Risk Report 2022-23, June 2022
Renfrewshire Council · 13 June 2022
Back to Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board — 13 June 2022 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board On: 13 June 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Risk Report, April 2022 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 Each year the Board considers and approves the council’s risks. 1.2 This paper sets out the latest position in managing the council’s risks, as we have entered the first quarter of the new financial year. The appendices attached provide: • 1: details of longer-term strategic and corporate risks (at 30 April 2022) • 2: details of longer-term significant service risks (at 30 April 2022) • 3: list of ‘business as usual’ risks. ________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that the Board approves the report, being in agreement with the risks identified. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 The key areas of risk previously reported to the Audit, Risk & Scrutiny Board in January 2022 were: Strategic Risks: Very High-Risk Economy Very High-Risk Unemployment Very High-Risk Reducing inequalities High Risk Climate, sustainability & adaptability Corporate Risks: Very High-Risk Financial sustainability High-Risk Cyber attack High-Risk Financial stability High Risk Regulatory services/ statutory activities High Risk Administration of elections High Risk Commercial vehicle & operator’s license
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3.2 The strategic and corporate risk profile for the council in terms of its longer-term or imminent risks was as shown by the matrix below: Evaluation: Low Moderate High Very High Total LT or Imm Strategic Risks: 00 00 01 03 04 LT or Imm Corporate Risks: 00 00 05 01 06 3.3 Risks are evaluated using the Council’s standard risk matrix; this involves multiplying the likelihood of a risk occurring by its potential impact. Risks are then evaluated as either ‘low’ (green), ‘moderate’ (yellow), ‘high’ (amber) or ‘very high’ (red). 3.4 It was noted that when the above risks were agreed that service departments had revisited their top ‘significant’ operational risks (i.e. those evaluated as high or very high) but all reported that any such risks were already captured by a number of strategic and corporate risks. 3.5 The Corporate Risk Management Group has again reviewed the risk profile on behalf of the Corporate Management Team and the current information is now presented to Board for approval. 3.6 Changes since the 2021/2022 year-end: • Risks added/ escalated – no change • Risks removed/ de-escalated – there has been one risk removed; this had related to the administration of elections, particularly in light of delivering the Scottish Parliamentary and Local Government Elections in a covid context. There are now no scheduled elections until Dec 2024. • Risks with scoring/ evaluation changed – no change 3.7 With the one change at paragraph 3.6 in mind, the risk profile is now as follows: Evaluation: Low Moderate High Very High Total LT or Imm Strategic Risks: 00 00 01 03 04 LT or Imm Corporate Risks: 00 00 04 01 05 3.8 Appendix 1 provides the detail for all 4 longer-term or imminent strategic risks. Appendix 2 provides the detail for all 5 longer-term or imminent corporate risks. Appendix 3 outlines our ‘business as usual’ risk areas and how we are progressing in the development of our new ‘assurance’ model for these risks1. 1 For ‘business as usual’ risks, the council takes a different approach. BAU risks are defined as those not generally related to corporate priorities or ambitions but rather are inherent by nature of our type of organisation. Essentially these are risks we have no option but to live with and manage and monitor.
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___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial Recurring costs associated with the measures in place for each risk are considered proportionate to the level of risk, and new planned actions are also considered to be cost effective. The financial requirements to support the risks should be met within the budget of each relevant risk owner, nevertheless, any unplanned and unbudgeted cost pressures that arise in relation to any of the risks identified will be subject to review in consultation with the Director of Finance and Resources. 2. HR & Organisational Development – not relevant to report recommendations 3. Community/Council Planning – effective risk management supports the delivery of all community/ council plan outcomes 4. Legal – not relevant to report recommendations 5. Property/Assets – not relevant to report recommendations 6. Information Technology – not relevant to report recommendations 7. Equality & Human Rights – not relevant to report recommendations 8. Health & Safety – not relevant to report recommendations 9. Procurement – not relevant to report recommendations 10. Risk – as per the subject matter of this report 11. Privacy Impact – not relevant to report recommendations 12. Cosla Policy Position – not relevant to report recommendations 13. Climate Risk – not relevant to report recommendations _________________________________________________________ Author: Karen Locke, Risk Manager Tel: 07506 957 037, Email: Karen.Locke@renfrewshire.gov.uk
