Agenda item

L Morris presented a report which provided an update on the MCA’s corporate risks which had been devised and reviewed over the previous months.  The Management Board had re-considered the Corporate Risk Register during a meeting devoted to the topic of governance in February 2022.  The latest version of the Corporate Risk Register was attached at Appendix A to the report.

The report provided the Committee with a narrative summary setting out key activity the MCA was taking against the high and medium/high corporate risks.  At Appendix B, was the proposed final version of the Risk Management Framework document including a Risk Appetite Statement which had been prepared following a request from the Committee.  A heatmap and bar chart had also been created, again at the request of the Committee, and was included in the body of the report.

Since the paper had been written an announcement had been made that additional recovery funding would be available for bus and light rail, and an additional risk had been added in relation to the Adult Education Budget.  At the time of writing, supplier monitoring visits were being undertaken to provide forecasts for the end of the year. The current forecast for this risk was medium/high and the Committee was asked to note this.  It was also noted that the Education, Skills and Employability Board had recently received a performance report with regard to the Adult Education Budget.

Cllr Richards queried how much risk there was around the potential for policy change after the election of the new Mayor, and what was being done to prepare for this.

D Smith replied that there was potential for significant change.  Once nominations had closed, candidates would issue their manifestos which officers could then analyse to understand priorities and prepare a position for each candidate.

Alongside this there was the MCA Board made up of the four local authority Leaders who had already set policies which were expected to remain and provide some continuity.

Cllr Richards suggested that the new Mayor be invited to a meeting of the ASRC.  This was agreed.

Action:  The newly elected Mayor to be invited to attend an ASRC meeting. 

Cllr Auckland commented on the ‘red’ risks across bus and tram which were dependent on government funding, the mitigations of consultations before changes to bus services and the position of the reserves to support services beyond October when government emergency funding ceased.  T Taylor replied that Operators had to formally give 70 days’ notice of any statutory changes to their network, officers had already been sighted on and had discussions regarding proposed service changes.

With regard to the reserve, G Sutton informed the Committee that the £7m reserve was there to provide a bridge to a commercially sustainable network and was not a sustainable source of long-term funding.

In answer to a question from A Marshall, L Morris informed the Committee that it was the intention that the MCA Board would receive an annual report on the Framework documents including the full position on risks.

It was noted that the risks presented to the Committee in the future was in development and would become clearer as the portfolio of risks was built up.

D Smith commented that it was in everyone’s interests that the Committee had everything it needed to assist the organisation to identify and address risks.  The situation would be kept under review.

RESOLVED – That the Committee note the report and note the inclusion of the additional risk around the Adult Education Budget.