Risk Management Scheme
This policy was adopted by the Council at its meeting held on 27th February 2019 – Minute Ref. 19/27b. To review annually.
The management of risk is an important part of the Council’s work; making sure that the people who use our facilities are safe, giving the staff the protection to get on with their work, and protecting the assets that the Council hold. Risk assessment happens all the time, but once a year, the Council brings the information together and collates it in a single document.
Risk assessment is a systematic general examination of working conditions, workplace activities and environmental factors that will enable the Parish Council to identify all potential inherent risks. The Parish Council, based on a recorded assessment, will take all practical and necessary steps to reduce or eliminate the risks, insofar as is practically possible.
This document has been produced to enable West Bergholt Parish Council to assess the risks that it faces and satisfy itself that it has taken adequate steps to minimise them.
Risk Area |
Impact |
H/M/L |
Control Measures |
Review Frequency |
Responsibility |
Management |
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| Business Continuity | Risk of Council not being able to continue its business due to an unexpected or tragic circumstance | Low | All files and recent records (both paper and electronic) are kept at Clerk’s Office. The Council has a secure online backup system that backs up files as they are created or changed. There is also a local external hard drive in the likelihood of difficulties with online storage. Location of the WBPC password book is known to the relevant Council members & staff. In the event of the Clerk being indisposed the Hall Administrator would provide administrative support. | Review when necessary, at least annually. Ensure procedures listed are undertaken. | Parish Clerk |
| Meeting location | Adequacy of Health & Safety | Low | Meetings are held in the John Lampon or Orpen Hall at the Orpen Memorial Hall Complex. The Clerk, Chair and Vice chairs hold keys to the building in the event of her being indisposed.
The building is under the sole Trusteeship of the Parish Council and therefore all risk assessments with regards the safety of the building are regularly carried out. Both halls considered to be satisfactory from a health & safety, accessibility and comfort aspect for the clerk, Councillors and public who attend. Health & Safety notice for the premises is displayed in the hall. |
Existing procedure adequate.
Annual review of Risk Assessments related to Hall carried out. |
Parish Clerk |
| Loss of meeting space due to fire, flood or damage to building | Low | Existing business interruption insurance would cover the costs of having to meet elsewhere, for example at the Church Hall. | Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Clerk | |
| Council Records | Loss through theft, fire, damage | Low | Current records are held in the Clerk’s office, an annual risk assessment is carried out of the premises.
Archived records are held upstairs in the Orpen Hall, the keys to which are only held by the Clerk and in the secure key box in the Hall Administrator’s office. Original deeds & legal documents are held at the Essex Records Office. |
Annual review | Parish Clerk |
| Council Records (electronic) | Loss through damage | Med | The Parish Council’s electronic records are stored on the council’s laptop. The council has a secure online backup system which backs up files on a daily basis. There is also a local external hard drive in the likelihood of difficulties with online storage. Council laptop has anti-virus software installed on it. | Regular review | Parish Clerk |
Finance |
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| Insurance | Adequacy, cost, compliance
and Fidelity Guarantee |
Low | An annual review is undertaken of all insurance arrangements in place.
Employers Liability, Public Liability and Fidelity Guarantee are statutory requirements. Policy updated as new assets added. |
Review provision and compliance annually prior to policy renewal. | Parish Clerk
Parish Council |
| Precept | Adequacy of precept | Med | Sound budgeting to underlie annual precept determination. Councillors receive monthly statements of how the accounts are performing against budget. This provides simple analysis and tracking and when the budgets are prepared in November the RFO works with each committee to determine the budget for the next year prior to making a recommendation to the full council in January for approval of the final precept figure. | Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Clerk
RFO Parish Council |
| Precept not received or reduced from January’s projected figures | Low | Reserves value is held at three-month’s expenditure operating as a minimum | Existing procedure set to mitigate risk | RFO | |
| Banking | Financial irregularities | Low | The Council has Financial Regulations which set out the requirements for banking, cheques and internal audit. | Existing procedure adequate.
Review provision and compliance. Internal auditor appointed annually. Electronic banking procedure in place. |
Parish Council
RFO Parish Clerk |
| Electronic banking | Low | Two-person step process required for online banking. Chair acts as third person if required.
RFO checks bank statements monthly against approved expenditure. |
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| Cash | Loss through theft or dishonesty | Low | Monthly reconciliation prepared by clerk and checked by RFO, then Finance Committee.
External & Internal audit undertaken. Two signatories on cheques. Internal and external audit undertaken. All payments must be detailed in the financial reports presented to the Finance & General-Purpose Committee and then full Council. All cash deposited at bank or P.O. as soon as possible. Petty cash is no greater than £100 and the cash float is kept in a secure location. Petty cash voucher issued for each transaction. |
Existing procedures adequate
Annual review of Financial Regulations Petty Cash Procedure in place. |
Parish Clerk
RFO Parish Council |
| Employees | Loss of Clerk | Med | In the event of the Clerk resigning or long-term illness, EALC could provide temporary clerk who could cover interim. | Membership of EALC maintained, where bank of temp clerks held.
Monitor working Conditions. Existing procedure adequate. |
Parish Clerk |
| Fraud | Low | The requirements of Fidelity Guarantee
insurance must be adhered to. Internal procedures in place. |
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| Actions undertaken | Low | Staff should be provided with relevant
training, Clerk should also have reference books, access to assistance and legal advice. |
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| Use of council equipment | Low | Staff should be provided with relevant training whenever new equipment is purchased, and risk assessments carried out, where necessary. | |||
| Salary paid incorrectly | Low | Payroll is outsourced. | |||
| Payroll | Breach of employment laws including NI and tax | Low | Procedures in place. Members of NALC &
EALC who provide updates for review by the Finance & GP Committee. Payroll is outsourced to a payroll company. Handymen’s timesheets kept. Annual Leave forms kept up to date for all staff. |
Annual Audit carried out by Internal Auditor. | Parish Clerk
Parish Council |
| Election Costs | Risk of election cost |
Med |
Risk in an election year.