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3 | P a g e Appendix 1: Strategic Risks, longer-term or imminent Reshaping our place, our economy and our future Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation SRR.22.01.01 Economy Even before the COVID-19 crisis, the Scottish economy was facing several strategic challenges including climate change, Brexit and lower than average productivity. Likewise, Renfrewshire’s economy was facing challenges such as: growing the working age population; more closely aligning the education and skills provision with the needs of local employers; and achieving a strong and inclusive economy. The risk therefore is that significant economic improvement and upskilling of local workforce is difficult to progress until the current landscape improves and our investment programmes are completed? Head of Economy and Development Head of Finance & Business Services Programme Director – City Deal & Infrastructure (1) Economic Recovery Plan (2) Capital investment such as investment in housing and heritage assets; supporting Scotland’s prospectus for international investment by identifying and developing opportunities such as AMIDS and supporting local businesses seeking to export to new markets (3) Taking forward measures to counter any education learning loss (4) Developing skills interventions to address the risks of unemployment, in particular for those under 25 and making provision for people to re-skill and upskill. 05 05 25 V.High The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in significant challenges for economies across the world. The UK and Scottish Governments invested billions to support businesses through lockdowns and furlough in order to keep businesses viable and retain people in employment. Renfrewshire’s economy has well established strengths in transport (including Glasgow Airport), retail (including Braehead), manufacturing (including significant international exports) and construction. All these sectors and their wider supply chains have been impacted by the lockdown restrictions which have reduced supply and led to subdued demand for products and services. The construction sector is currently experiencing significant volatility in terms of labour, supply chains, prices, and construction inflation. This makes “building our way out of Covid” less attractive, coupled with a connected surge in construction claims and disputes. Action Codes Actions Assigned To Date Status Collaborating with NMIS and MMIC through the AMIDS Strategic Advisory Group. Programme Director - City Deal and Infrastructure 31-Dec- 2021 CESDP21 - 01 - 26 Work with partners to deliver the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District – Scotland (AMIDS). The delivery of AMIDS is now at a critical stage, between infrastructure delivery and securing the investment which will bring employment, skills and economic growth enabled by City Deal infrastructure. This context is recognised within the Renfrewshire Economic Strategy 2020-2030 where AMIDS is noted as a key component. Programme Director - City Deal and Infrastructure 31-Mar- 2022 CESDP21 - 01 - 27 Monitor benefits of City Deal Projects, including AMIDS, Clyde Waterfront and Renfrew Riverside and City Region wide employment programmes. The monitoring of benefits associated with the City Deal Projects is at an early stage however, development including new residential and commercial developments, in the areas in the vicinity of both the GAIA and CWRR projects has been accelerated as a result of the significant City Deal investment. It is estimated that circa 10% of the projected outputs and outcomes have been realised. Programme Director - City Deal and Infrastructure 31-Mar- 2022
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4 | P a g e CESIP20 - 01 - 09 Develop and coordinate the delivery of a Business Case and development opportunities for AMIDS South (Previously Paisley North/GAIA South). An Outline Business Case has been compiled for the AMIDS South project, to demonstrate the benefits that it will deliver to the local communities, the improvements in connectivity from Paisley, including linking to the significant investment in Cultural Infrastructure to AMIDS and the potential to enhance and spread the outcomes at AMIDS and in the Cultural Infrastructure to the wider communities. AMIDS South is now the recipient of Levelling Up Fund (LUF) award of £38.5m in Nov 2021 and is now progressing. Programme Director - City Deal and Infrastructure 31-Mar- 2022 Implement the Economic Recovery Plan Renfrewshire Council and its key partners are continuing to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the local economy and work towards economic recovery. An update was provided to Leadership Board in December 2021 on progressing the 14 Priority Action Areas within the Plan. Head of Economy and Development 31-Mar- 2023 CESIP20 - 01 - 20 Expand our enterprise programmes and business support to increase the number of new local business start-ups Start Up Street Paisley was slightly delayed due to COVID-19 and opened October 2020 and is now nearly at full capacity. Start Up Street Johnstone has recently launched at Station 7, and refitting work is underway at the Renfrew site ahead of a launch later this year. Plans for Start Up St in Renfrew and in Johnstone now being progressed. A new work stream around schools enterprise programmes has also commenced. Economic Development Manager 31-Mar- 2022 CESIP20 - 01 - 21 Increase business sustainability, productivity, competitiveness and growth through a revised package of incentives, business support, training and advice Scottish Government COVID-19 grants commenced to support businesses and self-employed affected by COVID-19 at end March 2020. Renfrewshire Council have launched an augmented grants and loans programme. City Region “regional offer” was prepared Grants of over £55M have been distributed to thousands of local businesses through the team with the focus on sustainability rather than growth. Economic Development Manager 31-Mar- 2022 CESIP20 - 01 - 22 Promote international trade and connectivity through supporting those businesses looking to export to new markets City Region work identified the role of Scottish Enterprise in this area and work has commenced in terms of further signposting businesses to the supports on offer. Economic Development Manager 31-Mar- 2023 CESIP20 - 01 - 23 Work with partners to enhance provision, accessibility and take up of business support services and to identify where new services are required The last year has been difficult and progression of this theme has not been as planned. The key focus was on supporting and sustaining businesses through SG grant programmes and advisory support. Close working with partners has taken place however in an attempt to be as accessible as possible to business and a range of services were altered in order to fit with the COVID requirements (e.g. training via TEAMs or ZOOM. Additional council services and grant supports were developed to meet the COVID challenges. The next year will see a need for further changes and development as we support businesses through the restart and sustain phase. Economic Development Manager 31-Mar- 2022
