Churchill site had groundworks underway and agents appointed to let the retail space. Final tender submissions for the Langston Road site were expected by 1 April with good progress being made on pre-lets. An outline specification for North Weald Airfield had commenced.

(c)        Risk 4 - Finance Income

The Key Date had been amended to advise that the revised scheme for New Homes Bonus was likely to be issued in late summer 2016.

(d)        Risk 6 - Data / Information

The Effectiveness of Control had been amended following a minor data loss.

Members were asked to consider the updated Corporate Risk Register and whether the risks listed were scored appropriately, if there were any additional risks that should be included and to note the annual review of the corporate risk management documents.

The Cabinet Committee were very concerned about the Local Plan and the problems around staff retention within Planning Policy. This would need to be monitored very closely because of the impact of the New Homes Bonus and the threat of the Government imposing a Local Plan on the Council. The Director of Resources advised that local authorities in general were not holding up development projects but that it was the developers themselves and this was a concern that the Council could get penalised for this.

Recommended:

(1)        That the Vulnerabilities, Trigger, Consequences and Action Plan for Risk 1 – Local Plan be updated;

(2)        That the Effectiveness of controls/actions for Risk 2 - Strategic Sites be updated;

(3)        That the Key Date within Risk 4 - Finance Income be updated;

(4)        That Effectiveness of Control within Risk 6 - Data / Information be updated;

(5)        That including the above agreed changes, the amended Corporate Risk Register be recommended to Cabinet for approval;

(6)        That the Risk Management Strategy and Policy Statement be recommended to Cabinet for adoption; and

(7)        That the Terms of Reference of the Risk Management Group be noted.

Reasons for Decisions:

It was essential that the Corporate Risk Register was regularly reviewed and kept up to date.

Other Options Considered and Rejected:

Members may suggest new risks for inclusion or changes to the scoring of existing risks.