Issue - meetings

To receive and note a report on the Council’s Risk Exposure to Wider Externalities and Impact from the Internal Audit Manager.

The Internal Audit Manager presented a report to the Committee on the impact of wider externalities to the Council, its operations, and local communities as well as a wider externalities and impact risk assessment.

The Internal Audit Manager drew attention to the two major externalities presenting significant impact; the macro-economic environment (which was referred to earlier in the meeting) and the current geo-political uncertainty (war in Ukraine).  These wider externalities had a particular impact on three broad risk categories: economic activity and prosperity, the Council’s financial position in relation to sustainability and resilience, and housing and communities.  The refreshed risk assessment noted no movement from the previous review in November 2022 and no changes to report in terms of RAG ratings or positioning of risks on the risk matrix.

The context for the report was interest rates increases, little or no growth in the economy, rising unemployment, long term uncertainty regarding the macro-economic environment, with the cost-of-living crisis continuing to present increased demand on Council services.  Members noted local control measures and mitigating actions to alleviate pressures and further actions are set out in the last column of the risk matrix.

The Committee discussed reducing the overlap between this report and the Corporate Risk Management Report.  The Committee agreed to combine the two reports and to restructure some of the reporting in the Corporate Risk Register.

The Committee resolved

1.     to note the report, and

2.     to note the close linkages and common themes between this report and the Corporate Risk Management Report referred to earlier in the meeting, and

3.     to agree to combine this report and the corporate risk register, and

4.    to update the forward plan to reflect the changes agreed.