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5 | P a g e Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation SRR.22.01.02 Unemployment Skills and business support need to change to meet the scale of the anticipated economic challenge, otherwise there is a risk to ensuring that people are better placed to realise their potential, better able to find ways into paid work and to reduce inequality. Head of Economy and Development (1) Job creation programmes and demand led interventions (2) Focus on youth unemployment (3) Community benefit clauses (4) Enhanced and expanded employability services (5) Focused and targeted partnership working to ensure no-one is left behind 05 05 25 V.High Experience from previous recessions demonstrates that some groups of people: those in lower paid jobs; younger people; the self-employed and those on temporary contracts – tend to be more affected than others. This impact can accentuate economic and social disparities that already exist within economies such as Renfrewshire. When fewer jobs are available generally, this results in those groups listed above being furthest from accessing them. It is currently challenging to establish the impact of Brexit on unemployment due to the impact of the pandemic. There is some data to show that employment is returning to pre-pandemic levels. Actions Assigned To Date Status CESIP20 - 03 - 07 Develop and implement a new Inclusive Growth framework and action plan 2019 Inclusive Growth conference facilitated over 180 local people inputting to the development of the Inclusive Growth agenda. Inclusive Growth Framework and action plan identifies work programme to Dec 2022. Economic Development Manager 31-Dec- 2022 CESIP20 - 03 - 08 Deliver bespoke employability services targeted at the needs of inactive and unemployed priority groups (with a key focus around health) to move them closer to work. Range of pilot work now embedded into service delivery model and mainstreamed as part of service. New programmes under the NOLB banner being developed relating to disability and also care leavers. Economic Development Manager 31-Dec- 2022 CESIP20 - 01 - 24 Reduce skills gaps in the area and respond to growth sectors Renfrewshire’s Skills Action Plan was approved by Leadership Board in February 2020. This is a key action within the Economic Strategy - developing Renfrewshire’s workforce to meet the needs of our growing economy and emerging sectors is fundamental to achieving the ambitions set out in the Strategy. Economic Development Manager 31-Dec- 2022 CESIP20 - 01 - 25 Ensure a strong and active local employability partnerships to support all people to be job ready and to access employment LEP restructure took place during the year with regular meetings taking place. Local Employability Partnership will become a commissioning oversight group for new services particularly relating to No One Left Behind (NOLB). Economic Development Manager 31-Dec- 2022 CESDP21 - 01 – 02 Deliver the UK Governments Kickstart Scheme and Scottish Governments Young Persons Guarantee to significantly reduce youth unemployment across Renfrewshire. The Renfrewshire youth employment figures have been improving monthly and a recent report from ONS and Scottish Government showed that Renfrewshire had the second highest youth employment rate in Scotland in 2021 at 67.4% (54.9% is Scotland average) and (by a considerable margin) the highest youth employment growth over the last 10 years across Scotland at 21.1% (against a Scotland increase of -0.3%). This shows the level of commitment and work on the youth employment agenda over the years, but particularly the last year. The Kickstart scheme has now concluded and was very successful across Renfrewshire. The Council Kickstart Gateway placed young people into 408 roles across Renfrewshire, including 71 at Renfrewshire Council. The Renfrewshire Gateway was one of the largest in Scotland, again showing the commitment locally to support young people into work. The Young Persons Guarantee continues to perform well, and the Local Employability Partnership continue to be held up as best practice across Scotland for partnership working and commitment to improving the opportunities of local unemployed people. Economic Development Manager 31-Dec- 2022 CESDP21 - 01 - 08 Redundancy Support: Design and deliver new services to those being made redundant and to support and advise businesses forced to reduce staff during this time A PACE redundancy service at Renfrewshire Council Employability Services has been developed with a single point of contact appointed and supporting people being made redundant from June 2021. A new employability grant programme was recently approved and launched on 1st October to deliver enhanced skills across the area. Economic Development Manager 31-Dec- 2021
