The Risk and Insurance Manager outlined a report to confirm to Members the process behind the development of a revised Corporate Risk Management Policy. The report set out the factors that had influenced its development, described the main proposed changes from the current document and confirmed a series of actions needed for its implementation.

Members heard how the Council has to deliver its objectives in the face of a complex and increasingly dynamic environment and hat the uncertainty created by that environment presents it with both opportunities and threats It was explained to Members that the purpose of a Risk Management Policy is to set out an organisation’s overall attitude to risk and uncertainty to confirm its commitment to managing risk to provide a high level view of the risk management process itself and to set out corporate requirements around how risk is to be handled.

The Risk and Insurance Manager informed the Committee that under the governance structure for risk management any update to the Policy is considered by the Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) then by this Committee, before being put to the Cabinet for formal adoption. Members were advised that several significant developments with implications for the Council’s approach to managing risk had taken place in the past year, including: the adoption of the Wirral Plan, a new Operating Model, a revised Transformation Programme with improved governance arrangements and a move towards integrated reporting.

Proposed changes to the Risk Management Policy were set out in the appendix to the report and summarised within the report. Next steps and relevant risks were explained to Members.

Resolved – That

1)  the draft Risk Management Policy be approved and referred to Cabinet for formal adoption on behalf of the Council; and

2)  regular reports on progress towards implementation of the risk management action plan be brought to this Committee.