Agenda item

The purpose of this report is to provide members of the Audit Committee with an update on risk management across the Council.

David Hughes (Director of Audit, Fraud, Risk and Insurance) introduced his new colleague, Jules Binney (Risk and Assurance Manager) who briefed members on his background and private sector experience in risk and assurance.  Then, David Hughes presented the report which provided members with an update on risk management across the Council, including the Corporate Risk Register (CRR) set out in Appendix 1.   

Councillor Ashok Patel asked about the initial cost involved due to “Failure to deliver the Civic Campus Programme” (CRR #14). Sharon Lea (Chief Executive) advised that the additional cost was not known yet because discussions with the contractor involving commercially sensitive matters were still underway. 

On Councillor Patel’s further enquiry about “Unable to retain talented people in key posts at LBHF” (CRR #12), David Hughes noted that London boroughs relied heavily on agency workers in job areas like social care and planning as these professional roles were difficult to recruit and retain. While all London boroughs were facing similar challenges, H&F’s retention and turnover rates were stable, as the People and Talent team continued to lead on activities to attract and retain staff.  The Council was committed to developing existing staff. Sharon Lea added that it was easy for employees to move around among the 32 London boroughs, but she was impressed with the significant number of H&F staff receiving the Long Service Awards between 20 to 40 years.

Councillor Florian Chevoppe-Verdier appreciated the authority keeping the CRR with granular details. He observed that following Brexit, the country was building up its skilled labour market locally. Echoing his observation, David Hughes cited the field of social care as an example whereby smaller local providers offering smaller contracts helped stimulate market resilience.  The successful apprenticeship programme in H&F also helped sustain the ageing workforce by attracting and retaining new talents. Sharon Lea remarked that new staff were encouraged to move through the ranks via the Get Ahead Programme.  H&F also encouraged gender and ethnic diversity amongst colleagues for the Council to benefit from the best from a mixed team.

Councillor Paul Alexander referred to the experience of some tenants on their request for downsizing from 2-bed to 1-bed between the Council and housing associations’ units. Sometimes, the process took 3 to 4 months to complete or the request record was purged after 6 months and had to re-start again. He called for streamlining the transfer system so that the 2-bed could be released earlier for reallocation. Sharon Lea said that the Council supported tenants to downsize and undertook to look into the matter and revert with more updated information. 

ACTION: Sharon Lea / David Hughes 

Councillor Adrian Pascu-Tulbure noted performance concerns persisted with regard to completion of repairs and resolving complaints which had aroused the attention of both the Housing Ombudsman and Social Housing Regulator. Sharon Lea responded that the Council had achieved good results in key standards, decent homes standards such as fire, gas and electricity monitoring etc.  However, the Council had regrettably received a number of Ombudsman judgments of severe maladministration, the majority of which were triggered during the pandemic in 2021.  Having analysed them, the relevant teams had drawn lessons from the issues involved and were determined to change the processes, put more contractor capacity in place, improve complaint handling, and enhance staff training. 

As regards Councillor Pascu-Tulbure’s concern about the closure of Hammersmith Bridge, Sharon Lea advised that stabilisation work of the Bridge was expected to conclude in the early Autumn.  The next step was to discuss with the Department for Transport and Transport for London on reviewing the business plan for the refurbishment of the bridge under the tripartite arrangements.

RESOLVED

That the Committee noted the report.