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6 | P a g e Tackling inequality, ensuring opportunities for all Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation SRR.22.03.03 Reducing inequalities in Renfrewshire If we don’t have a coordinated approach to tackling inequalities across Renfrewshire (including for example, the causes and consequences of poverty), this could jeopardise the effort in reducing both the short-term impacts on households but also have wider long-term consequences on attainment and health for people living on low incomes. Head of Policy & Commissioning (1) Tackling Poverty Programme (2) Attainment Challenge (3) Strong partnership working (e.g. Community Planning Partnership (CPP). Advice Partnership, Empowering Communities Forum, Improving Life Chances, CPP Board (4) CPP have identified priorities e.g. Alcohol and Drugs, Social isolation etc. (5) Social Renewal Plan has been developed through a programme of analysis, research, and engagement. (6) Neighbourhood hub model in place to support local needs on a partnership basis in response to COVID 05 05 25 V.High The Council plays a key role in tackling inequalities and providing the best possible services to our communities, particularly those who are experiencing the poorest outcomes. As well as our focus on health and wellbeing, we are also committed to support vulnerable individuals, groups or communities through early intervention and prevention, responding to poverty, supporting routes to employment as well as dealing with welfare reforms. The impact of COVID-19 is likely to have exacerbated existing inequalities in terms of for example educational attainment, health, poverty and mental health. There will be a significant focus on ensuring that people receive the economic and wellbeing support that is needed, with a real opportunity to work in a different way, and to tackle some of the existing inequalities across communities as we do this. In the short term, significant focus is on supporting food insecurity and supporting people on low incomes to maximise income and seek advice with income and debt management. Action Codes Actions Assigned To Date Status CESIP20 - 02 - 01 Work with communities to develop local action plans to tackle the issues people care about most Work with Local Partnerships was delayed during 2020, with the primary focus on the distribution of grants in September and October 2020. In early 2021, in order to support the continued development of their Local Priorities, Local Partnerships were briefed on the progress of the Community Impact Assessment, particularly the findings of the Public Services Panel by Local Partnership area. The development of the Local Priorities into local Action Plans will resume later in 2022. A new action has been developed to reflect this. Strategic Partnerships and Inequalities Manager 31-Mar- 2022 CESDP21 - 03 - 04 Work with local equalities led community groups and employees to deliver progress against the six equalities outcomes Following engagement, draft equality outcomes were agreed by Council and published in March 2021. These will be subject to further engagement during 2021 and 2022 in light of COVID. Strategic Partnerships and Inequalities Manager 31-Mar- 2023 CESDP21 - 03 - 05 Develop and publish Local Child Poverty Action Report The Local Child Poverty Action report was agreed by Leadership Board in June 2021 and subsequently published. Child poverty has been identified as a particular area of focus for the Community Planning Partnership, and an initial scoping session for partners to identify next steps around child poverty was held in September 2021. Strategic Partnerships and Inequalities Manager 30-Jun- 2020 CESIP20 - 03 - 05 Promote ethical procurement and work with our suppliers to ensure that they do not use exploitative labour During the financial year 2020/21 all tenders were evaluated in accordance with the requirements of legislation, statutory guidance and good practice The procurement team supported the Council’s commitment to the Modern Strategic Commercial and Procurement Manager 31-Mar- 2023
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7 | P a g e Slavery Charter and all Works contracts provided a link to the Council’s Statement in Relation to the Procurement of Construction Contracts (The Construction Charter) which promotes fair and ethical treatment of the workforce and supply chain. CESDP21 - 03 - 01 Implement the recommendations of the Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drugs Commission The final report of the Alcohol and Drugs Commission was presented to the Council and Community Planning Partnership in December 2020. An update on progress was provided to the Leadership Board on 15 September. 12 projects are currently being supported by the £2m funding allocated by Council to support the work of the commission, with £1.34m of funding allocated to date. This work is being overseen by a programme board chaired by the Chief Executive Head of Policy & Commissioning 31 Mar 2023 CESIP20 - 03 - 09 Promote fair working practices including payment of the living wage across the Council’s supply base. Include Fair Work as a standard agenda item at supplier review meetings to be considered alongside all other contract management matters Fair Work practices are scored as standard in all our contracts, these actively promote payment of the Living Wage. Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Community Benefits and Workforce Development are included in the KPIs available via the Contract and Supplier Management (CSM) Module on PCS-T, the procurement team are committed to rolling this CSM Module out across all strategic contracts. Strategic Commercial and Procurement Manager 31-Mar- 2022 CESDP21 - 03 - 02 Develop the Social Renewal Plan, including a Community Impact Assessment, and reviewing existing work around poverty through work with Poverty Alliance/Get Heard programme of engagement. Some early areas of focus have been identified and a number of projects designed to address financial insecurity and poverty are in delivery, including around food and fuel insecurity, fair work and income maximisation. An update on the plan was brought to Leadership Board in December 2021. Head of Policy & Commissioning 31-Mar- 2023 CESDP21 - 01 - 20 Support Digital Inclusion, as part of the Digital Strategy The Service is leading on a number of workstreams. In terms of the smart data workstream, work is currently underway to map the use of data across the Council and to identify early opportunities to progress our approach to data management and analysis. The Digital Citizen workstream is progressing well with the establishment of a new Citizen Voices group and proposals being developed include a place based digital inclusion pilot in partnership with SCVO. Free Online Safety Ambassador training has been offered out to the community and staff in partnership with GetSafeOnline. The service is a part of the Digital Skills and Leadership workstream working towards upskilling our workforce with plans to provide more digital skills training, self-serve resources online and recruit staff digital champions. The service also co-ordinates all activities relating to the Connecting Scotland programme with almost 2000 devices secured to date to support vulnerable people living across communities. Head of Policy & Commissioning 31-Mar- 2023
