Hempnall Parish Council Risk Assessment

Notes Hempnall Parish Council Risk Assessment The greatest risk facing a local authority is not being able to deliver the activity or services expected of the Council. Risk assessment is a systematic general examination of working conditions, workplace activities and environmental factors that will enable the employer to identify any and all potential risks inherent in the place or practices. Based on a recorded assessment the employer should then take all practical and necessary steps to reduce or eliminate the risks, insofar as is practically possible. aking sure that all employees and councillors are made aware of the results of the risk assessment. This document has been produced to enable the Parish Council to assess the risks that it faces and satisfy itself that it has taken adequate steps to minimise them. In conducting this exercise, the following plan was followed: Identify the areas to be reviewed. Identify what the risk may be. Evaluate the management and control of the risk and record all findings. Review, assess and revise if required. FINANCIA AND ANAGEENT Topic Risk H// anagement/control of risk Review/Assess/Revise Precept Adequacy of precept To determine the precept amount required, the Parish Existing procedure adequate Council regularly receives budget update information and the precept is an agenda item at full Council. At the Precept meeting Council receives a budget update report, including actual position and projected position to end the year and indicative figures or costings obtained by the Clerk. Requirements not submitted to District Council Amount not received by District Council With this information the Council maps out the required monies for standing costs and projects for the following year and applies specific figures to budget headings, the total of which is resolved to be the precept amount to be requested from the District Council. This figure is submitted by the Clerk in writing to the District Council. The Clerk informs Council when the monies are received (approx. April and Sept). ast Updated 17/05/2016 Next Review ay 2017

Financial Records Inadequate records Financial irregularities The Council has Financial Regulations which set out the requirements. The clerk is a Chartered Accountant. The records are subject to both internal and external audit. oney can only be withdrawn from the bank account under signature of two councillors, who are independent of the financial record keeping. Review the Financial Regulations when necessary. Bank and Banking Inadequate checks Bank mistakes oss Charges The Council has Financial Regulations which set out the requirements for banking, cheques and reconciliation of accounts. If the bank makes occasional errors in processing cheques this would be discovered when the Clerk reconciles the bank accounts once a month when the statements arrive. Errors would be dealt with immediately by informing the bank and awaiting their correction. Review the Financial Regulations when necessary and bank signatory list when necessary, especially after an AG and an election. onitor the bank statements monthly. Cash oss through theft or dishonesty The Council has Financial Regulations which set out the requirements however the parish council does not receive or pay out cash. Review the Financial Regulations when necessary. Reporting and Auditing Information communication Compliance A monitoring statement is produced regularly at each main Council meeting, discussed and approved at the meeting. This includes, bank reconciliation, comparison to budget, and a breakdown of receipts and payments balanced against the bank. Council should regularly audit internally to comply with the Fidelity Guarantee. Existing communication procedures adequate. Council annually appoints an internal auditor. Direct costs Overhead expenses Debts Goods not supplied but billed Incorrect invoicing The Council has Financial Regulations which set out the requirements. At each Council meeting the list of invoices paid is Review the Financial Regulations when necessary. ast Updated 17/05/2016 Next Review ay 2017

distributed to Councillors, and considered. Cheque payable incorrect Each Councillor who signs the cheque also checks each invoice against the cheque book and associated paperwork and initials the chq stub as evidence of this. oss of stock The Council has minimal stocks, these are checked and monitored by the Clerk. Unpaid invoices Unpaid invoices to the Council for use of the playing field are pursued by the clerk and reported to Council as appropriate. Grants and support - payable Power to pay Authorisation of Council to pay All such expenditure goes through the required Council process of approval, minutes and listed accordingly. The council has the general power of competence and thus does not need to rely upon S137 GA1972 powers. Grants - receivable Receipts of Grant The Parish Council does not presently receive any regular grants. One off grants would come with terms and conditions to be satisfied. Procedure would need to be formed, if required. Charges rentals payable Payments of charges, leases, rentals The Parish Council hires the village hall from Hempnall Village Hall Committee. Invoices payable for the rental amounts are entered into the normal payment system for authorisation. Charges rentals receivable Receipt of rental The District Council sets and collects the rental income for parish arm land. The clerk ensures that the rental is received together with the precept each year. Councillors set the rent to the Football club and tennis club in January each year. Review agreement and fees annually. Ensure payment received. Insurance implication The Football and Tennis Clubs arrange their own ast Updated 17/05/2016 Next Review ay 2017

