Risk Management Update
North Lanarkshire Council · 24 November 2022
Back to Audit and Scrutiny Panel — 24 November 2022 and its agenda
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Audit and Scrutiny Panel Does this report require to be approved? ☐ Yes ☒ No Ref: KA/ASP/Nov22 Date 24/11/22 Risk management update From Ken Adamson, Head of Audit & Risk E-mail adamsonk@northlan.gov.uk Telephone 07939 280602 Executive Summary This report provides the Panel with a brief update on key risk management developments since the most recent report in September and highlights a selection of the more significant issues which are of current focus from a risk perspective. The Council continues to operate within a complex and challenging environment which should be reflected in corporate and service risks registers. CMT have been reminded that all risks should continue to be reviewed in line with the approved Risk Management Strategy. Strategically significant risks of particular current focus include responding to the ongoing challenges presented by current inflationary pressures and increased uncertainty over future levels of funding for local government in light of wider developments in UK and Scottish public sector finances. The Council is also fully engaged with ongoing attempts to assess and respond effectively to the likely significant impacts of the National Care Service draft legislation and associated guidance on service users, staff and the Council more generally. Responding to the outcomes arising from the current consultation by the Scottish Government on the future of education in Scotland is also likely to be of increasing focus. Significant operational risks of particular current focus currently include work underway to ensure the resilience of the Council’s home care service in light of ongoing pressures and in advance of expectations of increased challenges over the winter period and ongoing work around responding in both the short and longer-term to current and future challenges around the provision of school transport. Staffing issues, including potential industrial action and responding to recruitment and retention challenges, have also featured prominently in recent months. Finally, risk issues continue to be addressed in relation to a number of significant projects and programmes of work. Recommendations The Panel is asked to consider the contents of the report and to: (1) note the current residual scores for those risks previously agreed for inclusion in the corporate risk register for 2022-23 at Appendix 1; (2) note the addition to the corporate risk register of new risks relating to Data Migration and School Transport as detailed at paras 2.8 to 2.13 (3) note the references to other topical risk issues highlighted in Section 2; and (4) note the work ongoing to include key service risks (and an overview of how these risks are being managed) as part of future reporting to CMT and the Panel. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority All priorities Ambition statement All ambition statements
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1. Background 1.1 The Council’s Risk Management Strategy requires that the corporate risk register is refreshed on an annual basis; led by the Corporate Risk Team, working with the Risk Management Corporate Working Group (RMCWG) on behalf of, and in consultation with, the Corporate Management Team. In addition, each Service is required to maintain its own risk register in respect of the operational service risks within their areas of responsibility. CMT previously approved the 2022-23 corporate risk register as outlined in the table at Appendix 1. 1.2 It is widely recognised that the environment within which the Council operates and provides services continues to be dynamic, and corporate and service risk registers must continually evolve in order to keep pace with and accurately reflect, the ongoing challenges facing the Council. 1.3 To aid this process, earlier in 2022 the Corporate Risk Team prepared a ‘horizon scanning’ paper to support considerations/discussions on risks associated with the council’s future direction and strategic planning considerations. The paper, attached at Appendix 3, is intended to highlight risks and issues relevant to the environment within which the Council operates. The paper can also be used to generate discussion and inform thinking in relation to the preparation and review of individual Service Risk Registers. It is proposed that such horizon scanning will form a key part of the corporate risk register annual review exercises going forward. 2. Report 2.1 The corporate risk register (at Appendix 1) approved for 2022-23 originally contained 24 risks. Risks contained within the register have been subject to ongoing monitoring and review throughout the year, with regular risk reporting to CMT and the Panel both on the overall register, and with detail on individual risks being reported by relevant Risk Leads. 2.2 The definition of a corporate risk is ‘those risks which can impact the Council in achieving its priorities and stated objectives or are more strategic in nature and require corporate oversight. For example, such risks may have the potential to impact many Services, and/or can impact significantly on the Council in terms of financial costs and reputational damage. The Corporate Risk Register will reflect an amalgamated position of Service-level risks and may also include significant Service-level risks which have been escalated for attention at a strategic level.’ 2.3 Currently there are 23 risks classified as ‘live’ with completed risk documentation, and 2 risks classified as ‘draft’ where relevant documentation is currently being finalised. Those risks still currently being drafted are ‘Target Operating Model’ and ‘Improving Educational Outcomes’. Both of these risks are due to be finalised and reported as live before the end of the year. The remaining risk, ‘Impact of National Care Service proposals’ is documented but remains unscored and actively under review in light of ongoing uncertainty and developments as the legislative processes proceeds. Update on the 2022-23 corporate risk register 2.4 Since the last update to the Panel, risk RIS0000256 Governance, Leadership and Decision Making has been reviewed to consider impacts arising from the changing political landscape and governance arrangements within the council. This review resulted in an increase in residual risk rating from 12 (MEDIUM) to 16 (HIGH) recognising that there are a number of factors now present which create an increased potential for issues to occur arising from this risk. These include the presence of a significant number of new elected members following the Council elections in May 2022 and recent changes in the structure of the senior management team.