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8 | P a g e Creating a sustainable Renfrewshire for all to enjoy Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation SRR.22.04.04 Climate, Sustainability & Adaptability The climate emergency brings a risk to Council and its communities in relation to increased extreme weather as well as food insecurity. We need to focus on mitigation and adaptation, and ensure a just transition so no one is left behind and none is disadvantaged in the transition to net zero. The Council would need to take action and support those most disadvantaged. A key risk is that the Council is not in control of all of the levers, and cannot deliver everything required in isolation, so there is a risk that others do not contribute to meet the 2030 target. Head of Policy & Commissioning (Climate Change Working Group) (1) The Council has used the Climate Change Assessment Tool – helps public sector organisations in Scotland self-evaluate their performance under the public sector duties of the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 (2) The Carbon Management Plan has specific objectives to reduce emissions and these are included in other key documents such as the Council Plan (3) Implementation of the Corporate Asset Management Strategy ensures that property assets are managed effectively and efficiently through the provision of relevant management and performance information (4) The Energy Management Team: ensure energy management initiatives are aligned to the capital investment programme and corporate asset strategy to optimise use of property estate and reduce overall running costs and energy consumption levels. Promote reductions in energy usage and advise employees and residents about energy efficiency (5) Through the Procurement Unit, sustainability and community benefits are considered in the development of all contract strategies (6) Currently developing a plan for the Council, and Renfrewshire, to achieve net zero, to be published in 2022 (7) The Climate Change Sub-Committee of the Leadership Board - its work programme, and the appointment of a Lead Officer to lead the Programme (8) Launch of the Climate change action fund – to support a range of initiatives/feasibility to test new ways of working and to be ready to lever external funding (9) Climate Panel / Partnership Forum to support engagement and ensure all voices are heard, including traditionally underrepresented groups (10) Community Climate Fund – fund for community organisations to enable behaviour change and local green projects to make our communities more resilient 04 04 16 High Renfrewshire Council declared a Climate Emergency on 27 June 2019 and has established a Climate Change Sub-Committee to lead on this work. The actions required are potentially complex and multi-faceted, and need to be supported by organisations across all sectors, and in partnership with local communities. Actions include: pledging to work proactively with others to make Renfrewshire net zero by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions; and assisting communities to become more resilient to the impacts of global warming, particularly to flooding and to drought. Action Codes New Actions Assigned To Date Status CESDP21 - 04 - 02 Lead the coordination of Council-wide efforts to respond to the climate emergency and support the work of the Climate Emergency Working Group. The Climate Change Sub-Committee of the Leadership Board was established in October 2020 to provide oversight and scrutiny of the Council’s activities on climate change, and specifically its progress in terms of meeting the target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030. The Sub-Committee met most recently on 17 November 2021 and considered: • Progress updates in relation to the overall Climate Emergency work programme being progressed by services • Initial findings from the Climate Change survey Head of Policy & Commissioning 31-Mar- 2022
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9 | P a g e • Proposals to support the establishment of a new Community Climate Fund • A presentation from Children’s Services on the learning and teaching that is taking place across Renfrewshire on climate issues, with particular input from the children and staff of St Margaret’s Primary School. • A presentation from the Head of Economy and Development on climate change and planning policy. • Support for a National Climate Ambition statement that organisations across Scotland were asked to endorse prior to COP 26, following a National Leadership Summit in October 2021 • The Council’s Annual Public Sector Bodies Climate Duty report for 2020/21 • Key priorities to be progressed over the next 6 month period by officers. To support this Programme a lead officer has been appointed, and in 2022 the absolute focus will be on producing the plan for net zero for the Renfrewshire Council area. The first action for this will be to determine the baseline emissions for both the Council and the council area in order to produce a route map for net zero by 2030.
