Issue - meetings

Committee is asked to:

a.    Note progress with the development of a new Risk Management Framework and Policy based on a governance assurance approach to risk management.

b.    Review the worked examples shown in Appendix A, which outline how the Council’s key areas of governance will be addressed under these new arrangements within the revised approach, and

c.    Provide comments on any suggested improvements necessary to provide assurance that key governance areas of the Council are addressed effectively.

 The Committee received the Risk Management/Corporate Risk Register (new format) from the Deputy Chief Executive.

The Committee were advised that as part of the ongoing improvements to the Council’s Risk Management arrangements, the authority was moving to a governance assurance-based approach to its Risk Management Framework and Policy. The purpose of the new approach was to provide assurance to the Committee that the Council’s governance arrangements were effective and were implemented together with practical actions to provide and maintain that confidence and assurance. 

The Committee were advised that the change to a governance assurance approach, assisted by Rob Winter, ARGC Ltd formed part of a range of improvements to the Council’s risk management arrangements following comments that had been received in several external reviews. 

The Committee were requested to review the examples provided which were a work in progress, in Appendix A and the proposed Assurance Level tracker in Appendix B and to suggest any improvements to the Corporate Risk Register prior to formal adoption of the new Risk Management Framework and Policy to be presented for approval by the Corporate Police and Resources Committee scheduled on 19 January 2026. 

Due to the tight timescale, it was requested that the Committee email reflections/comments to the Deputy Chief Executive and/or Rob Winters to enable comments to be embedded prior to the next meeting of the Audit Committee.

The Committee referred to the benefits of an IT application to be able to trace required documents in a timely manner and stressed the importance of a clear, transparent process for the adding and removal of items to the register.

The Committee resolved to:

1.    Note the progress with the development of a new Risk Management Framework and Policy based on a governance assurance approach to risk management,

2.    Review the worked examples shown in Appendix A which outline how the Council’s key areas of governance will be addressed under these new arrangements within the revised approach; and

3.    Provide comments on any suggested improvements necessary to provide assurance that key governance areas of the Council are addressed effectively.