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2.5 The finely balanced political composition of the Council and recent changes in the political leadership of the Council when combined with the challenging environment facing the Council (and the need to make contentious and/or difficult decisions) are considered to increase the risk of inconsistency and/or uncertainty around decision- making and increased challenges in ensuring that future decisions and associated resources reflect agreed corporate priorities and ambitions. More detail on this risk review together with the current risk assessment itself are contained within a separate report to the Panel. 2.6 Risk RIS0000020 Digital & IT Strategy risk has also changed in scoring as a result of its most recent review. The residual risk rating has increased from 9 (Medium) to 12 (Medium). Whilst staying in the same overall banding, the score has changed as a result of an increase in the likelihood assessment from 3 ‘Possible’ to 4 ‘Likely’. This reflects the combination of a range of factors including the volume and rate of change in technology and how the Service may need to respond to current and likely future Council budget saving requirements where some of the technology changes required may be substantial and impactful. 2.7 One further risk as increased in residual risk rating as a result of its most recent review, that being RIS0000003: Human Resources. The residual risk rating has increased from 12 (Medium) to 16 (High) which is reflective of the current challenges in relation to recruitment and retention in some key service areas and in certain professional disciplines. 2.8 In the period since the annual Corporate Risk Register review was completed, two additional two risks have been added for inclusion on the corporate risk register. These are ‘Home to School Transport (Mainstream temporary contracts due for renewal 14 October 2022); and 'Information Governance – Data Migration’. 2.9 Members will be aware of the school transport issues arising at the start of the 2022/23 school session when Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) contacted North Lanarkshire Council to advise that they had failed to successfully arrange transport for over 1600 children and young people due to attend school the next day. This was, they reported, due to systemic failure in the market for school transport contractors who were scheduled to provide these services. The scale of failure and the short-notice provided by SPT was such that normal contingency arrangements were understandably rendered totally inadequate. 2.10 Under the Council’s corporate resilience framework, an Emergency Planning Group (School Transport) was established to manage the Council’s response and a range of actions were taken to address the issue. This group was also required to consider whether additional contingency arrangements should be progressed and/or readied in light of an additional 80 temporary contracts which were due to renew at the October break. And while additional contingency capacity was identified, to date significantly fewer issues have arisen following the award of these contracts. 2.11 General risks around the provision and affordability of school transport arising from current market conditions has undoubtedly increased and this will form part of a wider strategic review currently underway of how the Council best addresses its obligations in this area going forward. 2.12 Data Migration was a new risk that was created to assist the Council’s understanding of the risks associated with migrating business data to O365 within short timescales prior to network servers reaching their end of life and/or being decommissioned. This reflected that there was a risk that council data currently held within network drives would not be migrated to SharePoint/Microsoft Teams within required timescales; that the information which is migrated might include significant volumes of redundant, obsolete and/or trivial information and that data migration may be rushed and poorly managed with potential impacts that important data was not secure, lost in the transition and/or data moved into storage areas that were not designed for it and/or that the incorrect retention periods will be applied.