insurance. Adaptor Income oss of income The adaptor agreement is signed and reports are made to SNC if the recycling bin is full. This is done by a volunteer living near the recycling bin and by Councillors and the clerk. Best value Accountability Work awarded incorrectly Normal Parish Council practice would be to seek, if possible, more than one quotation for any substantial work required to be undertaken or goods. For major contract services, formal competitive tenders would be sought. Include when reviewing Financial Regulations. Overspend on services If a problem is encountered with a contract the Clerk would investigate the situation, check the quotation/tender, research the problem and report to Council. Salaries and associated costs Salary paid incorrectly Wrong deductions of NI or Tax Unpaid Tax & NI contributions to HRC The Parish Council authorises the appointment of all employees. Salary rates are assessed annually by the Council and applied on 1 July each year. Salary and payments to the HRC are made quarterly and reported at main Council meetings. The Tax and NI is worked out using an HRC computer programme updated annually. All Tax and NI payments are submitted in the HRC via Real Time Information system and the annual declaration. All is subject to the internal audit. Existing appointment and payment system is adequate. Employees oss of key personnel The Clerk s role would be advertised and another appointment made. In the meantime the assistance of neighbouring parish clerks would be sought. Fraud by staff The requirements of the Fidelity Guarantee insurance to be adhered to with regards to Fraud. Actions undertaken by staff The Clerk should be provided with relevant training, reference books, access to assistance and legal advice required to undertake the role. Purchase revised books. embership of Norfolk AC. ast Updated 17/05/2016 Next Review ay 2017

Health & Safety The Clerk should be provided with adequate direction, training and safety equipment needed to undertake the role onitor working conditions, safety requirements and insurance regularly. Councillor allowances Councillors over-paid Income tax deduction No allowances are allocated to Parish Councillors No procedure required Election costs Risk of an election cost / Risk is higher in an election year. When an election is due the Clerk will obtain an estimate of costs from the District Council for a full election and an uncontested election. There are no measures which can be adopted to minimise the risk of having a contested election as this is a democratic process and should not be stifled. However reserves are held to cover the likely cost based upon the estimated cost supplied by the district council from time to time. VAT Re-claiming/charging The Council has Financial Regulations which set out the requirements Existing procedure adequate Existing procedure adequate egal Powers Illegal activity or payments All activity and payments within the powers of the Parish Council to be resolved and minuted at Full Parish Council eetings. The necessary qualifications to be able to use the general power of competence are to be maintained. inutes/agendas/notices Statutory Documents Accuracy and legality inutes and agenda are produced in the prescribed method by the Clerk and adhere to the legal requirements. inutes are approved and signed at the next Council meeting. inutes and agenda are displayed according to the legal requirements. Guidance/training to Chair should be given (if required). Business conduct Business conducted at Council meetings should be managed by the Chair. embers to adhere to Code of Conduct and Standing Orders. ast Updated 17/05/2016 Next Review ay 2017

embers interests Conflict of interest Although not a requirement, the declaring of interests by members at a meeting should be an obvious process to remind Councillors of their duty and should remain on the agenda. Register of embers interests Register of embers Interest forms should be reviewed regularly by Councillors. embers take responsibility to update their Register. Insurance Adequacy An annual review is undertaken (before the time of the policy renewal) of all insurance arrangements in place. Cost Employers and Employee liability insurance is a necessity and must be paid for. Review insurance provision annually. Compliance Fidelity Guarantee Ensure compliance measures are in place. Ensure Fidelity checks are in place. Review of compliance. Data protection Policy Provision The Council is registered with the Data Protection Agency Ensure annual review of registration Freedom of Information Act Policy Provision The Council has a model publication scheme for ocal Councils in place. There have been no requests for information to date but the Clerk is aware that if a substantial request arrives then this may require many hours of additional work. The Council is able to request a fee if the work will take more than 15 hours but the applicant also has the right to re - submit the request broken down into sections, thus negating the payment of a fee. onitor and report any impacts of requests made under the F of I Act. Smoking egislation Failure to display appropriate notices The only building owned by the Council to which this applies is the bus shelter. This is inspected by a volunteer weekly and damage reported to the Clerk. The sign has ast Updated 17/05/2016 Next Review ay 2017

