The report of the Head of Audit and Risk Management is enclosed.

The Committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer which discussed the Council’s corporate governance and risk management arrangements, the control environment and associated anti-fraud and anti-corruption arrangements. It included a copy of the latest refresh of the Corporate Risk Register and an overview of the approach being taken to respond to inflationary finance risks, at the committee’s earlier request.

The Committee was invited to consider the assurance provided in the report, which made specific reference to:

• The context of recent updates to the Corporate Risk Register, influenced by a fundamental rewrite of the risks and the description of response actions which itself had arisen due to a re-evaluation of the degree those risks interact.
• A summary of risks agreed at the Senior Management meeting held in September 2022 (the Corporate Risk Register (CRR) was appended to the report)
• A discussion about Inflationary risk

In response to a question about climate change targets, the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer explained the reasons behind the risk being split and the Council’s approach to deliver high return / low risk interventions as part of the agreed Action Plan. With regard to actions to meet cross city targets, she referred to the Climate Change Partnership Framework which sets out the scale of action required and those that sit within the agency of the Council or local partners. She added that the Council would continue to seek solutions use its influence in terms of lobbying and pressure regarding policy change requirements that sit within the agency of central government.

There was a discussion about risk management of a further global pandemic. The Head of Audit and Risk Management referred to the involvement of the Local Resilience Forum as well as a Greater Manchester and city-wide response to business continuity, with appropriate planning around response. However those risks would be cross-referenced.

A member noted the risk referred to in relation to scale and type of housing in the city and requested further information and assurance on how those risks are being managed. The Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer referred to pressures on the availability of temporary accommodation in the city some if which directly affected the Council’s ability to develop services associated with homelessness. She however asked the Committee to note that aspects of provision did not sit wholly with the Council which added to a degree of complexity around the matter.

With regard to the Cost of Living Crisis, the Chair commented that implications associated with Risks 6 and 7 in the report are given appropriate focus assessed in preparation for the next review of the Register. The Deputy Chief Executive advised that the review would reflect the impact on service delivery implications as well as the impacts residents (a number of whom were employees) and mitigations associated with the Anti Poverty Workforce Strategies that would be in place.

The Chair thanked officers for the helpful and informative report and requested that should risks in relation to the implications of the Cost of Living Crisis significantly increase, a further update to the Audit Committee should be brought for members’ views.

Decision

To note the report and in doing so, request that should risks in relation to the implications of the Cost of Living Crisis significantly increase, a further update shall be brought to the Committee.