Agenda item

Markets Committee Risk

The Committee received a report (tabled) of the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection to provide Members with assurance that risk management procedures in place within the Department of Markets and Consumer Protection are satisfactory and that they meet the requirements of the corporate Risk Management Framework.

A Member questioned some of the risks with target dates of 31 December 2015 stating that this was just a month away and it appeared that there was still much to be done to meet the target risk scores in this time.

With regard to the Risk entitled ‘East Poultry Avenue’, the Superintendent of Smithfield Market provided the Committee with some historical background to the issue. He reported that he had now met with colleagues from the Department of Built Environment to examine how the risks here could be addressed and lowered. He added that this matter was still subject to an overall review. The immediate past Superintendent of Smithfield Market confirmed that a great deal of work had already been undertaken against this risk including the installation of signage and the defining of certain areas in terms of things such as right of way. However, people obeying the regulations that were now in place, was an ongoing issue.

The immediate past Superintendent went on to report that a number of traffic calming measures had been explored in this area including the installation of speed humps and mini roundabouts however, due to forklift truck use and their small wheel base these had subsequently been dismissed.

The Member thanked Officers for the update on this matter but highlighted that this sort of information should be summarised within the risk update column of the report.  He went on to point out that some of the risks listed were also without any target date.

The Committee requested that a further, updated, Risk Register be submitted to the next meeting.

A Member questioned the target date of 2 January 2017 against the risk entitled ‘Workplace Traffic Management’ and questioned whether this should be brought forward given the potential severity of an event relating to this risk as set out within the report. The Superintendent of Spitalfields Market highlighted that there had been short, medium and long term proposals set out to mitigate this risk and that the January 2017 date represented the implementation of the long term proposal. He informed the Committee that Officers had now received a report from an independent logistics expert which contained 35 recommendations. It was clear that, at present, there was not adequate segregation between forklifts, customers and pedestrians but an Action Plan could now be formulated on the basis of these recommendations with some points able to be addressed immediately and others in the longer term.

The Superintendent of Spitalfields Market went on to report that officers had met with the Tenants Association last week to discuss this matter and that further meetings would take place this week where the logistics team would be giving a presentation on their findings and recommendations. All tenants had been invited to attend the presentation. In addition to this, communications had now gone out to each tenant from the Tenants Association highlighting the seriousness of this matter and each individual tenant’s responsibilities in relation to this.

The Deputy Chairman highlighted that he had raised the issue of forklift trucks more generally with the Director of Markets and Consumer Protection earlier this year with a view to beginning to acquire electric vehicles going forward. He hoped that a broader update on what the plans were here would therefore be forthcoming at future meetings of this Committee.

The Superintendent of Spitalfields Market stated that this proposal had already been discussed with the Tenants Association and it was something that they were looking at positively. In response to a question, the City Surveyor stated that there was a working manual to accompany each lease and that consideration could be given to including the use of electric vehicles within this manual and including this within lease negotiations in future.

RESOLVED – That, Members note the report and the actions taken in the Department of Markets and Consumer Protection to monitor and manage effectively risks arising from its operations.

Resolution to the Police Committee regarding the City of London’s participation in the Community Accreditation Scheme (CSAS)

The Deputy Chairman reported that, at the request of this Committee, a resolution had been sent to the Police Committee questioning the City Corporation's participation in the Community Accreditation Scheme (CSAS). He went on to report that he and the Chairman would now be meeting with the Commander of Operations together with the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Police Committee to discuss the current position of the scheme in terms of the benefits and impacts of its delivery.