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10 | P a g e Appendix 2: Corporate Risks, longer-term or imminent Working together to improve outcomes Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation CRR22.05.05 Financial Sustainability If significant cost pressures are not successfully planned for and managed effectively over the medium to longer term, this could jeopardise the financial sustainability of the council and result in a significant impact on availability and quality of front- line services and capital investment resources. Head of Finance & Business Services (1) Revised Medium to Longer Term Financial Planning Strategy reassessed the various risks to the Council’s short, medium- and longer-term financial sustainability. Refreshed report to Council on 30 September 2021 outlined the immediate financial concerns and plans to address these, utilising flexibilities agreed by the Scottish Government; however as the position continues to develop and evolve close monitoring will be required to ensure Council manages costs in the short term and fully appreciates the longer term consequences of actions taken to address short-term risks. Committee reports of this nature cover a wide range of current and future financial and economic factors e.g. Strategic Economic and National Policy Context, Cost Pressures, Pressures on Income and Mitigation Strategies to deal with such uncertainties. (2) A well-developed and embedded budget planning, budget setting and budgetary control system is in place throughout the organisation and this informs members and officers regarding financial performance and stability. This facilitates robust and transparent decision making and incorporates an escalation process with regards budget management issues which may arise. (3) In conjunction with the medium to longer term financial outlook and the Council’s continued “Right for Renfrewshire (R4R) Programme”, Renfrewshire Council has been pro-active in planning for the future by identifying and agreeing a planned release of resources. This is required to meet emerging budget pressures and is utilised in conjunction with the Council’s long- term debt smoothing strategy to support the release of planned savings over a number of years; however, the pandemic has interrupted the planned delivery of savings under RFR, so the full programme has been reviewed. However it remains the case that savings will continue to require be generated at scale in order to ensure the ongoing financial sustainability of the Council. (4) There is close financial monitoring of the agreed savings to ensure they are delivered within the agreed timescales or where this is not now possible, to understand and reschedule planned delivery to achieve the associated objectives. Monitoring is undertaken via a combination of financial and operational measures, actions and related update reports. (5) Regular updates and bespoke reports are provided to CMT and the Council with regards the national fiscal position, likely developments and the impact on the council through close liaison 05 05 25 V.High Financial recovery from Covid19 and ongoing Brexit impacts - Rebuilding of financial resilience following unprecedented costs incurred in responding to the pandemic - Anticipated reduced income from NDR/CT over the medium term as full economic implications of the pandemic hit local businesses and communities - Pricing volatility and shortage of labour and materials Best value report - Recommendation in Best Value report to prioritise how services need to be provided in future to be funded from within available resources. Cost & Income pressures - Future grant settlements and the level of funding available. - Implications of national economic policy choices to protect certain services from real terms reductions in funding such as the Police and NHS - Future Local Government pay settlements and non- payroll related inflation - Demographics & demand pressures, such as an ageing population with increased associated service demands, and increases in demand for children’s social care - Implications of welfare reform & poverty levels, including growth in Council Tax Reduction caseload. - Reductions in income from fee generating services such as local planning and parking; implications of the
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11 | P a g e national economic recovery and associated risks/uncertainty in economic factors e.g. interest rates. Liability for predecessor organisations - Removal of limitation period for historic child abuse - Redress for Survivors (Historical Child Abuse in Care) (Scotland) Act/ Local Government financial contribution with national groups e.g. CIPFA DoFs, COSLA and the Scottish Government. This liaison remains critical in ensuring the Council is aware of potential financial developments and is in a position to influence these. (6) Levels of and use of reserves has been a key tool in addressing the costs of the pandemic, therefore the planned use of and rebuilding of reserves in the medium term, and the Council’s Capital Investment and Treasury Management Strategy, are key to ensuring ongoing financial sustainability. Other controls (7) Reports and publications from Audit Scotland in relation to the Local Government financial outlook, financial planning and related developments and improvements are supplemented with a Renfrewshire context report, with both reports being submitted to the Council's Audit Risk and Scrutiny Board. Audit Scotland representatives have an open invite to these policy board meetings. (8) Utilisation and energy consumption has clarified priority areas for investment in the Council’s estate and this has supported and informed investment decisions and the formulation of the Council’s Capital and Revenue budgets. Action Codes Linked Actions Assigned To Due Date Status (Continual Monitoring) Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation CRR22.05.06 Cyber Attack While the council’s cyber protections are robust, cyber- attacks are becoming more and more frequent and sophisticated, and the council could be subject to an attack such as that on SEPA, with the risk of significant impact on council service provision. CMT For security reasons, controls are not published in the public domain 04 04 16 High Context: ▪ Review of the council’s cyber environment ▪ Ever increasing criminal cyber activity ▪ Increasing reliance on electronic systems Action Codes Linked Actions Latest Note Assigned To Due Date Status As agreed by the Corporate Management Team
