Report of the City Treasurer

PART ONE ITEM NO.8

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REPORT OF THE CITY TREASURER ______

TO THE: AUDIT & ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE

ON: Wednesday 28th April 2010 ______

TITLE: STRATEGIC RISK REGISTER PROGRESS REPORT Q4 ______

RECOMMENDATION:

Members are requested to consider the contents of the report. ______

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The purpose of this report is to inform Members of progress on the Strategic Risk Register and to note the new revised format and the next steps for risk reporting. ______

BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS: (Available for public inspection)

. Institute of Risk Management (IRM) / Association of Insurers & Risk Managers (AIRMIC) /Association of Local Authority Risk Managers (ALARM) produced A Risk Management Standard. . Risk Management Strategy. ______

KEY DECISION: NO ______

DETAILS: See report attached.

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KEY COUNCIL POLICIES: N/A ______

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND IMPLICATIONS: N/A ______

ASSESSMENT OF RISK:

1 Risk management activities undertaken throughout the Council ensure that risks are effectively identified and appropriately managed.

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SOURCE OF FUNDING: Existing revenue budget.

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LEGAL IMPLICATIONS: N/A ______

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:

The production of this report has no financial Implications. ______

OTHER DIRECTORATES CONSULTED: N/A ______

CONTACT OFFICER: Cliff Peacock TEL. NO. 0161 793 3239

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WARD(S) TO WHICH REPORT RELATE(S): N/A

2 1 Background Risk Management is a key component of local authorities’ corporate governance arrangements. It is essentially the systematic process by which key business risks / opportunities are identified, prioritised and controlled so as to ensure the achievement of council objectives and commitments.

The purpose of this report is to inform Members of the Audit & Accounts Committee (AAC) of progress on the Strategic Risk Register on key strategic risks within the register in the new revised format and the next steps for risk reporting.

2 Risk Management update and next steps

Following discussions with Corporate Management Team (CMT) in January 2010 and recent discussions with One Council Management Team (OCMT) it was agreed that the approach to risk reporting and governance be improved.

The launch of Covalent, the Council’s new Performance Management System (PMS) this month will, when fully adopted, help embed risk management further and will assist the Council in having a more enterprised risk management approach and further enhance future reporting.

Directorate Risk Registers form an integral part of the current business planning arrangements. Risk reporting at all levels e.g. Directorate Business Planning and reporting of Directorate risks for both Strategic and Directorate Risk will in future be to the Lead Member responsible for a particular area via regular scheduled reports following the issue of a new reporting timetable for 2010-11.

Draft reports on strategic risk going forward will go via OCMT on a quarterly timetable to allow for timely updates prior to reporting to the appropriate lead member and the Audit & Accounts Committee, with the new format helping to avoid risk reporting overload. Future updates to CMT would be on a six monthly basis. The Portfolio Management Board would also have a key role to play in monitoring key strategic risks and will continue to examine in detail key areas of risk across our major capital programmes.

The Corporate Plan is currently being brought up to date and the information in the risk management section is to be rewritten to promote the work done on strategic risk and business planning in relation to risk.

The current risks / opportunities and the Risk Management Action Plans that were recently updated in February 2010 and endorsed by CMT in mid -March are summarised in the attached appendix and are listed with the highest risk score first.

