Agenda item

To consider a progress report on individual risks identified in the Council’s Strategic Risk Register.

The Committee considered a progress report in relation to the individual risks identified on the Council’s Strategic Risk Register, specifically in relation to those risks regarding Inadequate Change Management. The Committee discussed plans to control and mitigate the risks with the strategic risk owners, Mr Jack, Chief Executive and Mr Thompson, Director of Resources.

Mr Thompson advised the Committee that over the past few years there had been numerous examples of how change had been adequately managed. He highlighted the property rationalisation that had been undertaken that had resulted in numerous services being brought together at Bickerstaffe Number One and enabling cultured transformation.

Mr Thompson explained that past success was not necessarily an indication of future ability to manage change adequately and he highlighted the potential difficulties that could be created in the event of unexpected changes as a result of legal rulings. He provided the Committee with the recent example of NHS Trusts applying for mandatory rate relief. In such an event, the local authority would suffer a significant decrease in revenue.

Mr Thompson advised the Committee that he considered the risk of Inadequate Change Management to be high and noted that the Council now had fewer members of staff than it did in 2000, yet now provided significantly more services.

Mr Jack identified a number of sub risks for the Committee. The sub risks included national changes and unfunded new burdens falling on the local authority, such as the localisation of business rates, which would increase the risk of a reduction in revenue should a business within the town fail. The Committee discussed changes to social care brought about by changes in the Care Act and Mr Jack also noted the increased level of scrutiny over safeguarding services, for which budget cuts could not be an excuse for service failings or inadequacies.

Mr Jack also advised the Committee of the implications arising from the various schools in Blackpool undergoing a process of becoming academies. He reported that the funding received by the local authority per pupil had decreased significantly, but that there still remained a number of statutory duties the local authority was responsible for, relating to school improvement. He noted the work that was being undertaken by the Blackpool Challenge Board in an attempt to drive school improvement across all schools in the town.

As a further example of a change that posed a risk to the Council, Mr Jack advised the Committee that the increase to the National Minimum wage would cost approximately £3.5 million in Adult Social Care alone.

In response to questions from the Committee, Mr Jack advised that, as part of plans to mitigate against the risk of inadequate change management, an aim was to encourage greater cooperation between various agencies within the public sector. Members were provided with the example of the Vanguard programme that would change the way primary care was provided across the Fylde coast, to illustrate how an improved partnership approach could be achieved.

The Committee questioned what an acceptable level of risk was for Inadequate Change Management. It was explained that the risk would always remain high due to the inherent unpredictability of the risk. Ms Greenhalgh advised the Committee that the Strategic Risk Register was a working document and the level of risk score was reviewed every six months.

Background papers:  None