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2.13 The risk was initially assessed as having a high residual risk rating of 25 with additional mitigating actions approved by the Data Governance Board to reduce this risk. Services were also asked to reflect this risk within their individual service risk registers to better understand where the potential ‘hot spots’ or key impacts might arise. There has been much recent activity in this area which continues to be closely monitored by the Data Governance Board. 2.14 Strategically significant risks of particular current focus include responding to the ongoing challenges presented by current inflationary pressures and increased uncertainty over future levels of funding for local government in light of wider developments in UK and Scottish public sector finances. This issue has been the subject of recent reports to the Policy and Strategy Committee. 2.15 The Council is also fully engaged with wider policy developments which have the potential to impact significantly on the Council and its corporate ambitions. This includes ongoing attempts to understand, assess and respond effectively to the likely significant impacts on service users, staff and the Council more generally of the National Care Service draft legislation and associated guidance. Responding to the outcomes arising from the current consultation by the Scottish Government on the future of education in Scotland is also likely to be of increasing focus. National developments in both areas will continue to be kept under review and actioned as required, with updates provided to relevant Committees at key development points. 2.16 The National Care Service (Scotland) Bill proposals allows Scottish Ministers to transfer social care responsibility from local authorities to a new national service. This could include adult and children’s services, as well as areas such as justice social work - but this has still to be determined. Scottish Ministers will also be able to transfer healthcare functions from the NHS to the National Care Service. Policy and Strategy Committee were provided with a report in September 2022 which provided an update on the position of the Bill at its current Stage 1 position. 2.17 In view of the significant and wide-ranging impact which the NCS proposals will have on the Council and the future delivery of support to individuals and families, the Policy and Strategy Committee (in September 2022) approved the establishment of a Member Officer Group to guide the council’s future engagement with the Bill process, support planning and management of the potential impacts for the council, and ensure the delivery of public services remain steadfast during what is expected to be a significant period of change. 2.18 The Bill also has significant implications for the council in terms of the proposed transfer on existing functions and staffing, the wider impact on service delivery and delivery of The Plan for North Lanarkshire, and on the future functions of the council. An initial calculation suggests that up to 27% of the council’s workforce / resource base could be in scope to transfer to the NCS. As such, an Officer Working Group is in place to ensure the ongoing identification and effective management of associated risks and provide oversight in relation to the operational impact on future council functions. 2.19 Operationally, the Council continues to manage a wide range of risks associated with day-to-day service delivery and progressing projects and programmes of work. Significant operational risks of particular current focus currently include work underway to ensure the resilience of the Council’s home care service in light of ongoing pressures and in advance of expectations of increased challenges over the winter period and ongoing work around responding in both the short and longer-term to current and future challenges around the provision of school transport. Staffing issues, including potential industrial action and responding to recruitment and retention challenges, have also featured prominently in recent months. Finally, risk issues continue to be addressed in relation to a number of significant projects and programmes of work.
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2.20 Members will note at Appendix 1, that the overall corporate risk profile has changed with a notable increase in the number of risks which now sit within the ‘High’ category for residual risk rating. This is to be expected as a result of the complex and challenging environment in which the Council is operating, and the changing risk profile itself should be a key consideration in the planning and decision-making activities of the Council. To support this, it is proposed that as part of the planned Risk Management Strategy review for 2022-23, there will be some focus on ‘fine-tuning' the risk scoring approach to ensure this provides greater differentiation in ratings (and rationale for those ratings), that will enable CMT and elected members to better distinguish areas that require more focus particularly within the ‘High’ residual risk category. The Corporate Risk Team proposes to provide CMT with some analysis and recommendations on a revised approach to risk scoring for consideration and agreement in order to achieve this as a key development of the planned review of the Risk Management Strategy, the results of which will be reported to Policy and Strategy Committee for approval early in 2023. 2.21 Generally corporate risks are being reviewed within reasonable timescales however there can be occasions where they fall overdue and Risk Leads have been reminded of the need to contact the Corporate Risk Team promptly when e-mail reminders are received to advise that a risk is due its review. The Corporate Risk team will assist in the facilitation and co-ordination of those reviews, and timely consideration will allow risk review frequencies to be maintained aligned to risk rating, and avoid risks becoming out of date, ensuring risks are current and reflective of the most current position. 