3 Appendix CMT – Strategic Risk Register Identified risk Risk score Latest actions to mitigate risks Risk owner

Direction of travel

Previous Current Area of risk identified for the Officer risk risk service Description responsible for score score (Detailed reports on progress are available on request via the responsible officer ) risk  Salix Homes has achieved a 2 star / Excellent Prospects for Improvement judgement from the Audit Commission for its ALMO inspection. This excellent result now enables it Rob Pickering SSR12. SALIX HOMES BUSINESS to access Government decent homes funding to improve the quality of Council stock in reporting to PERFORMANCE & PLANNING. Central Salford.  The Council has also been successful in lobbying Government to re-profile the decent Strategic Director Scope of Risk : Salix Homes fails to 16 4 homes expenditure that had originally been delayed until 2011. £9m has now been Paul Walker achieve 2 stars in its Audit Commission High Low secured for immediate use in 2010/11 to improve tenant’s homes. report to inspection and is not able to draw down £69m of decent homes funding  The Council, as part of its budget planning for 2010/11 has generated efficiencies by keeping the Salix Homes management fee at 2009/10 levels but has sought to increase Portfolio Holder the repairs budget by £0.5m for 2010/11. This will help to prevent further homes Cllr Connor becoming non-decent. 1. Regular performance management of outcomes carried out. 2. Performance Management reporting in Safeguarding is well established via the “Report John Stonehouse Card” reporting to 3.Monitoring of progress and challenge carried out regularly both internally and by SRR14. SAFEGAURDING. Government Office Acting Strategic 16 16 4. Programme and project management resources and discipline dedicated to improvement Scope of Risk: Practice in safeguarding Director Nick Page planning and implementation particularly in relation to planning that flows from the Ofsted children may develop with insufficient pace High High report to inspection. or sustainability. Portfolio Holder Cllr . The Safeguarding Improvement Programme has been refined to Warmisharm concentrate on the development of localities and integrated working in order to improve quality and effectiveness of work.

1 Identified risk Risk score Latest actions to mitigate risks Risk owner

Direction of travel

Previous Current Area of risk identified for the Officer risk risk service Description responsible for score score (Detailed reports on progress are available on request via the responsible officer ) risk . Following recent adverse weather (January 2010) where existing emergency and business continuity plans were robustly tested, a comprehensive review SRR7. BUSINESS CONTINUITY of present arrangements has been requested by the Leadership in consultation with ARRANGMENTS/ Alan Westwood Scrutiny Chairs. EMERGENCY PLANNING 12 9 . This review will examine thoroughly all elements of the Council’s Portfolio Holder High Medium Plans including Corporate and Directorate arrangements and it is intended that following Scope of risk : Failure to recover after Cllr Hinds the review clear plans for improvement will be developed. major incident. The review is expected to be concluded in April 2010. SSR1. WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT Develop and maintain best practice HR policies i.e. :-

Scope of Risk: impact of ineffective . Agreed recruitment strategy to support Directors to make efficient Debbie Brown workforce planning and management can appointments of staff. Reporting to lead to poor employee relations; recruitment . Organisational Change policy introduced to support major and retention problems, particularly in structural reviews e.g. Think Efficiency and financial impact. Strategic Director A. known skill shortage areas; morale and 9 9 . Developed range of training course and programmes, Westwood motivation issues that can impact on Medium Medium complemented by e-learning to help achieve both personal and business objectives performance e.g. increased sickness to support competency framework. Portfolio Holder absence, conduct, capability, grievance . Attendance management policy continues to be applied. Cllr Hinds cases. An inadequately skilled and . Application of the Workforce development strategy will ensure inadequately diverse workforce can lead to critical staffing issues are addressed. poor service delivery. . Council’s Portfolio Management Board has agreed that the focus for the Council should be on our major partnerships including the likes of Urban Vision, Salix Homes and the Primary Care Trust. Rob Pickering . Resource is in place through the Sustainable Regeneration SRR5. PARTNERSHIP FAILURE. reporting to Directorate to support the Portfolio Board in fully implementing the Council’s Strategic Director 9 9 Partnership Database which holds all necessary strategic and risk related information Scope of risk : Impact of increased A.Westwood on our major partnerships. This information will be reviewed at the Portfolio Board on partnership working across the City Medium Medium a quarterly basis. Portfolio Holder . A review of Urban Vision partnership governance is almost Cllr Connor complete and will be considered by the Strategic Director for Sustainable Regeneration in the first instance and subsequently by the Council’s Portfolio Board and Lead Members. This will be repeated in 2010/11 for other major partnerships.

