Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Corporate Manager Executive Support Unit.

The Chief Finance Officer presented the report which advised Members of the Council’s risk management progress and the updated Corporate Risk Register, which the Audit and Governance Committee is responsible for monitoring and reviewing the Councils risks and reporting all new and updated risks to the Corporate Manager (Executive Support).

He informed Members that one new risk had been added to the register for Topshop Lock, which required work to the sheet piling following a survey by Devon County Council. The cost could be £500,000, for which a bid has been submitted, but should the canal breach, the cost of repairs would cost in excess of £1m. Urgent action was taking place, with £100,000 set aside and were waiting for quotation on the concrete filling and work would progress as soon as possible, which may mitigate against the need to spend a further £500,000.

In response to Members’ questions, the Chief Finance Officer clarified that

·         Lock repairs were required to iron works installed 25 years ago, and now following a review, there was an urgent need to make repairs;

·         South West Water were looking to reclassify some of their sewers to become culverted watercourses, with the responsibility and maintenance cost to be covered by landowners which would include homeowners and the Council;

·         There were new requirements for the Councils information management, in which if it was not accessed correctly, it would impact on reputation with PSN, however no incident had occurred so it was not specific;

·         Public liability insurance covered issues where the Council had been negligent

·         The likely income from the leisure centre was based on an assessment, which took into account for alternative provision and sensitivity analyses for tenders would be monitored;

·         He would provide the Chair a date for the next South West Water meeting once it had been re-scheduled;

·         It was good practice to ensure all dates that fall into the same month as an Audit and Governance meeting ave a detailed outcome. He would ensure that the register was updated to ensure its accuracy. The Chief Executive & Growth Director confirmed that this had been discussed with the new Directors.

The Audit and Governance Committee noted the Corporate Risk Register.