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12 | P a g e Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation CRR22.05.07 Financial Stability If significant short-term costs and income losses are not closely monitored and understood, this could destabilise the finances of the council to an extent beyond the financial resilience of the Council, resulting in a need for immediate cost control measures, or short-term savings which have an immediate impact on service delivery Head of Finance & Business Services (1) Initial cost/income loss information across both General Fund and HRA collated to inform national position across local government has been built on and refined over a number of iterations, and continues to be updated as informed by national developments (2) Cost data gathered has included key partners in Renfrewshire Leisure and the Renfrewshire IJB, as well as smaller bodies and other delivery partners (3) Budget monitoring reports to Policy Boards have been adapted to include costs and income loss specific to the pandemic in order to highlight costs incurred and those expected over the remainder of the current financial year. Budget reports have also been adapted to focus on the forecast year end outturn position as opposed to the historic periodic position (4) Fundamental review of the Right for Renfrewshire programme has been undertaken in order to recalculate potential cost savings in year and to reprofile agreed savings, the delivery of which has been interrupted by the pandemic (5) Expert treasury management advice sought in relation to the potential for the debt smoothing strategy to deliver any further savings in the short term which would support the Council’s immediate financial stability; along with consideration of other technical accounting measures which may be utilised following agreement with the Scottish Government and COSLA (6) Clear analysis of the Council’s reserves position and potential for reprioritisation or redirection; including the development of plans to rebuild financial resilience of the Council in the medium term (7) Ongoing discussion with CMT to agree the financial consequences of the pandemic for each service and how these will be managed; including the use of financial flexibilities permitted by the Scottish Government in the use of existing allocated resources (8) Review of capital plan and ongoing projects to ensure clear understanding of phasing of potential spend. 03 05 15 High Context: Imminent shorter-term risk for financial stability, recognising the immediate financial situation of the Council (note: the medium to longer-term financial position is captured under financial ‘sustainability’) Action Codes Linked Actions Latest Note Assigned To Due Date Status
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13 | P a g e Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation CRR22.05.08 Impact on Regulatory Services due to Covid- 19 and EU withdrawal. There is a risk, due to the shifting legislative landscape and rapidly increasing demands on Regulatory staff arising from COVID-19 and the EU Exit on 1 January 2021 that statutory duties may not be able to be met. Head of Communitie s and Public Protection. (1) Continue with the Service restructuring as part of the Right for Renfrewshire programme. In particular, the re-modelling to ensure a strong and resilient workforce moving forward. This will also support the retention of skilled and qualified employees within the service. (2) Additional resource requested as part of financial planning process to support the service restructure process. This includes the request for £250k “unavoidables” to allow retention of key qualified employees to cover both Brexit and Covid duties. (3) Working with REHIS, Society of Chief Environmental Health Officers for Scotland and University West of Scotland, Renfrewshire Council has taken on a student from September 2021 as part of the first cohort of new trainees under a new Environmental Health course. This will lead to a larger number of EHOs to come through and replace an ageing workforce. (4) Full complement of staff who are authorised to work on all aspects of Covid-19. (5) Wider staff being trained in functions to release EHO/TSO to focus on Covid-19 or EU withdrawal work at Airport. (6) Discussions with Glasgow Airport to understand impacts of changes at Glasgow Airport from EU withdrawal. (7) Discussions with DEFRA and Food Standards Scotland on Import/Exports duties 03 05 15 High Context: Increased demands have been placed on Regulatory Services (Environmental Health and Trading Standards) due to Covid-19 and EU withdrawal. Resource and funding will be required to meet the current demands and ensure that statutory duties are not impacted. Linked Actions Update Assigned To Due Date Status CRR20.05.04a Training and authorisation of staff for Covid-19 related activity On-going training and updates following changes to legislation and guidance. Additional permanent staff (Environmental Health Compliance Officers) recruited from Scottish Government Covid funding to manage some additional workload. Authorisations review with Scheme of Delegations being reviewed early in 2022. Communities and Regulatory Manager 31-Mar- 2022 CRR20.05.04b Sitting on EU withdrawal working group (Imports and Exports) with regards to Export Health Certificates and impacts Regular meetings with appropriate bodies to understand landscape for EU withdrawal and impacts on Renfrewshire. Communities and Regulatory Manager 31-Mar- 2023
