Agenda item

As part of this item a presentation will be given on Corporate Risk 4.3 - If as a result of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic bus operators significantly change their services, then there could be substantial impacts on communities accessing essential services and lead to required intervention under our Passenger Transport Policy and Strategy.

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which was to provide an overview of key risk areas and the measures being taken to address them. The report also provided updates on counter fraud and the Council’s recovery planning in response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 8’, is filed with these minutes.

 

As part of this item, the Committee also received a presentation by the Director of Environment and Transport Department, on Corporate Risk 4.3 on the Corporate Risk Register (If as a result of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic bus operators significantly change their services, then there could be substantial impacts on communities accessing essential services and lead to required intervention under our Passenger Transport Policy and Strategy). A copy of the presentation slides is filed with these minutes.

 

Risk Presentation

 

Arising from discussion and questions the following points arose:

 

(i)         The results of engagement and consultation with non-bus users as well as current users of local bus services would be a key consideration in terms of informing future strategies to manage future demand, understand future business needs and attract new customers to use bus services. 

 

(ii)       Further guidance in respect of cross boundary services was awaited from the Government but the Enhanced Partnership Scheme within the National Bus Strategy (NBS) was expected to leave responsibility with bus operators to ensure that cross boundary challenges were raised within the relevant partnerships. The Council also planned to continue working with local partners such as Leicester City Council and bus service operators in an effort to overcome such challenges.

 

(iii)      Regarding whether there were any options to mitigate Corporate Risk 4.3 that did not require the Council to sign up to the NBS and issue a statutory notice, it was advised that the options currently available were limited, particularly where rural areas were concerned, and if the Council did not sign up to the National Bus Strategy this would create a risk to future funding as the Government was linking the availability of future funding to actions associated with the Strategy. The Enhanced Partnership Scheme was expected to place a greater level of responsibility with bus operators but provide a greater number opportunities for the Council to influence certain areas, so this was likely to be the most suitable option.  The other option under the NBS would be  Franchising, however due to a number of factors including the rural nature of the County this was deemed as a less suitable option at the current time but the Environment and Transport Department would keep the situation under review to keep track of the options available.

 

(iv)      Concern was raised regarding the short timeframe for work including engagement with the public and key partners to be undertaken by local authorities to produce and publish a Bus Service Improvement Plan by the end of October 2021. The Director acknowledged the timescales set by Central Government were ambitious and confirmed that officers were not underestimating the amount of work that needed to be carried out overall between now and the end of March 2022 when the Enhanced Partnership Agreement with operators was expected to be in place.

 

(v)       The intention was for the ‘public’ engagement exercise to begin once Cabinet approval of the NBS pathway to be followed had been given, the item was currently programmed to be presented to the Cabinet in October 2021, and that this would run through to March 2022 ahead of the Enhanced Partnership Agreement/Approach being introduced. It was envisaged that the approach would eventually become part of normal ways of working and be refreshed as necessary.

 

(vi)      In response to questions raised by a member regarding the Council’s plans to trial a demand responsive transport scheme (DRTS) in a rural area, the Director confirmed the following points:

 

•        The trial would provide an opportunity for the Council to test DRTS solutions in a rural area and work with service providers to understand the broader applicability across Leicestershire. Ensuring commercial viability of services where there were no developer funding contributions available would also be a key consideration.

 

•        Feedback and experiences from the Arriva Click DRT service in New Lubbesthorpe would feed into the trial and details of this service had been used to inform the Rural Mobility Fund bid.

 

•        In response to a query regarding the potential to gain evidence from other areas that had trialled DTRS’ such as Liverpool and Sittingbourne, the Director undertook to provide further information on where best practice and lessons learnt examples that were used to inform the Rural Mobility Fund bid had been obtained and how this information would be used going forward. 

 

•        Members noted that a condition of the Council receiving the rural mobility funding it had been awarded to carry out the trial was the requirement to follow a particular procurement process and one of the requirements of that process was around ensuring fair competition in the market, the detail of which officers were currently in the process of working through.

 

Risk Management Update

 

Arising from discussion the following points arose:

 

(vii)     In response to a question relating to Corporate Risk 7.3 (If the Department fails to develop and maintain a stable, sustainable, and quality social care market to work with it may be unable to meet its statutory responsibilities), the Director undertook to provide further information to Committee members outside of the meeting regarding the timescales around the re-commissioning of domiciliary care services.

 

(viii)   The Director of Law and Governance advised that as far as she was aware Corporate Risk 4.4 (Risk of challenge and/or financial penalty due to either an actual or perceived breach of procurement guidelines) had been added to the Corporate Risk Register to capture a number of procurement risks raised nationally to ensure these were fully reflected in the register.

 

(ix)      Regarding the outcomes of the five fraud cases the Council had investigated during 2020/21, the Director confirmed that, despite some referrals that had been made to other authorities such as to the police where further action was considered by the County Council to have been required, there had been no notification of prosecutions with these cases as such. It was stated that the Local Government Transparency Code did not require the Council to include any details about prosecutions in the summary it published annually to its website. However, it would be possible to provide members of the Committee with further details of the investigation outcomes outside of the meeting.

 

(x)       Following a suggestion made by a member, the Director of Corporate Resources undertook to give consideration to the risk management process to ensure member oversight of departmental risk registers was sufficient.

 

(xi)      Members requested that a presentation be given at the Committee’s next meeting on Corporate Risk 9.4 (If climate change impacts happen more frequently or at a greater intensity than anticipated, then there is the risk that County Council services will be negatively affected).

 

[Subsequent to the meeting the Director of Law and Governance undertook to provide further details to Committee members relating to Corporate Risk 4.4 to clarify the reason why the risk had been added to the Corporate Risk Register.]

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)       That the current status of the strategic risks facing the County Council be approved and the Director of Corporate Resources be requested to give consideration to the comments now made.

 

(b)       That the contents of the presentation provided on Corporate Risk 4.3 (If as a result of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic bus operators significantly change their services, then there could be substantial impacts on communities accessing essential services and lead to required intervention under our Passenger Transport Policy and Strategy) be noted and the Director of Corporate Responses be requested to provide further information on the Council’s plans to trial a demand responsive transport scheme in a rural area.

 

(c)       That at the Committee’s next meeting a presentation be provided on Corporate Risk 9.4 (If climate change impacts happen more frequently or at a greater intensity than anticipated, then there is the risk that County Council services will be negatively affected).

 

(d)       That the Director of Corporate Resources be requested to provide further information on the timescales around the re-commissioning of domiciliary care services.

 

(e)       That the Director of Corporate Resources be requested to give consideration to the risk management process to ensure member oversight of departmental risk registers is sufficient.