Direction of travel

Previous Current Area of risk identified for the Officer risk risk service Description responsible for score score (Detailed reports on progress are available on request via the responsible officer ) risk . Monthly PSP Highlight reports to PSP Programme Board which update on progress, and risks and issues across the programme. SRR15. MEDIA CITY – PUBLIC SECTOR . The PSP programme team also regularly reports progress to, and DELIVERY. attends, both SCC Portfolio Management Board and the Media City UK (MCUK) Strategic Director Team Salford meetings. These are used to ensure that developments at MCUK are Scope of Risk: Wider Economic Alan Westwood effectively communicated within SCC, that input and direction is obtain from SCC Downturn, International Flights, Public 9 9 Management, and that risks and issues can be reported and managed effectively Sector Partnership Approach to Funding, Medium Medium Portfolio Holder . Potential gaps with Peel Media’s business development messages Change of National Government, National Cllr Merry has been raised internally as an issue, and action is being taken to address this with Focus on Olympics, Regional Competition Peel Media and our other public sector partners at Chief Executive Level for Inward Investment & MEC Delivery.

SRR10.FINANCIAL STRATEGY . Medium-term financial strategy has been updated for 2008/9 to incorporating Think Efficiency 2010/11 and approved by Budget & Efficiency Cabinet Working Group (B&EG) i.e. ensures corporate priorities, service planning, performance management and Scope of Risk: failure to maintain financial planning are aligned. adequate funding to deliver services. . Regular reports are made to B&EG to review alignment of John Spink financial and service planning for 2010/11, set parameters for determining further reporting to efficiencies and refining financial strategy. Strategic Director A. 8 8 . The Think Efficiency implementation plan defines the efficiency Westwood Medium Medium targets for each workstream and the actions required to deliver them. The Think Efficiency programme will enter its third year in 2010/11 and has been extended to Portfolio Holder incorporate a second phase of 6 additional workstreams. Cllr Hinds . Progress is monitored via OCMT, CMT, B&EG and Budget Scrutiny Cttee.

Direction of travel

Previous Current Area of risk identified for the Officer risk risk service Description responsible for score score (Detailed reports on progress are available on request via the responsible officer ) risk SRR11. RECESSION IMPACT. . Salford Recession Task Group established to give focus and coordinated action to measures to alleviate the impact of the recession across the Scope of Risk: Failure to effectively City. Chaired by Strategic Director for Sustainable Regeneration. manage the recession may detrimentally . The Council’s Recession Task Group has implemented actions affect the citizens, economy and prosperity contained within the Partners Priorities Plan to mitigate the impact of the Recession Rob Pickering of Salford. on the people and businesses in Salford. reporting to . A new website has been very successful in providing information Strategic Director 6 6 to people and businesses across the City on a variety of financial and service issues Paul walker Medium Medium that relate to the Recession. . The focus of the Recession Task Group is now, whilst retaining a Portfolio Holder monitoring and tracking role across the City, turning to how Salford can prepare for Cllr Hinds the recovery and best position itself for coming out of the Recession. To this end a ‘state of the nation’ report was commissioned by the City and completed by the Commission for the New Economy which assessed Salford’s position in a local, sub- regional and national context (copy attached). SRR13. PARTNERSHIP DELIVERY . Risk assessment has been provided by Audit Commission (January 2010) which has highlighted critical areas for examination during 2010. These include; Progress Scope of Risk: The City’s Local Area towards decent homes standard, Safeguarding Children’s improvement plan Agreement and CAA assessment have (Highlighted elsewhere within the SRR) and also key areas such as Crime, Equalities identified several areas of vulnerability at and Cohesion and Tackling Health Inequalities. Martin Vickers Area wide and organisational level in terms . Current action taken includes consultation with Salford Partnership Executive and reporting to of performance. If anticipated outcomes are 6 6 Total Place Board (January 2010) which has initiated a further round of challenge not achieved there will be a significant Medium Medium sessions in all target areas to robustly challenge current performance and Portfolio Holder reputational risk for the City Council. improvement planning (February to March 2010) Leader of the Council