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14 | P a g e Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation CRR21.05.09 Administration of Elections REMOVED after LGE 2022. Administering elections in the context of a global pandemic brings specific challenges that if not carefully managed could impact on the ability to meet deadlines and provide a covid- safe environment. Elections Management Board (1) Guidance from the Electoral Management Board for Scotland is always followed closely (2) Contingency Management Packs are developed as standard for all electoral events (3) Continual collaboration between Elections Management Team, Civil Contingencies, Risk Management and Health and Safety Teams to anticipate and plan for required mitigations (4) Dynamic Risk Assessment where required (5) Capacity of supply chain monitored 03 05 15 Context: Local Government Elections in May 2022 and the potential for by-elections (while Covid-19 conditions persist). Challenges include: ▪ ensuring a covid-safe environment for staff, candidates and electorate ▪ potential higher levels of absence across the Election Management Team and polling staff due to illness or requirements to self-isolate ▪ Legislative changes likely which will have a significant impact on the conduct of elections Action Codes Linked Actions Latest Note Assigned To Date Status To be determined as any legislative changes emerge Context Risk Statement Owned by Current Controls Likelihood Impact Evaluation CRR22.05.09 Commercial vehicle and operator licence compliance Renfrewshire Council requires its fleet of vehicles to be effectively managed, otherwise there could be sustained impact in several areas including community care, housing maintenance and repairs, streetscene operations and waste collection. Head of Operations and Infrastructure Governance (1) Training and Compliance Officer in post monitoring compliance performance and linking to inspection activity (2) Monitoring and tracking of vehicle servicing (3) Tachograph analysis system ensuring monitoring and compliance of driving staff (4) Operator Licencing Awareness Training (OLAT) conducted for all operational service managers (5) Full compliance audit report focusing on Operator Licence and Compliance completed in 2019 by Freight Transport Association (FTA) (6) Regular monitoring of Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) updates and controls (7) Quarterly attendance at Logistics UK ( formerly FTA ) and APSE Transport boards Operational (8) Reduction in average age of Council Fleet (9) Workshop equipment and tooling improvements 03 05 15 High Context: The council’s vehicle fleet, managed by Environment & Infrastructure Services, comprises around 500 vehicles including heavy and large goods vehicles, light vans and cars. The council implements a range of measures to ensure ongoing vehicle operator licence compliance. Action Codes Linked Actions Latest Note Assigned To Date Status (Presently monitoring compliance until such times as the risk can be reduced)
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15 | P a g e Appendix 3: Business-as-Usual Risks The council has 12 areas of risk that it currently considers to be business-as-usual risk; those not generally related to corporate priorities or ambitions but rather they are inherent by nature of our type of organisation and services we deliver. The table below sets out what our business-as-usual risk areas are (in no specific order), and what they cover. BAU RISK AREA ENCOMPASSING BAU RISK AREA ENCOMPASSING 1. Community & public safety Child and adult protection Serious and organised crime (external) 2. Asset management Statutory compliance Arrangements for void properties Fleet and other infrastructure ICT hardware and software assets and responsibilities 3. People wellbeing & development Staff health and wellbeing Training and development Corporate and local induction 4. Information handling GDPR compliance Information asset management Information security Records management 5. Health, safety & managing adverse events Staff incident recording RIDDOR arrangements Incident monitoring and trends analysis 6. Programme and project management Governance Compliance with industry standards/ adopted methods 7. Organisation resilience Business continuity: - Staffing resource - ICT outage - Facility issue - Cyber security 8. Partnership management Partnership registers Agreements Liabilities 9. Financial control and governance Authorities and delegation Budgeting and accounting Conflict and whistleblowing Insider threat and crime Counter fraud 10. Service performance monitoring Trends analysis Links to risk management and service improvement 11. Procurement and contract management Standing orders Roles and responsibilities Monitoring & Performance Mgt 12. Complaints, comments and claims handling Compliance Trends analysis Links to service improvement The above areas of risk are presently being scoped out for a new assurance model and progress on this new development will be reported to the Board in the Risk Management Annual Report 2021/22.