2.22 Regular consideration by senior management of Service risks and Service risk registers is expected, but how such consideration is undertaken is not prescribed as it is considered appropriate to ensure that how risks are considered is aligned to and integrated within each Service areas own distinct management arrangements. All Services have been encouraged however to regularly review risk registers for completeness and to ensure that Service risks are reported regularly to Service management teams. The corporate risk team will be developing formal measures to review and report on compliance in this aspect of the Council’s risk arrangements during 2022-23. The Corporate Risk team will continue to work with Corporate Risk Leads and Service Risk Champions to ensure that risks registers continue to capture and reflect the current key challenges facing the organisation. Other risk management developments 2.23 The Risk Management Corporate Working Group is currently exploring with Service Risk Champions how best to identify significant Service risks which will be reported to both CMT and the Panel in future risk management update reports. 2.24 The Corporate Risk Team also continues to actively support the application of risk management practice and Project Boards’ consideration of risk in a number of key corporate projects including most recently the Shared Campus, Asset Rationalisation and Climate Change projects. 2.25 The planned review of the existing Corporate Risk Management Strategy will commence shortly and be carried out in accordance with the Strategic Policy Framework Guidance, with reporting back to CMT and the Policy and Strategy Committee for approval scheduled for early-2023. 2.26 The Corporate Risk team are also actively progressing all actions agreed in response to the recent Internal Audit review. A number of areas for improvement were identified and management committed to a range of actions to address these. These included that replacement and/or new corporate risks needed to be documented and assessed in line with agreed timescales, improvements were required in respect of the monitoring of training on risk and a framework for monitoring compliance with the Risk Management Strategy needed to be developed and implemented to better facilitate assessment and overview of the adequacy and effectiveness of risk management arrangements within Services. All key actions are captured and being progressed by
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the Corporate Risk Team working either with individual risk leads or with Service Risk Champions via the Risk Management Corporate Working Group. Further review of the corporate risk register 2.27 In order to provide further update to CMT and the Panel on completion of ‘draft’ risks and resulting outcome of risk assessments, a further formal review of the corporate risk register will be carried out in December 2022 and reported to CMT and the Panel. It was also proposed to supplement the Corporate/Strategic risk register information for the first time with a summary of key Service risks from service risk registers. Not only will this allow CMT and the Panel to gain a clearer understanding and awareness of key service risks, but it will have the added value of ensuring better alignment between key corporate risks and issues, with the content of individual Service risk registers. 3. Measures of success 3.1 The corporate risk management team will continue to report quarterly to CMT and the Audit and Scrutiny Panel providing an overview of key developments in risk management and updating on progress in respect of planned improvements to the Council’s risk management arrangements. 3.2 The adequacy and effectiveness of the Council’s risk management arrangements will be independently and regularly reviewed by Internal Audit, who will report directly on the results of that work to the Audit and Scrutiny Panel. 3.3 Effective risk management arrangements assist the Council in achieving planned outcomes and/or help the Council mitigate the impacts of adverse events. 4. Supporting documentation Appendix 1: 2022-23 corporate risk register Appendix 2: Risk scoring matrix and descriptors Appendix 3: Horizon scanning: Current strategic risks and issues facing the Council Ken Adamson Head of Audit and Risk
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5. Impacts 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☐ No ☒ 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? Effective risk management arrangements including the identification, assessment, management and oversight of relevant risks will increase the likelihood of the Council achieving its ambitions and plans by more effectively mitigating potential threats to planned outcomes. It also contributes to effective management of risks relating to all service and operational areas.
