Issue - meetings

The committee is requested to note the current strategic risk register, the high scoring programme board and organisational risks, the internal controls and mitigation actions in place to manage those risks and to raise any issues or concerns. Appendix 1b is confidential* and is available to members of the committee and relevant officers only.

*Note Exempt category Para 3: Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)

Mrs Belenger presented the report reminding the committee of the exempt element of the report at Appendix 1(b) on pages 78 to 79.

The committee was reminded that the Corporate Management Team considered the council’s strategic risks quarterly and this committee considered them bi-annually following review by the Strategic Risk Group. The Risk Management Strategy and Policy would be reviewed following the management restructure in early 2018.

The committee made the following comments and received answers to questions as follows:

·         Queried the high workload in the planning team and plans to alleviate it. Additional resources were being recruited to the team to mitigate against that risk.

·         Queried the reduction in the recycling score and whether there was evidence that renewed activities had worked. There had been a major drive in the revised recycling strategy and action plan. The EU would fine the UK and not the individual council for not reaching the target of 50% and obviously the country’s exit from the EU would change the likelihood of any fine. We are working as a county to review initiatives; waste going into landfill was a key priority for WSCC. This was a corporate priority and key performance indicators were constantly being reviewed.

·         Queried whether councillors were the weak link in terms of data protection issues. An officer working group had been considering the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which would take effect from May 2018. An assessment of the information members held would be carried out and training provided to members as part of that process.

It was proposed and seconded and supported that the following resolution should be passed to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during the consideration of Appendix 1(b) - Cyber Attack across ICT estate.

RESOLVED

That the public and press be excluded from the consideration of the reports and their appendices for Appendix 1(b) – Cyber Attack across the ICT Estate on the grounds that it is likely that there would be in respect of that item a disclosure to the public of ‘exempt information’ of the description specified in Paragraph 3 (information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information)) of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 and because in all the circumstances of the case the public interest in maintaining the exemption of that information outweighs the public interest in disclosing that information.

Following discussion of this item, the committee voted to return to normal public business and took the following resolutions.

RESOLVED

1)      That the current strategic risk register and the internal controls in place, together with the associated action plans to manage those risks, be noted.

2)      That the current high scoring programme board and organisational risks, together with the associated mitigation actions in place, be noted.