Council Policies – East Keal Parish Council

Risk Register - September 2025

EAST KEAL PARISH COUNCIL – FINANCIAL AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT RISK ASSESSMENT

This document has been produced to state how East Keal Parish Council assess the financial and management risks that it faces and to satisfy / confirm policies currently in place and demonstrate that it has taken adequate steps to minimise them. Agreed and approved at the council meeting held on 11th September 2025

Risk No	Subject	Risk(s) identified	Risk Assessment	Mitigation / Control Activities	Review Assess / Revise
R001	Precept	Adequacy of precept requirement	Low	The budget is monitored every 2 months by the Responsible Financial Officer (RFO)	Annual Review by the full council
R002		Sufficient funds available for forthcoming year	Low	The budget of the previous year is reviewed prior to the setting of the precept	Annual
R003		Accuracy of precept submitted by EKPC	Low	The precept will be for a fixed sum of money and will only be fully determined by the full council when all the relevant facts are known to the Council	By resolution to the full council
R004	Financial Records	Inadequate records	Low	The Council has and adheres to the Financial Regulations that set out the requirements	Periodic review of the Financial Regulations
R005	Financial Records	Financial irregularities	Low	The Council has and adheres to the Financial Regulations that set out the requirements All council expenditure and banking is reviewed during council meetings	Reviewed at all Council Meetings
R006	Bank and Banking	Inadequate checks	Low	The Council has financial Regulations that set out the requirements for banking, making payments and the reconciliation of accounts	Reviewed at all Council Meetings
R007	Bank and Banking	Bank errors	Low	Monthly bank statements are reviewed by the Clerk and the signatories to ensure there are no errors.	Reviewed at all Council Meetings
R008	Bank and Banking	Loss	Low	Losses resulting from bank error. These would be reported to the bank immediately. Possible risk from unauthorised access to EKPC accounts are minimal as access is restricted	Covered in the current Financial Regulations
R009	Cash	Theft or dishonesty	Low	There is no cash held by the council on a regular basis – any cash received would be cashed within 5 working days.	Full transparency of accounts on the website
R010	Reporting and Auditing	Information and communication	Low	EKPC accounts are open to public examination each year as required by the Accounting and Audit Regulations	Full transparency of accounts on the website
R011	Reporting and Auditing	Compliance	Low	The Annual Report is published on the Council’s website and in Noticeboards	Independent auditor appointed each year to scrutinise the accounts.
R012	Direct Costs, expenses & debts	Incorrect invoicing	Low	Prior to each meeting, invoices are checked by the clerk and details of accounts are circulated to Councillors. Councillors have the opportunity to query invoices during the meeting	Standard practice in EKPC processes
R013	Direct Costs, expenses & debts	Internet Banking	Low	Payments are approved by Councillors during meetings. Written approval is required from approved signatories prior to payments being made. Receipts are emailed to the Clerk.	Standard practice in EKPC processes
R014	Grants / Funds receivable	Receipt of grants or commuted sums	Low	Receipt of grants or commuted sums are noted and minuted. Councils can legally accept gifts of money as long as accounting is transparent.	The clerk will report any sums received which is minuted in Council Meetings
R015	Best Value / Accountability	Work awarded incorrectly	Low	The councils Financial Regulations set out the requirements for awarding contracts. All contracts awards are agreed by the full council.
R016	Salaries and associated costs	Salary	Low	The council approves the appointment of all employees, issuing an employment. Salary rates are based on the National Joint Council for Local Government Services.	Employment Procedures in place.
R017		Salary	Low	Payslip / HMRC payment recorded, and copies of payment kept.
R018		Pension	Low	At present there is no pension required for the Clerk	Pension enrolment is based on a minimum number of hours which EKPC doesn’t currently offer.
R019	Employees	Loss of key personnel	Low	The parish council can appoint a temporary clerk to provide resilience in the event of the loss of the Clerk	As per employment procedures
R020		Fraud committed by employees	Low	Minimal risk as EKPC hold no cash and all payments are approved by two councillors	As per Standing Orders
R021		Actions of Employees	Low	EKPC Clerk has access to LALC for information and any required training	Clerk Job Description / Employment Procedures
R022		Health and Safety	Low	The Clerk is issued with relevant H&S policies. DSE carried out annually.	Employment procedures / forms