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Appendix 1: 2022-23 corporate risk register CORPORATE RISKS (Operational) Likelihood Impact Rating Evaluation 1. Information Governance – Data Migration 5 5 25 High 2. Information Governance & Information Security 5 4 20 High 3. ICT operational capability 4 4 16 High 4. Public Protection 4 4 16 High 5. Human Resources 4 4 16 High 6. Governance Leadership & Decision Making 4 4 16 High 7. Supply Chain Risk 4 4 16 High 8. Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry 4 4 16 High 9. Health and Safety 5 3 15 High 10. Business continuity planning 5 3 15 High 11. Terrorism 3 5 15 High 12. School Transport (Mainstream -temp contracts Oct) 4 3 12 Medium 13. Procurement risk 3 4 12 Medium 14. Resilience planning 2 5 10 Medium 15. Serious organised crime, fraud and corruption 3 3 9 Medium CORPORATE RISKS (Strategic) Likelihood Impact Rating Proximity 16. Tackling Poverty 5 4 20 High 17. Climate Change 4 4 16 High 18. Implementation of Economic Regeneration Development Plan 3 5 15 High 19. Financial Sustainability 3 5 15 High 20. Enterprise Project 3 4 12 Medium 21. Managing strategic change 3 4 12 Medium 22. Digital and IT strategy 4 3 12 Medium 23. Engagement and consultation 3 3 9 Medium 24. Target Operating Model – (Ensuring resources (workforce, digital and assets) and service delivery are fully aligned to support the successful implementation of the Council’s future operating model. To be confirmed To be confirmed To be confirmed To be confirmed 25. Impact of National Care Service To be confirmed To be confirmed To be confirmed To be confirmed 26. Improving Educational Outcomes To be confirmed To be confirmed To be confirmed To be confirmed
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APPENDIX 2: LIKELIHOOD / IMPACT DESCRIPTORS AND RISK MATRIX Likelihood Descriptors: Score Probability of occurrence Description 5 Over 90% Almost certain to occur within 12 months 4 61-90% Likely to occur within 12 months 3 31-60% Possible that it may occur within 12 months 2 11 - 30% Unlikely to occur within 12 months 1 10% or less Rare that it would occur within 12 months Impact Descriptors: Score Description of impact On Service Objectives Financial On people On time to recover On reputation 5 Catastrophic Unable to function, inability to fulfil obligations Severe financial loss (over 25% of budget) Death Serious – in excess of 2 years to recover to pre- event position Highly damaging, severe loss of public confidence 4 Major Significant impact on service objectives Major financial loss (between 10% and 25% of budget) Extensive injury, major permanent harm Major – between 1 and 2 years to recover to pre-event position Major adverse publicity, major loss of confidence 3 Moderate Moderate impact on service objectives Significant financial loss (between 2.5% and 10% of budget) Medical treatment required, semi- permanent harm up to one year Considerable – between 6 months to 1 year to recover to pre- event position Some adverse publicity, legal implications 2 Minor Minor impact on service objectives Moderate financial loss (between 1% and 2.5% of budget) First aid treatment, non- permanent harm up to 1 month Some – 2 to 6 months to recover to pre-event position Short-term public embarrassment and no damage to reputation 1 Insignificant Minimal impact, no service disruption Minimal loss (up to 1% of budget) No obvious harm/injury Minimal – up to 2 months to recover No interest to the media, internal only. Risk Matrix: Likelihood 5 - Almost certain 5 10 15 20 25 4 - Likely 4 8 12 16 20 3 - Possible 3 6 9 12 15 2 - Unlikely 2 4 6 8 10 1 - Rare 1 2 3 4 5 1 - Insignificant 2 - Minor 3 - Moderate 4 - Major 5 - Catastrophic Impact Risk Rating Insignificant 1-3 Low 4-6 Medium 8-12 High 15-25
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Appendix 3 – Horizon Scanning - current strategic risks and issues facing the Council (originally prepared March 2022; updated in October 2022) This note has been prepared by the Corporate Risk Team (in March 2022 and updated in October 2022) to support CMT discussions on the Council’s future direction and strategic planning considerations and represents an informed horizon scanning of the environment within which the Council will operate. It does not highlight all those risks currently on the corporate risk register, particularly those that relate to the management of day-to-day operations of the Council, but rather attempts to highlight where current corporate risks relate to the broad strategic themes highlighted in the document. 1. Constitutional uncertainty Links to existing corporate risks: ‘Managing strategic change’ and ‘Impact of National Care Service’ • Potential for an independence referendum to be held during current parliamentary session. • Following Brexit, it remains unclear how the UK internal market (across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) will operate and how some aspects of the existing devolution structures will operate. • The process of implementing the Scotland Act 2016 remains incomplete (VAT assignment and full adoption of social security powers). The fiscal framework is due for review in 2022. • Uncertainty surrounding the potential impact of all of the above, and proposals relating to National Care Service and the potential impact of moves towards greater national or regional collaboration in Education on the future composition and funding of Scottish local government. 2. Economic challenges Links to existing corporate risks: ‘Implementation of ERDP’ ‘Digital and IT Strategy’ ‘Educational attainment’ ‘Supply chain’ and ‘Climate change’ and ‘Tackling Poverty’ • The pandemic has resulted in an economic downturn. Some sectors of the economy may be permanently affected. The nature and timing of economic recovery remains unclear. Establishing a more digital, more inclusive economy will require time and significant investment in skills. The economy will have to reshape to enable climate change objectives to be met. Economic/inflationary pressures on household incomes may drive greater demand for public services. • Scotland’s fiscal framework means that public sector budgets are now more closely tied to economic performance (and Scotland’s performance relative to the rest of the UK) than at any time since devolution in 1999. • The short and longer-term economic effects of exit from the European Union (due to changes in access to markets and migration patterns) remain to be seen. • Uncertainty around short-term impacts of geopolitical situation with Russia and Ukraine and potential longer-term impacts on wider supply chains/increased focus on supply chain resilience with consequential potential impacts on rising costs, availability etc.
