Issue - meetings

Chris Norton, Strategy and Commissioning Manager (Treasury, Pension, Audit & Risk) presented the first quarterly report on Risk Monitoring activity, which followed the presentation of the annual report in March 2020.  The risk register for 2020/21 had been drafted before the Covid-19 pandemic had escalated and did not refer to the pandemic. However, the pandemic and the issues and risks that it presented had since been identified and logged in a dedicated Covid-19 risk register. Covid-19 specific issues and risks were considered later in the meeting.

Risk monitoring reports had been taken to the Pension Fund Investment Sub-Committee and Staff and Pensions Committee in June 2020. Both committees had received the same risk register / actions update but the report commentary had been focused on investments and administration risks respectively.  The focus of the reports had been on changes, developments, and management actions rather than repeating and updating the contents of the whole risk register.  The most significant change in position had been in respect of investment volatility so far, with concerns over the impact of Covid-19 on employer contributions in the longer term.

The Board cautioned against too much of a focus on Covid-19 and commented on the importance of other global risk factors such as Brexit and the China-United States trade dispute.  Concern was also expressed about cyber security, particularly as more people were working from home, and it was acknowledged that consideration of the cyber security policy had been deferred a cycle due to the Covid-19 situation.

Reflecting on the challenges of lockdown, Chris Norton, Strategy and Commissioning Manager (Treasury, Pension, Audit & Risk), noted that the County Council had undertaken a test of home-working ahead of the formal lockdown and business critical functions had been maintained over the lockdown period.  Andrew Felton, Assistant Director for Finance added that a lot of work was going on in the County to make buildings Covid-Secure and there was some ad-hoc access permitted.  However, home working had been operating well for the last four months and was likely to continue for some months.