R023	Election Costs	Risk to budget from unforeseen election costs	Low	The risk is higher in election year. The parish are advised by the County Council of an estimate of costs of a full election and an uncontested election .There are no measures that can be adopted to minimize the risk of having a contested election as this is a democratic process.	EKPC has sufficient funds to cover additional elections
R024	VAT	Reclaiming / recharging VAT	Low	VAT is re-claimed on an annual basis from HMRC and repaid by BACS	Annual review carried out in 2025
R025	Annual Return	Submit on time	Low	The Financial Annual Return is completed by the Internal Auditor and the parish Clerk approved by the Full Council and submitted to the External Auditor as required within the prescribed time limit	Existing process adequate
R026	Legal Powers	Illegal activity or payments	Low	All payments are pre-approved by 2 x signatories – Chair also has access to the bank account	As per current practice.
R027	Agendas Minutes Statutory Documents	Accuracy and legality of the agendas, minutes Notices and Statutory documents	Low	Agendas and Minutes are produced in the prescribed method by the parish clerk and adhere to the legal requirements Agendas and Minutes are displayed on the Noticeboards and on the website in accordance with the Standing Orders Minutes are approved and signed at the following council meeting	Standing Orders reviewed and approved in 2025.
R028	Policy	Council business conduct	Low	Business conducted at meetings is managed by the Chairman. Councillors accept the Code of Conduct	Members adhere to the code of conduct contained within the Standing Orders
R029	Member’s / Councillors Interests	Conflict of Interest	Low	Members / Councillors declare any pecuniary interests at the start of the meeting under Declarations . DPI are recorded in the minutes where applicable	Existing procedures are adequate
R030	Member’s / Councillors Interests	Register of Members Interests	Low	The register of members Interests is updated by Councillors when circumstances change and is reviewed annually . All Registers are published on the County Council and parish council websites	New councillors sign upon becoming elected / co-opted. All cllrs re-signed in 2024.
R031	Insurance	Sufficient cover	Low	An annual review is undertaken prior to the renewal date of all the insurance arrangements in place	Annual review prior to renewal.
R032	Data Protection and GDPR	Adherence to new GDPR requirements and data breaches	Medium	Registered with the ICO. Attended recent GDPR awareness to be followed up with information and training for all councillors. GDPR requests issued however full action not yet taken	The Clerk is currently working on GDPR requirements to ensure the Council achieves a suitable level of risk
R033	Freedom of Information Act	Policy Provision	Low	EKPC conforms with the Freedom of Information Act and would respond to any individual request in accordance with it	Existing Procedure Adequate
R034	Assets	Loss or damage Risk/ damage to third parties / property	Low	An annual review of assets is undertaken for insurance purposes	Asset register to be reviewed at each meeting.
R035	Assets	Poor performance of assets or amenities	Low	All assets owned by the Parish Council are regularly reviewed and maintained	Existing process adequate
R036	Maintenance	Loss of income or performance Risk to third parties	Medium	All repairs and relevant expenditure are actioned / authorised in accordance with the correct procedures of the Council . All assets are insured and reviewed regularly	List of official volunteers to be reviewed and circulated.
R037	Street Furniture	Risk/ damage/ injury to third parties	Low	The Parish Council owns a number of benches; 3 notice boards; 1 defibrillator ; 1 dog bin which are covered by the PC insurance	Insurances in place for 2025/26
R038	EKPC Records and hard copy documents	Loss through fire, theft or damage	Low	The Parish Council follows the NALC advise on the retention / destruction of documents required for the audit of Parish Council’s records	Review of hard copy documents is underway.
R039	EKPC Records – electronic	Loss through fire/ theft/ damage computer failure/ hacking / virus infiltration	Medium	Back-up system – Clerk should be backing up to an external hard drive weekly??	Clerk to purchase a memory stick to back up pertinent files. Also using OneDrive as a cloud back-up
R040	Highways	Quality of roads, pavements, grit bins, and footpaths throughout the village	Low	ELDC Highways and Footpath Officer are responsible. EKPC Highways Committee are in regular contact.	Existing procedure adequate
R041	Trees	Public safety should a tree become unsafe	Medium	Arrange a tree inspection by ELDC	Clerk to contact ELDC to request a Tree inspection.
R042	War Memorial	Memorial safety for Visitors (flagpole, steps, pathways)	Low	Parish clerk instigated memorial checks by NAAM qualified	Clerk to contact ELDC to find out if an inspection is required or recommended for the memorial.