Agenda item

Chris Blundell, Director of Finance, introduced the update report making the following key points:

·  Most of the scores had not changed, but this did not mean that these things had not changed, and a lot of these specific topics were dynamic.

·  Political stewardship had been well managed.

·  The cyber attack score was high, and there had been further initiatives against this risk.

·  Some progress had been made in relation to governance, however the score remained unchanged.

·  Berth 4-5 was considered a dynamic situation, and the risks had been classified as high.

·  Homelessness had been one of the biggest challenges. The increased numbers of homelessness had been largely due to external factors. The corporate management team were aware of this challenge.

·  Economic resources were considered a hangover by the risk which was titled Brexit.

·  Cost of living was a new risk, and negotiations were underway with the union regarding pay offers. TDC was aware of the risks that cost of living had outside of the district as well as their direct residents.

·  Further new risks included anti-social behaviour; this was due to events on beach fronts in June and July 2022.

Discussion raised the following points:

·  Homelessness and cost of living was in the highest risk category, and both had been intrinsically linked with each other.

·  Key actions included delivering affordable housing. There was a desperate need of additional affordable rent. The council was committed to funding this into the future, approximately £8 million over a 10 year period.

·  Housing association supply is due to increase significantly in 2022 and 2023. This would see the increase of 180 – 200 units in 2022 and 2023.

·  There had been a range of new services, including intervention, financial assistance for people that faced homelessness and sign posting people to appropriate services such as citizen’s advice and the benefits services.

·  Councillor Jill Bayford had written to the government on the impact of the cost of living crisis on the community and on homelessness.

·  It was highly unlikely that TDC would receive any additional funding as part of the budget setting process from the government. However, this was difficult to gage.

·  It was too early to comment on the scale of the savings TDC would have to make going forward.

·  The council’s website published the number of empty homes in the district, and the number of homes that had been brought back into use. The most recent figure that had been published stood at 1,458 empty homes.

·  Empty homes plan was also published on the TDC website. This had detail on how the teams work was prioritised and tools in bringing homes back to use.

·  There were major concerns regarding anti-social behaviour. Concerns were raised regarding protection being offered to residents, and the resources involved with enforcement.

·  Anti-social behaviour was a complex issue, and in some cases such behaviour was not considered anti-social but rather deemed criminal.

·  Contain Outbreak Management Fund (COMF) had not been secured in 2022, and consequently there had been less enforcement. TDC had been working closely with the police and the multi-agency task force.

·  Different approaches to anti-social behaviour had been discussed, this including the use of social media to engage with community. For example, pushing forth picking up litter and reporting anti-social behaviour.

·  Flexible working trial had been in place for over a year; this had been extended to be considered further. Flexible working brought some issues, but also many benefits. There had been a broad acceptance that some of flexible working had to be available. Chris Blundell would look into the impact of home working and report back.

Councillor Leys proposed, Councillor Yates seconded and Members AGREED to approve the review of corporate risks.