"Risk Management is about identifying potential risks and managing ways to prevent them"

Risk is one of life’s certainties

Taking unnecessary or ill-informed risks can have a major impact on us achieving our visions, goals and objectives.

Happily we have long enjoyed high standards of public accountability at Great Yarmouth and want to build on our strengths and areas of good practice. Elected Members and Directors are fully committed to the principles of effective corporate governance and this includes risk management.

As an organisation we recognise that risks have always existed and to some extent have been managed. We have put together a formal process that is transparent and can be understood and delivered at every level of the Council.  This will make risk management an integral and normal part of the Borough Council’s overall management arrangements at a strategic, policy and service delivery level.

"Risk Management is a process that cuts across all activities – from strategic to operational – and needs to be integrated into everything we do"

What is Risk Management?

All organisations face risk or obstacles to achieving their objectives.  In order for Great Yarmouth Borough Council to deliver its vision of the Borough as a community offering a high quality of life and a secure future for all its residents it is vitally important to:

• Understand the nature of the risks we face.

• Be aware of the extent of these risks.

• Identify the level of risk that we are willing to accept.

• Assess our ability to control or reduce the risk.

• Implement corrective actions.

The focus of good risk management is the identification and treatment of matters  which may harm the Council in financial, personnel or reputation terms.  Good risk management increases the likelihood of success and reduces the potential for failure.

"Risk Management is about promoting the best possible standards of corporate governance"

What are the aims of Risk Management?

The aims of good risk management are to:

• Protect service delivery and its quality.

• Protect the reputation and image of the Council.

• Secure the assets of the Council.

• Secure the well-being of employees and service users.

• Ensure the integrity and resilience of information systems.

• Ensure probity and sound ethical conduct.

• Avoid criminal prosecution or litigation.

• Avoid financial loss through fraud or corruption.

• Manage change be it organizational, technological or political.

• Reduce the total cost of loss to the Council.

The benefits of effective risk management are both strategic and operational. It can help deliver the numerous activities and initiatives that take place continuously across the Council all of which involve risk to some degree. Without effective risk management the Council may make significant errors or initiatives may fail. An effective risk management framework will help services improve.

"Through the use of risk registers and a formal system of reporting, a picture of all risks faced by the Council can be built up and addressed"

How Risk Management Works

The essential working parts of the process are the identification of risks, evaluating their likelihood and potential consequences and finding the most effective methods of controlling them and/or responding to them.  It means finding a method of minimising the costs and disruption for the Council caused by undesired events.

The aim of risk management is to reduce the frequency of loss and to minimise the severity of damaging events.  Even when the likelihood of an event occurring cannot be controlled, steps can still be taken to minimise the consequences. 

These ‘events’ can be anticipated and to some extent controlled through the use of risk registers. A formal framework of analysis of risks faced by the Council can be built up and addressed.

"Everyone in the Council is responsible for managing risk. However, the role they play differs from person to person and their level within the authority"

Who is responsible for Risk Management?

Elected Members have approved the Risk Management Strategy and the Cabinet Member (Resources Portfolio) is the risk management political champion.

Corporate Management Team lead the directional implementation and adoption of the strategy. The Team carries out strategic risk assessments and assesses the wider implications of meeting the Council key priorities.

Heads of Departments carry out service and project risk assessments within their own departments.

The Head of Corporate Services takes the lead in strategic promotion of risk management; the Head of Environment and Health manages practical Health and Safety risk advice and insurance risks are managed within Financial Services.

All employees manage risk within their own job and undertake their role within risk management guidelines.

The  Risk Management Strategy (542kb) is provided as a pdf file.