Managing uncertainty. Protecting our communities. Making better decisions.
Risk is part of everyday life – and it is part of everything we do as a Council.
From keeping our communities safe and protecting public money, to delivering essential services and planning for the future, we need to understand what could go wrong, what could change and where we have opportunities to do things differently.
Good risk management helps us prepare for uncertainty, make informed decisions and deliver better outcomes for the people of East Ayrshire.
Why does Risk Management matter?
As a Council, we make decisions every day that can affect our communities, our services and the way public money is used.
Some risks are familiar and can be planned for. Others emerge quickly. Effective risk management means we don’t simply react when something goes wrong. We look ahead, identify what could affect our objectives and take action to manage it.
This helps us to:
- protect the safety and wellbeing of our communities
- make the best use of public money and resources
- maintain reliable and effective services
- prepare for emerging challenges and changes
- support better decision-making
- reduce the likelihood and impact of things going wrong
- identify opportunities to improve the way we work
Risk isn’t just about avoiding things
Risk management isn’t about stopping the Council from trying new things. In fact, well-managed risk can help us innovate, improve services and make the most of opportunities. As a public organisation, we have a responsibility to be careful with public money and to protect our communities. At the same time, we need to be willing to adapt and try new approaches where there is a clear benefit.
Our approach is therefore about finding the right balance between protecting what matters and being willing to change when it can deliver better outcomes.
How we manage risk
Risk is managed at both Service and Corporate level.
Every Council service is responsible for understanding the risks that could affect the delivery of its work. These are recorded, reviewed and managed through our performance and risk management arrangements.
At a strategic level, we maintain a Corporate Risk Register. This provides an organisation-wide view of the most significant risks facing East Ayrshire Council. The Corporate Risk Register is reviewed and updated quarterly by our Strategic Risk Officers’ Group, chaired by the Chief Executive.
The Group brings together officers from across the Council to make sure significant risks are:
Identified → Assessed → Managed → Monitored → Escalated where necessary
This helps ensure that risks are considered consistently across the organisation and that emerging issues are identified as early as possible.
Looking ahead
The risks facing councils are constantly changing.
Our approach to risk management therefore includes horizon scanning – looking beyond the immediate issues we face today to understand what could affect East Ayrshire in the future.
Recent work has considered issues including:
- workforce and recruitment challenges
- changes in the population and demographic profile
- reliance on key technology and software systems
- the opportunities and risks associated with artificial intelligence
- wider economic and financial pressures
- changes in the way public services are delivered
We also compare our approach with other Scottish local authorities and use external research and best practice to help strengthen our risk management arrangements.
Keeping Risk Management under review
Risk management is an ongoing process. We regularly review our approach to make sure it remains effective and reflects the challenges facing the Council and our communities.
Progress against our Risk Management Strategy is reported to Governance and Scrutiny Committee on a biannual basis, providing elected members with an opportunity to scrutinise progress and the Council's current risk position.
Our current Risk Management Strategy 2024 to 2027 (PDF 2.48 MB) sets out our strategic approach and the improvements we are making to further strengthen risk management across the Council.
Find out more
Risk Management Strategy 2024 to 2027 (PDF 2.48 MB)
Read our strategy and find out more about our approach to managing risk.
Risk Management progress reports (PDF 1.1 MB)
View our latest progress updates and information on the Corporate Risk Register.
Governance and Scrutiny Committee
Find out how risk management is scrutinised and reported to elected members.
Useful resources
GOV.UK: The Orange Book: Management of Risk
Guidance from the UK Government on the principles and concepts of risk management.
International Organisation for Standardisation: British Standards ISO 31000 (PDF 1.71 MB)
International guidance on risk management principles and good practice.
World Economic Forum: Global Risks Report
Research into emerging global risks and trends.