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Appendix 3 - Horizon Scanning - current strategic risks and issues facing the Council (continued) 3. Financial sustainability Links to existing corporate risks: ‘Financial sustainability’ • A considerable proportion of the Scottish public sector budget is spent on the NHS and social care. Along with the effects of the pandemic, demographic change and medical advances mean that despite being prioritised in successive Scottish Government budgets (at the expense of local government) the pressure on these budgets is already acute and appears insatiable. Some NHS boards have already seen overspends, despite the NHS budget having grown in real terms. • The public sector already has many long-term financial commitments (pensions, PFI/PPP/NPD payments) that extend decades into the future. This constrains its financial flexibility. • Prior to the pandemic, there were already concerns about the financial sustainability of certain parts of the public sector in their current form including local government and policing. The pandemic has focused the public sector’s attention on short-term priorities. The need and challenges for medium and long-term financial planning to ensure future planned activities are compatible with financial sustainability remains. 4. Addressing inequalities Links to existing corporate risks: ‘Tackling Poverty’, Implementation of ERDP’ and ‘Educational Attainment’ • There is still a significant amount of progress to be made to reduce inequalities. Areas affected include wealth, health and wellbeing and education. These inequalities affect diverse communities and groups (including women and girls, BAME people, older people, disabled people etc.) often in complex and interacting ways. • There are profound geographical inequalities both across Scotland and within individual Council areas. Demographic changes (the aging population and movement of population from some parts of Scotland to others) may alter these patterns. • There is a need to capture users’ perspectives and enable communities to have greater power and influence over what matters to them through increased community engagement and meaningful participation in the planning/design and delivery of public services. 5. Performance and innovation Links to existing corporate risks: ‘‘Governance, leadership and decision-making’ ‘Information security and governance’, ICT operational capability’, ‘Digital and IT strategy’ • Ten years since the Christie report, there is still limited evidence of a significant shift towards preventive spending. • Mounting financial pressures are starting to have an impact on how well some public services are performing. This may affect delivery of the outcomes in the National Performance Framework, such as reducing educational inequalities. The pandemic has exacerbated this, created backlogs and reduced access to some public services and affected systems to monitor performance. • The integration of health and social care remains a work in progress with considerable cultural, organisational, and financial challenges. The proposals surrounding the creation of a National Care Service have the potential to create significant challenges and strategic, financial, and operational risks to the Council’s current operations and ability to deliver against its wider ambitions. • The pandemic has accelerated the shift to greater digital delivery of public services, but true digital transformation remains a significant challenge to deliver and generates risks around capacity, digital exclusion, cybersecurity, and fraud.
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Appendix 4 - Current strategic risks and issues facing the Council (continued) 6. Leadership, workforce, and governance Links to existing corporate risks: ‘Governance, leadership and decision-making’, ‘Human Resources’ ‘Managing strategic change’, ‘Engagement and consultation’) • Leadership roles are increasingly difficult to fill in parts of the public sector with increased turnover/vacancies at senior (chief executive, director) levels. • To secure long-term outcomes, collaborative leadership across multiple organisations and sectors is essential. Achieving this remains challenging when existing public sector structures and systems of incentives and accountability remain siloed. • An ageing population, increasing demands for Council services, relatively inflexible remuneration arrangements and a smaller working age population presents real challenges for local authorities to ensure they remain an attractive option for younger workers and can recruit and retain sufficient staff with the right skills and attributes. Also increased focus on ensuring our employees reflect the diversity of our local communities. • The shift to digital technology and the expansion in the use of data and artificial intelligence demands greater attention to digital governance to ensure that ethical, privacy and equalities and human rights perspectives are carefully considered. 7. Other current and potential future corporate risks with strategic considerations • Public Protection: always a high-risk and high-profile issue. Increased risks arising during the pandemic and from the economic challenges facing many families and communities will likely result in continuing pressures. • Enterprise Project: refocused and narrower than originally envisaged but still a significant project which will need to be successfully delivered to underpin key aspects of service delivery and to contribute to the achievement of many of the Council’s wider ambitions. • Place-making: central to the Council’s ambitions and links the Council’s future operating model and associated asset requirements to the wider development and delivery of the Town Centre Visions designed to create vibrant and sustainable towns across North Lanarkshire. • Working/collaborating with partners and other stakeholders – the Council increasingly needs to work in partnership to address the complex challenges facing our towns and communities. This can be challenging and also requires us to rely on the willingness, capacity and ability of third parties to positively engage. • Organisational resilience and agility – while the resilience of the organisation has been well-tested over the last two years, there remains a risk that our longer-term ability to anticipate and respond to external factors is impaired, for example, as a result of further financial and workforce pressures. The maturity and effectiveness of key enablers such as risk management, project management and contract management will directly affect how well we can, identify, anticipate and respond to certain challenge.
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