been securely attached to the wall. Code of Conduct Failure to comply with and thus be reported to the Standards Committee All new councillors are asked to read and familiarise themselves the Code of Conduct. Compliance with the Council s Standing Orders and Financial Regulations will also help compliance. General Compliance with law and regulations The clerk is qualified CCA and undertakes adequate training each year to comply with quality status requirements. The clerk is therefore able to offer suitable advice re compliance. Councillors are offered training. The clerk has access to NAPTC resources if further support is required. PHYSICA EQUIPENT OR AREAS Subject Risk(s) Identified H// anagement/control of risk Review/Assess/Revise Assets oss or Damage Risk/damage to third party(ies)/property An annual review of assets is undertaken for insurance provision, storage and maintenance provisions. aintenance Poor performance of assets or amenities All assets owned by the Parish Council are regularly reviewed and maintained. All repairs and relevant expenditure for these repairs are actioned/authorised in accordance with the correct procedures of the Parish Council. Ensure inspections carried out. oss of income or performance Risk to All assets are insured and reviewed annually. All public amenity land is inspected regularly by parish councillors. Notice boards Parish Council has one notice board sited in the village. ast Updated 17/05/2016 Next Review ay 2017

Road side safety All locations have approval by relevant parties, insurance cover, inspected regularly by the Clerk - any repairs/maintenance requirements brought to the attention of the Parish Council. Keys held by the Clerk. Street furniture The Parish Council is responsible for 6 streetlights, 4 dog bins, 5 litter bins, 3 salt bins and a bus stop around the village and covered by insurance. No formalised programme of inspections is carried out, all reports of damage or faults are reported to Council and/or dealt with. The district council empties the dog and litter bins and replenishes the salt bins. The Council does not spread salt from the bins in order to avoid any liability from doing so. Playing Field There is an informal programme of inspections carried out, all reports of damage or faults are reported to Council and/or dealt with. The condition of the playing field and the equipment thereon is reported at each main council meeting and appropriate action taken. ROSPA annual inspections are carried out and acted upon. Appropriate insurance cover is obtained. A volunteer grounds man reports any issues with the playing field. The grass is regularly cut by contractors. Closed Churchyard Faults are reported to Council and/or dealt with. The grass is regularly cut by contractors. There is an annual push test of gravestones. Appropriate insurance cover is obtained. Hugmore Pond Appropriate insurance cover is obtained. Fencing surrounds the pond. Danger signs are erected. ast Updated 17/05/2016 Next Review ay 2017

War emorial The memorial is maintained as required. Appropriate insurance cover is obtained. Existing locations adequate. eeting location Adequacy Health & Safety The Parish Council eetings are held at The ill Centre or the Village Hall. The premises and the facilities are considered to be adequate for the Clerk, Councillors and Public who attend from Health and Safety and comfort aspects. Existing locations adequate. Council records paper oss through: theft fire damage The Parish Council records are stored at the Clerk s house. Records include historical correspondence, minute books and copies, leases for land or property, records such as personnel, insurance, salaries etc. Recent materials are in a (metal filing cabinet (not fire proof)) and older more historical records in the attic and Norfolk Archives. Damage (apart from fire) and theft is unlikely and so provision adequate. Deeds/leases have been scanned and are subject to the back up procedures described below. Council records - electronic oss through: Theft, fire, damage corruption of computer The Parish Council s electronic records are stored on the Clerk s computer. Back-ups of the files are taken at regular intervals on a rolling 3 version basis and one back-up is always stored off-site. ast Updated 17/05/2016 Next Review ay 2017