There are no measures, which can be adopted to minimise risk of having a contested election. Costs are budgeted for each election year. CBC monitoring officer advice sought annually on potential election costs. Any additional costs would be met from general reserves. |
Existing procedure adequate. | RFO
Parish Clerk |
| Risk of election to fill a casual vacancy. | Med | ||||
| VAT | Re-claiming/ charging | Low | The Council has Financial Regulations which set out the requirements. VAT recovered at least every three months, including Feb just prior to end of financial year. | Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Clerk |
| Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) | Not submitted within time limits | Low | AGAR is completed and submitted to Internal Auditor for checking. Approved by the
Council and signed before being sent on to the External Auditor within time limit. Clerk prepares a timetable for submission. Update provided to Finance & GP Committee at all monthly meetings prior to approval by External Auditor. |
Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Clerk |
Liability |
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| Legal Powers | Illegal activity or
payments |
Low | All activity and payments made within the
powers of the Parish Council (not ultra vires) and to be resolved and clearly minuted. Clerk to ensure appropriate powers are available. |
Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Council
Parish Clerk |
| Illegal decisions being made | Low | Ensure clear terms of reference are in place for each committee and working parties.
Financial Regulations in place. |
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| Agendas/ Minutes /Statutory documents | Accuracy and legality. Non-compliance with statutory
requirements |
Low |
Minutes and agendas are produced in the prescribed method and adhere to legal requirements. Minutes are approved and signed at next meeting unless there is a resolution made to defer approval until the following meeting. Minutes and agendas are displayed according to legal requirements. Business conducted at Council meetings should be managed by the Chair according to Standing Orders. |
Existing procedure adequate.
Undertake adequate training. Members to adhere to Code of Conduct and Standing Orders. |
Parish Clerk
Parish Council |
| Public Liability | Risk to third party, property or individuals | Low | Insurance is in place. Risk assessment of any
individual events undertaken e.g. Village Fete. |
Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Clerk |
| Employer Liability
Employee Liability Councillor Liability |
Non-compliance with employment law
Causing injury (damage) to Employee property Causing injury (damage to Councillors) |
Low Low Low |
Undertake ongoing training to ensure
Finance & GP Committee are aware of current legislation. Seek advice from the Council’s insurance company where required. Employer’s Liability insurance in place. Insurance cover in place. Insurance cover in place. |
Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Clerk
Parish Council |
| Legal Liability | Legality of activities | Low | Clerk to clarify legal position on proposals
and to seek advice if necessary. |
Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Clerk |
| Proper and timely reporting via Minutes | Low | Council always receives and approves
minutes at meetings. Where possible minutes are circulated shortly after the meeting. |
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| Proper document control | Low | Retention of document policy in place | |||
| Freedom of Information and Data Protection | Policy Provision | Low-Med | The Council has the following documents in
place: § Information & Data Protection Policy § Publication Scheme § Document Retention & Disposal Policy § Privacy Notices § Data Consent Form § Freedom of Information Access Guide § CCTV Policy Council is registered with the Information Commissioner. |
Monitor and report any impacts made under the freedom of information and data protection. Regular policy reviews. |
Parish Clerk |
Councillors Propriety |
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| Members Interests | Conflict of Interest | Med | Councillors have a duty to declare any interest at the start of the meeting or when a conflict becomes apparent during a meeting. | Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Council
Parish Clerk |
| Register of Members Interests | Low | Register of Members Interests form to be reviewed at least on an annual basis. Clerk responsible for ensuring all new Councillors register their interests. | Members to take responsibility to update their register. | ||
Council Reputation |
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| Councillor and staff | Bringing the Council into disrepute | Med |
Councillors understand and receive training on the Code of Conduct. A professional approach is undertaken on all Parish Council matters. |
Members to identify any training needs. | Parish Clerk
Parish Council |
Assets |
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| Street furniture and office
equipment |
Damaged bins, village sign, beacon, notice boards, bus shelters and benches etc. | Low | An asset register is kept up to date, reviewed on an annual basis and insurance is held at the appropriate level for all items. Regular checks are made on all equipment by Parish Council staff. | Existing procedure adequate. | Parish Clerk
All Staff |
| Recreation areas |
|
Low | Areas regularly inspected by appropriately trained Councillors and staff. | Annual recorded inspections undertaken. | Parish Council
All Staff |
| Village Hall & Storage Areas | Risk of damage or fire | Low-Med | Regular checks carried out by appropriately trained Councillors and staff. Adequate insurance cover against fire & damage. | Adequate inspections undertaken. | Parish Council
All Staff |
| Maintenance | Low | Orpen Hall Management Committee and Hall Administrator regularly inspect the hall for maintenance needs. Routine maintenance agreed as required, budget in place for maintenance needs. Roof fund established and maintained for when needed. Insurance cover in place for hall. Hall has its own risk assessment which is reviewed on regular basis. | Hall needs recorded at OHMC meeting.
Existing procedure adequate. |
Hall Administrator & OHMC | |
| Lorkin Daniell Children’s Playground | Risk of injury or damage | Low | Regular checks carried out by appropriately trained Councillors and staff. Play equipment inspected annually by RoSPA accredited inspector. | Adequate inspections undertaken | Parish Council
All Staff |
| Trees | Trees or branches posing a safety problem to the public where unrestrictive right of access is available | Med | Up to date tree survey and register of risk carried out. Regular inspections by appropriately trained Councillors and staff. Hire of tree surgeon as required for problem areas. | Review regularly | Parish Council
Parish Clerk |