Agenda item

Report of the Interim Executive Director for Environment.

The Committee received a report of the Interim Executive Director for Environment, concerning a risk management update.

A Member queried what actions were being taken to mitigate the risk of fire or flooding at Walbrook Wharf. The Committee heard that officers worked with the City Surveyor to ensure clarity on the risks and challenges from fire, given the context of Grenfell in recent years. There could be additional funding for building repairs and maintenance as part of a separate review of facilities. There was a longer-term review of Walbrook Wharf that would look at the state of the building and the nature of the equipment. There were short-term requirements to ensure that the building was fit for purpose, and a longer-term plan for managing the property. There would be further information following soft-market testing. On flooding, there was a Riverside Strategy that looked at mitigating the risk of flooding from the breaking of the riverside wall and considered a longer-term plan for riverside protection. Following this, it was suggested that the Risk Register be amended to remove the reference that the City Corporation was unable to reduce the likelihood or impact of the risk, given the steps taken as described above.

The Committee heard that the funding from Defra was allocated until July 2024 for the Port Health Service in its Brexit preparations. From July, the charges would work toward a full-cost recovery service. Officers had been working with the Chamberlain to ensure that the budget took account of the additional controls and the additional generated funding. To mitigate the risk, fixed-term contracts were being used, and officers had written to Defra to raise the uncertainty of funding. Defra were supportive of the plan, and there was reserve funding to offset any losses. With regards to any impact from a General Election, the phased introduction of controls had been set and had begun in January 2024. There were later phases which could be affected by a General Election but this was unknown. Following a query on whether the additional costs could cause a rise in food inflation, the Committee heard that when any food imported was subject to multiple charges, such as storage costs. The Port Health service charge was a small percentage of these charges. Officers would follow up on the exact percentage.

The ‘Driver Check’ issues were caused by an IT integration issue. This was currently being mitigated using manual updates, which took time and resource. The issue had been escalated with the HR Department to resolve this matter and was reported on daily. This also changed daily, as it was affected by casual workers, contractors, and staff departures.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and its contents noted.